201010 Roadmap newsletter - October 2010

October
2010

Roadmap monthly newsletter In this issue
Frotcom Sierra Leone
Building up momentum
in West Africa.

Case study
Editorial Controlling cement mixer

A
re vehicle tracking requirements for fleet trucks
management the same everywhere?
News and events
In other words, is a Slovenian fleet manager Frotcom Greece
worried about the same things as his Tanzanian has new office
counterpart? Is it the same problem both managers are trying
…and
to address when they use Frotcom?
Frotcom Bulgaria
At a fundamental level, the answer is yes. Fleet management is all about optimizing exhibits
the resources associated to a fleet: vehicles, drivers, time, mileage and consumption.
This and much more…
And this is common to all the countries where Frotcom is sold. Clearly, the factors
which lead to those resources not being optimized in a fleet may vary. However,
according to our experience, those factors seem to be more related to each
company’s activity and culture than to the country’s culture.

For instance, door-to-door distribution companies are usually more concerned
about route optimization than long haulage companies, for the simple reason that to
optimize the path between Paris and Milan, for instance, is much simpler than to
daily optimize distribution routes with 30 delivery points spread out through a city.
So, the company’s activity determines a lot which factors need to be optimized
in a fleet.

Also, company culture can strongly impact the concerns of fleet managers when it
comes to the optimization of the available resources. For instance, the more drivers
are aligned with the management, the less driving behavior is a concern. Inversely, if
there is not a good alignment between one and the other, then distrust sets in and
driving behavior control becomes a priority.

Hence, the answer to whether or not the Slovenian and the Tanzanian fleet
managers share the exact same problem is fundamentally yes, but the company’s
activity and culture will determine the priority of each optimization factor to
which Frotcom is to be applied.

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 roadmap@frotcom.com.

Roadmap Monthly Newsletter | roadmap@frotcom.com | Tel + 351 214 135 670 | Fax +351 214 135 678
Frotcom vehicle tracking system | www.frotcom.com

Algeria | Angola |Belgium | Brazil | Bulgaria | Cameroon | Cyprus | D. R. Congo | Greece | Kenya | Luxemburg | Macedonia | Madagascar |
Mauritius | Morocco | Portugal | Reunion Islands | Romania | Rwanda | Senegal | Seychelles | Sierra Leone | Slovenia | Spain | Tanzania | Uganda

1

Did you know

Where does the name
New Frotcom Certified Partner Frotcom come from?

Frotcom Sierra Leone
We have heard this question many
Building up momentum in West Africa
times: what does Frotcom stand for?
Frotcom International and One Sierra Leone Ltd signed an agreement for the Does it have any meaning?
creation of Frotcom Sierra Leone.
One Sierra Leone was formed in 2009. The company’s goal is to be established as
In fact, it does.
Sierra Leone’s premiere transportation company within five years.
Initially, One Sierra Leone was looking for a
Frotcom is a composition of two
simple tracking solution that would work in the
country. According to Jason Hancock, Portuguese words: frota (fleet) and
Managing Director of Frotcom Sierra Leone comunicações (communications).
Ltd, “I travel extensively and the fact that
Frotcom is web based and gives me remote
access from anywhere in the world really was a When Frotcom was born,
big plus. Once we had tested the system in Sierra communication between the office
Leone and seen the user friendly interface we
and the vehicles of a fleet was still in
realised that there must be many more
companies, just like us, who would benefit from having access to a professional well its early days. In fact, the first version
developed system like Frotcom. The state of the art devices, well designed software and of Frotcom used satellite
excellent support we receive from Lisbon will give us a distinct advantage over our communications (Standard-C,
competitors.”
implemented by Inmarsat’s
About Frotcom Sierra Leone’s perspectives, Penny Doyle, Marketing Director of
geostationary satellites.)
Frotcom Sierra Leone adds: “We expect and believe that Sierra Leone will develop
rapidly over the coming years mainly due to the emerging mining projects and foreign
investment. Along with foreign investment comes accountability and it will become Being able to communicate with
essential for all investors to locate their assets for optimum control and efficiency. vehicles was a great breakthrough
There will also be opportunity to establish within the local business community as they
for fleet management, and so it was
try to improve their service levels and try to curb the current rampant vehicle misuse
that currently haunts the country.“ only natural to think of the name
Frotcom for a vehicle tracking
ROADMAP welcomes Jason Hancocks and the Frotcom Sierra Leone team and
system.
wishes them great success.

A few words about Sierra Leone It is fair to say that back in 1996,
The Republic of Sierra Leone is located in West Africa. It is very Frotcom’s target were the Portuguese
rich in mineral resources, possessing most of the known mineral transportation companies, So, the
types of the world, many of which in significant quantities. The
association of those two Portuguese
country is among the top 10 diamond producing nations in the
words was all that was needed.
world, and mineral exports remain the main foreign currency
earner.

