Trucking Technology Alert - Nov. 28
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Both the online report and e-mail are sponsored by @Track Communications, a supplier of wireless communications and dispatch services.
Today's Technology Headlines:
- Nextel Seeks to Trade Off Low-Frequency Spectrum
- Internet Helps to Make Supply Chains More Efficient
- Vendors, Users Split Over Promise of Tablet PCs
- Wireless Devices Make Inventory Updates Easier
- Internet Helps to Make Supply Chains More Efficient
Nextel Seeks to Trade Off Low-Frequency Spectrum
Reston, Va.-based Nextel Communications, the fifth-largest mobile phone carrier in the United States, has sent a proposal to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that would involve swapping some of the company's spectrum in a low-frequency range for spectrum in a higher band.The move would benefit both Nextel and the public safety community, whose radio communications occasionally interfere with the company's service. Nextel operates its wireless network for the most part in the 700 megahertz to 900 megahertz frequency range. The problem is that police and fire departments also use the 800-MHz frequency and so often mix their signals with those of Nextel. The company is now hoping to swap some of its spectrum licenses in the 800-MHz band for unused spectrum in the 2.1-gigahertz band.
Internet Helps to Make Supply Chains More Efficient
In the past, companies improved operational efficiencies by owning their supply chains, which brought a smooth flow of information and let them optimize internal operations as well as control their businesses, but such ownership was expensive and made companies pay attention to business functions outside of their core competencies.The arrival of the Internet and its global access caused market transparency and let businesses redo corporate strategies, offering access to new markets -- but it also exposed organizations' weaknesses. Companies now have to differentiate themselves amidst strong competition, using B2B solutions, and they are directing resources to their core competencies and outsourcing most other functions, creating strategic partnerships with others -- or they should be.
Such a value chain includes customers, suppliers, partners, and others involved in serving customers, and the value chains are beginning to compete with each other as vertical disintegration takes place; companies must have unhindered communication and interaction with their partners. The second phase of e-commerce has begun, and will involve organizations adopting industry-specific data and process standards as the basis for integration across enterprises, as well as applications, storage and software becoming services. Intelligent Enterprise (11/19/01); Diana, Frank
Vendors, Users Split Over Promise of Tablet PCs
Computer firms are largely uncertain over the prospects of the Tablet PC, part of Bill Gates' vision of the future of computing. Toshiba has been working on the concept for 10 years but is still waiting for the right time to enter the market, says Toshiba's Oscar Koenders.He says more technology still needs to be developed to make Tablet PCs useful, including swiveling monitors and better batteries and hard disks. So far, the lack of a market is what is keeping computer manufacturers such as IBM, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell away from the sector. Gateway's Lisa Emard says, "We feel the focus now is on networked PCs and low-cost notebooks that can get the job of a Tablet PC done."
Still, Compaq and a number of Japanese firms are pushing the technology, and Compaq's Tablet PC will be released with Microsoft's XP operating system for that platform next year. The product, still being developed, will initially target businesses and will allow users to convert handwriting to text in such Microsoft applications as Word and Outlook. InfoWorld.com (11/21/01); Neel, Dan; Jones, Mark
Wireless Devices Make Inventory Updates Easier
Wireless technology, including handheld scanner units and PDAs, have ushered in an era of new possibilities for the wireless supply chain manager. Advanced wireless management systems, for example, are able to provide real-time inventory updates to other departments; while PDAs offer remote and off-site inventory management capabilities.Handheld scanner terminals allow users to input, receive and gather data on the warehouse floor, and some advanced ERP or ERP II systems offer native integration of wireless inventory modules. With such technologies, traditional inventory management has been revolutionized, thus opening the door for other mobile enterprise management functions and providing added efficiency. Midrange Enterprise (11/01) Vol. 5, No. 9, P. 20; Bosse, Mark
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