APPFORUM 2015 Sponsor Series: Mapping the Journey from Navigation to Advanced Route Solutions with ALK Technologies

Posted: 21 September, 2015 | By Dana Petrone

As a sponsor of APPFORUM 2015, ALK is eager to meet application developers to swap ideas about practical, commercial approaches to enterprise challenges in the key areas of fleet navigation, mapping and route optimization.  We will be sending one of our experts to Las Vegas to give you hands-on experience with some of the software solutions we offer, so that he may take your praise (and your constructive criticism) directly back to our development team.

Zebra

As the enterprise continues to digitize its business processes, it has become essential to maintain a constant rapport with key channel partners to see market developments in advance. This approach enables ALK to timely adapt existing products and leverage opportunities to bring new products to market. With an eye always focused on how mobility and the Internet of Things is constantly impacting the enterprise, it has become possible to harness the power of transportation and travel technology to enhance mobility and IoT in revolutionary ways.  ALK’s solutions now enable the enterprise to:

  • Allow web-based customers to review vehicle restrictions (including Hazmat) and use map overlays for fuel and truck stops, weigh stations and toll roads;
  • Implement Weather Alerts for a positive impact on route planning, efficiency and driver safety;
  • Maintain operational consistency between the planned back office routes and actual routes driven among multiple products; and
  • Manage driver efficiency, save miles and fuel costs, and improve customer service by combining mapping software with customized driver-management tools to track assets and plan vehicle-specific routes.

And let’s not forget the huge impact that the rise of the consumer is having on the industry’s evolution. Quite simply, the tech savvy individual now wants the technology they use in a business context to match the simplicity and convenience of the technology they use in their daily lives. In the context of mapping and navigation, this emerging breed of consumer has come to expect clear, detailed and accurate voice directions (with spoken street names if you please), traffic and parking data, and high quality, downloadable maps of the entire nation that are regularly updated, easily manageable and pleasant to look at. These opinionated consumers are regularly voicing their many demands to increasingly mobile and digitized enterprise employers.

ALK has sponsored the APPFORUM for several years now, because we consider it a key influencer in ensuring that both experienced and new developers are aware of our expanding portfolio of business solutions.  During the event, we’ll have the opportunity to explore the mapping, route optimization and navigation software in which ALK specializes, especially ALK Maps, a toolset for routing visualization and asset management that includes commercial routing and Geocoding as standard features. We can also explore the many features of CoPilot Professional and CoPilot Truck, which is navigation software that has been verified and certified for a broad range of Zebra mobile computers and is currently installed on over 250,000 Zebra devices world-wide.

The enterprise will be earnest in drawing upon the experience of developers who may have new ideas or concepts for improving current products. In order to become relevant to the enterprise, development teams must poise themselves to deliver wherever there is a requirement for innovation in any aspect of a company’s professional portfolio that makes commercial sense. The market will drive these requirements, and developers must keep their eye on the market.  Developers would also do well to develop a footprint in the social media space (which has proved to be one of the key ways to interact) and to be adaptable and open-minded to new emerging technologies.

It will be great to have a chat about all of these topics and more at APPFORUM. We look forward to seeing you there.

By: David Morris, Business Development Manager with ALK  

Dave Morris is a Business Development Manager with ALK, working out of its London office. Dave combines an analytical development background with a practical, commercial approach to the challenges faced by enterprise level organizations in the key areas of fleet navigation, mapping and route optimization. Prior to joining ALK, Dave worked with Capgemini on a range of projects including systems to improve the efficiency of processes at the launch of Terminal 5 at Europe’s busiest airport, London Heathrow.


Tags: general route optimisation zebra technologies


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