june 2010 - roadmap newsletter

Roadmap Monthly Newsletter | [email protected] | Tel + 351 214 135 670 | Fax +351 214 135 678 Frotcom vehicle tracking system | www.frotcom.com Algeria | Angola |Belgium | Bulgaria | Cameroon | D. R. Congo | Greece | Kenya | Luxemburg | Madagascar | Mauritius | Morocco | Portugal | Reunion Islands | Romania | Rwanda | Senegal | Seychelles | Slovenia | Spain | Tanzania | Uganda

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Roadmap monthly newsletter

Editorial

rotcom is tracking 1,000,000 km a day. We found

this out when preparing a new feature for Frotcom,

which will be disclosed soon.

It’s a lot of kms, when you come to think of it. It

means that the added routes of Frotcom tracked vehicles

would be enough to complete 25 tours around the earth… a

day. Impressive.

And yet, it comes as no big surprise. Frotcom is growing both as a solution (new

features constantly being added) – and in its reach. Through a great network of

Frotcom Certified Partners, Frotcom is becoming available in many countries now.

As a matter of fact, Frotcom International has sold in the first 5 months of 2010

twice as many units as in the same period of 2009.

How is this possible, when so many companies are complaining about the

negative impact of the international crisis on their businesses?

Well, for one, I believe Frotcom can really make a different when it comes to

lowering costs in a company. Today, a company with a fleet of vehicles without a tool

such as Frotcom is more exposed to the impact of the negative economical cycles or

increased fuel costs. That is why selling a vehicle tracking system today does not

require explaining to a manager why it is needed and what the benefits are. They

know that already.

Moreover, our strategy seems to be working ok. Long ago, we decided to create

Frotcom as a simple, user-friendly and cost-effective tracking system. Simplicity was

paramount, not only for end users, but also because we knew that a complex system

would be harder to maintain from our headquarters. That vision allowed us to

nourish a network of great Frotcom Certified Partners. Today, most of the features

being added to Frotcom are already coming from end users in places such diverse as

Mauritius or Slovenia, Angola or Spain.

And rightly so. Listening to what clients say is the only way for Frotcom to keep

growing in the right direction.

Valério Marques CEO - Frotcom International

A note from the editor – If you would like to have your own say in the next edition of this newsletter

please do not hesitate to get in touch at [email protected].

F

June 2010

In this issue

Case study Mikro+Polo

Distributing pharmaceuticals

in the former republics of

Yugoslavia

New features in Frotcom

Master users | Hiding history

Frotcom News

Frotcom exhibits |

Adventure Portugal-China

This and much more…

mailto:[email protected]


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Case study

Mikro+Polo Distributing pharmaceuticals in the

former republics of Yugoslavia

Mikro+Polo emerged in 1990, as the fusion of two factories. Mikro was specialized

in processing equipment production and pool technology; Polo was specialized in

the production of laboratory equipment. Today, Mikro+Polo’s products are being

used in areas such as vast as education, medical institutions, pharmacology and

several industries.

www.mikro-polo.si

Mikro+Polo are Slovenia’s largest supplier of laboratory equipment, tools and

chemicals. With more than 4000 customers spreading throughout Slovenia, Croacia

and Bosnia and Herzegovina, on one hand, and some 300 suppliers on the other,

Mikro+Polo need to have complete control over their vehicle fleet.

That is why the company decided to procure a vehicle tracking system. Three

products were evaluated. In the end, Frotcom was selected “for its user-friendliness

and for giving a complete answer to current and future fleet management

needs”.

As Mikro+Polo states in their website, “The customer is king. May he or she be

made to feel that way”. ROADMAP subscribes those words and hopes Mikro+Polo

feels the same about the service provided by Frotcom.

ROADMAP congratulates Dusan, Leon and the Frotcom Slovenia team for this

successful project.

Did you know

GPS is getting an $8-billion

upgrade

The U.S. Air Force successfully

launched the first GPS IIF satellite

carried aboard a United Launch

Alliance Delta IV rocket at 11:00 p.m.

EDT May 27, 2010, from Cape

Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

The upgrade will make the system

more reliable, more widespread and

much more accurate.

