MalaysiaGIS.com

Source: The Star

"We hope we can do better this year," managing director Sullivan O'Carroll said after the launch of Nestle's Global Positioning System (GPS)-equipped transport fleet in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

The company posted revenue of RM2.66bil in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2003, and RM2.19bil in the first nine months this year.

The GPS equipment is being installed in stages in all 250 trucks belonging to Nestle's eight third-party transportation companies delivering Nestle cargo.

As of January 2005, only GPS-equipped trucks and vehicles will be permitted to deliver Nestle goods.

The eight companies will bear the cost of installing the system and pay the monthly monitoring service fee for each truck.

O'Carroll said the installation cost and service fee would come up to some RM1mil over the next three years.

He said the implementation of the system was Nestle Malaysia's initiative to help the nation eradicate the number of hijacking incidents and traffic accidents.

He said each hijacking incident of a truck carrying Nestle's products could incur losses of up to RM150,000, and also endangered the lives of the drivers.

Since August 2003, the company experienced six hijacking incidences involving goods worth more than RM750,000.

"By being able to closely monitor truck movements, we can ensure that drivers keep to schedule, adhere to the speed limits, do not endanger the lives of the public and seek immediate help in the event of a hijack," O'Carroll said.

He said by monitoring the performance of the transportation companies, Nestle would also be in a position to improve the efficiency of its transportation system, which would result in cost savings for the food company.