Tesco is deploying journey management and trailer tracking from Microlise on 940 trailers in Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic. 

Journey management is a telematics product that provides the insight and visibility to debrief drivers by exception against route and schedule adherence to reduce mileage run. 

It will also help the Tesco team to monitor the status of trips against schedule in real-time, as they unfold, and enable improvements through "planned vs actual" route comparison. Ultimately it will help Tesco to minimise mileage, increase efficiency and reduce environmental impact and costs. 

The Microlise trailer tracking module allows trailers to be monitored without the need for them to be connected to a tractor unit and ensures that the location and identity of each trailer unit is accounted for at all times. 

With location and activity reports, as well as unauthorised movement notification, Microlise Trailer Tracking will help the team with their proactive management of the trailer fleet. Round the clock visibility will enable the transport team to take action to keep assets safe and utilisation high. 

The news marks an expansion of Tesco’s Microlise deployment following its initial adoption of the technology in 2015 in the UK and Ireland when it went live across 19 depots. 

“Being able to track journeys and identify how the routes we have scheduled are unfolding, compared with how we planned them, is fundamental to our adoption of Microlise in central Europe,” said John Steventon, Primary operations manager Europe, Tesco.

“The technology will enable us to understand how to improve our logistics efficiency and ultimately provide the best service for our customers, whilst keeping our assets safe.” 

The new project in Central Europe is part of a reorganisation programme within Tesco to centralise the way journeys are planned. Microlise Journey Management and Trailer Tracking fully integrates with the Ortec planning optimisation software in place. 

“Working with a true industry-leader on this project reaffirms that we have a world-beating product. It’s great to see our transport and logistics solution being used effectively and providing value on a large-scale to optimise the Tesco fleet operation,” said Nadeem Raza, chief executive officer, Microlise. 

Alongside the journey management and trailer tracking deployment, Tesco’s sub-contractors in Central Europe will also be using the pay-as-you-go Microlise SmartPOD Proof of Delivery solution, downloadable free from the Google Play Store.