This was the first launch of a new

generation GPS satellite. The 24

satellites that make up the GPS

constellation will be replaced one by

one. The overhaul will take a decade

to complete.

The new system is designed to

pinpoint someone's location within

an arm's length, compared with a

margin of error of 20 feet or more

today.

The new satellites will also triple the

amount of signals available for

commercial use and will have atomic

clocks that are even more precise —

keeping time to a fraction of a

billionth of a second.

With this new version, Air Force will

also be able to upgrade the satellites'

software while they are in space.

http://www.mikro-polo.si/


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New features in Frotcom

Master users

This new feature allows some special users to login in more than one Frotcom

account, without having to insert username and password. Some examples of such

users may be:

The administration of a group of companies, where several of them have

Frotcom installed in their vehicles. Master users will be able to login to all these

accounts without having to enter different usernames and passwords.

A forwarded having access to Frotcom accounts of some transportation

companies working for them.

A combo-box allows the master

user to navigate through all the

associated users. To do that, it is

only necessary to choose the

associated user from the combo-

box.

Frotcom will immediately login as the selected associated user, with the access

privileges defined for this user (for instance, vehicle filters, access to only certain

folders in Frotcom, and so on). It will not be necessary to reenter the username and

password of that user, which makes this process of transition really quick.

Hiding history

This new access control feature in Frotcom allows the administrator of a Frotcom

account to specify that a user will not have access to tracking data earlier than the

current date.

This can be useful, for instance, when

Frotcom clients create usernames and

passwords, with limited access, to

some of their main customers (or

forwarders).

Using a vehicle filter in these cases is useful but may not be enough. It is also

necessary not to allow these users to see tracking data from earlier days (because

these vehicles were not necessarily working for these customers in earlier days).

Tip of the month

Note: this tip is only valid for vehicles

equipped with a CANBus device.

Frotcom’s CANBus module can read

data such as fuel level in the tank,

engine speed, engine temperature and

tachograph information.

In the specific case of fuel, two graphs

are available: Fuel level (%) and Fuel

level variation (%).

The fuel level (%) graph shows the

level of fuel as a percentage of the total

capacity of the tank. The fuel level

variation (%) shows very clearly when

there are sharp fuel level variations,

either positive (refueling operation) or

negative (sudden fuel level drop in the

tank).

If you take the next graph, for instance,

you will see that a refueling operation

tool place (positive peak). By right

clicking on the peak, you can now

choose the Show this moment on map

operation.

Once you choose that option, you will

be able to see the exact place in the

map where that operation occurred:

With this option, you can easily check

whether or not this is a valid place for

loading/unloading fuel.

Mapping sudden

fuel variations


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News and events Frotcom exhibits in Bulgaria…

From 26th to 29th of May 2010,

Frotcom Bulgaria was present at this

year’s TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS fair, in

Sofia, Bulgaria. In a smart stand, Delyan

and his teammates received visitors and

showed them the latest features in

Frotcom, including the brand new

integration with a navigator.

We wish Frotcom Bulgaria a lot of enquiries and sales after the show.

…and Romania.

For Frotcom Romania it was a premiere.

For the first time, Ciprian took Frotcom

Romania to face the Romanian public in

a fair: the Salon Auto Bacau 2010, held

from May 6 to 9, in Bacau, was chosen.

The word is that the miniature truck was again a success…

We wish Frotcom Romania a lot of enquiries and sales after the show.

From Portugal to China Frotcom Portugal sponsored another adventure. With the theme “So far but so

close,” the expedition team set off on May 2nd on its journey of some 16,000 km,

traveling across a total of 13 countries.

Riding in two sport utility vehicles (SUV), four

people will drive along the route taken by

Italian traveler Marco Polo during his odyssey

to China in the late 13th century.

They are scheduled to get to the World Expo

in Shanghai by June 6 after a brief stay in

Beijing, making it possible for them to

celebrate the Portugal Pavilion Day.

Visit www.leiriashanghai2010.com for real time tracking powered by Frotcom.

In the next issue

News and events,

more new Frotcom features

and tips will be presented.

This and more, so don’t miss

the next issue of Roadmap.

http://www.leiriashanghai2010.com/

june 2010 - roadmap newsletter

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