Autologic Online Service Seeks to Optimise Transport Loads

Release date: 9 June 2005

Automotive business services group, AutoLogic Holdings plc, has announced the creation of a dedicated industry website to fill empty slots on car transporters with the expansion of a system that is already being successfully used by a number of automotive logistics firms.

VMEX is a real-time, online exchange that will allow European automotive customers to link up with transport companies or individuals with spare capacity on their trucks, to arrange the movement of new and used vehicles. The site provides a single point of contact for any car transportation need whether a single, covered, partial or full carload service.

“Until now the industry has lacked a single point of contact that would allow customers to see what spare slots were available and where they were going,” explained Tim Phillips, VMEX’s General Manager. “It would often take a number of phonecalls and a lot of chasing around to find a convenient supplier at the right price.”

VMEX allows transport firms to record spare capacity or available truck spaces so that their trucks can be used much more cost-effectively and avoid running empty.

Registration is free, quick and easy and can be done online via www.vmex.com or by a simple phone call to 0870 240 9016. Transport companies are able to put in any planned truck availability, either roaming or back to a defined destination, and see if there are any loads on VMEX that match their truck and what the price is for the load.

“It’s a win, win situation all round,” added Tim. “Customers can get their vehicles moved quicker, transport operators can run their fleets more cost-effectively and profitably and the environment will benefit from a reduction in overall journeys.”
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The site grew out of AutoLogic’s Traffic Management Division, which is responsible for minimising the number of empty transport spaces across the group’s transport division, Walon, Axial, and Ansa, and its European fleet.

However, Tim Phillips is quick to stress the independence of the VMEX site – orders and loads are available for all to see and are allocated on a first-come first-served basis with high-priced jobs usually taken quicker: “We have run a manual brokerage for several years in the UK and in looking to use the Internet it seemed a natural evolution to widen the service to encompass all other operators,” he said. “That way we are ensuring that customers are given the greatest choice to match their needs and transport companies have the greatest opportunity to avoid running empty trucks.” The system uses technology developed with X4 Freight – a European general haulage brokerage – and builds on this experience.

The customer selects the pick up and drop locations, together with the requested time of the desired move and the necessary car spaces and VMEX manages the rest. Customer pricing is dependent on service requirements and is then offered for transport at market rates to achieve these requirements. Load prices are visible to members and they choose if they would like to carry the load.

Initially, the site offers access to nearly 1,000 trucks and VMEX predicts over 150,000 vehicle movements per year in the UK market. During 2005 the service will be expanded and become available across the whole European transport arena, where currently 25% of transporter distance is run empty.

The VMEX site boasts an experienced team of professionals supporting customers with a system that allows for increased efficiency in searching for transporters to carry loads or offering loads that need moving to transport companies.

An added bonus of the service is that users will be able to input orders and available trucks over the web, or by direct system link to VMEX, or if they wish by phone or fax, and then have their loads matched with available transporters.
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They can then monitor the status and delivery times of the vehicles through the 24/7 online system, and report transactions and costs for ease of account management.

Sub-contractors can also pull off their own purchase orders thereby speeding up the payment process, with this, and the other facilities available allowing both customers and suppliers to create significant savings in back office administration.

“Our job is to move cars and fill empty transporters and this site is about optimising the whole logistics process for the industry, while assisting in helping the environment,” concluded Tim.