> Capital: Freetown > Language: English, Bangla, Krio > Territory: 71,740 sq km Little did we know that 10 years later
Frotcom would start expanding to so
> Population: 6.5 million > Currency: Leone (SLL) > GDP: 1.7 billion USD (2009)
many other countries.


2

Tip of the month
Frotcom on the iPAD

Case Study
Controlling cement mixer Note: this tip is only valid for vehicles
trucks equipped with a CANBus device.

Frotcom’s CANBus module can read
Pampoukkas Brothers Cement Ltd belongs to “Pampoukka Group of Companies””
data such as fuel level in the tank,
which includes three main sections: Cement, Prefabricated Materials and
engine speed, engine temperature and
Construction Projects & Separations plots. The company, founded in 1985 and tachograph information.
based in Nicosia, Cyprus, successfully addresses the
Cypriot market of ready-mixed cement offering high In the specific case of fuel, two graphs
quality ready-mixed concrete to meet all kinds of projects. Have you thought level (%) the iPAD
are available: Fuel of using and Fuel
level variation (%).
to control your fleet? You can, with
Pampoukkas Brothers Cement Ltd produces and supplies Frotcom. level (%) graph shows the
The fuel
ready mixed concrete all over Cyprus, with a modern fleet
level of fuel as a percentage of the total
of mixer trucks with pump.
capacity of the tank. The fuel level
variationknow,shows very clearly when
As you (%) Frotcom’s Smartphone
In order to constantly provide the best quality of service offered to their customers,
there areissharp convenient variations,
interface quite fuel level when you
the management of the company has decided to use Frotcom. According to Michalis
either positive (refueling operation) or
Christodoulides , CEO of Frotcom Cyprus, “The main reason why Frotcom was need to control your fleet from a place
negative (sudden fuel level drop in the
chosen was because it’s an all-inclusive solution, so there is no hidden or extra where
tank). a computer is not at hand.
cost, for its simplicity, friendly user interface, easiness in operating application
and last, but not the least, the competitive price.” If you take the next graph, for instance,
you will see that a refueling operation
The iPAD is yet another alternative. Not
ROADMAP congratulates Michalis and the Frotcom Cyprus team for this first took place (positive peak). By right
as smallon the Smartphone,can now
clicking as a peak, you it has,
case study. Many others will follow, for sure.
choose theaShow this moment ongreat
however, larger screen and a map
operation.
user-friendly interface.
Mapping sudden
Joining us fuel variations

Frotcom’s web interface is fully
Gonçalo Gomes joins Technical
compatible with the iPAD and its Safari
Support
web browser.
Gonçalo is the latest member of Frotcom International’s
Technical Support team.
If you have a 3G-enabled iPAD, you can
Throughout his career, Gonçalo managed several Technical Support teams in Once you choose that option, you will
easily control your fleet from any place:
multinational companies and projects. His professional career brought him be able to see the exact place in the
home, the local pub or the hotel pool.
map where that operation occurred:
experience in a wide area of operations and vast knowledge of helpdesk support
environments.
Your choice!
By the way, for those of you not familiar with Portuguese accented letters, letter “Ç”
has basically the same sound of “S” in the english word “Set”.

ROADMAP welcomes Gonçalo on board.
With this option, you can easily check
whether or not this is a valid place for
loading/unloading fuel.


3

News and events
Next, on Roadmap
Frotcom Hellas opens
new office in Artemis Attiki, Athens
News and events,
Frotcom Hellas (Greece) is growing. In September, it had to move to a bigger office. more new Frotcom features

The new office, conveniently located in the city and tips will be presented.
of Artemis Attiki, is 10 mns from Athens
international airport and 30 mns from central
Athens.
This and more, so don’t miss

The new office has perfect conditions to the next issue of Roadmap.
receive customers, make demos and host
meetings.

ROADMAP congratulates Nasos Sideris and Frotcom Hellas for this important
step.

Frotcom Bulgaria exhibits in Plovdiv’s
International Technical Fair

Every autumn the International Technical Fair
of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, exhibits the latest
developments of the world's leading companies
in machine building, automobiles, transport,
information technologies, software, electronics
and other technical fields.

This year, from September 27 to October 2, Frotcom Bulgaria is exhibiting in this
event.

Dragan Kostovski, CEO of Frotcom Macedonia,
visited the exhibition and had the chance to talk to
Frotcom Bulgaria’s CEO, Delyan Kostov.

ROADMAP congratulates Delyan and the
Frotcom Bulgaria team for this initiative.



4

201010 Roadmap newsletter - October 2010

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