The system is being deployed at two sites initially, with expansion planned to more than 100 sites globally based on expected system benefits, according to I.D. Systems.
Nestlé Waters North America produces the Poland Spring Natural Spring Water, Nestlé Pure Life and S. Pellegrino brands. Headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., the company has more than 8,000 employees and 24 factories throughout the U.S. and Canada. It is a subsidiary of Nestlé S.A.
"Nestlé has a culture of innovation and initiative, and Nestlé Waters continuously seeks new ways to improve our supply chain operations," said Chris Lyon of Nestlé Waters North America's National Fleet Services group. "Wireless vehicle management for industrial trucks is a technology that we intend to further explore in our enterprise to maximize the safety, efficiency and productivity of our material handling activities."
Wireless Vehicle Management Systems are designed to improve supply chain productivity by establishing accountability for the use of equipment, ensuring equipment is in the proper place at the right time, streamlining material handling work flow and providing unique metrics on equipment utilization. A wireless VMS also helps reduce fleet maintenance costs by automatically uploading vehicle data, reporting vehicle problems electronically, scheduling maintenance according to actual vehicle usage rather than by calendar or manual data entry, and helping determine the optimal economic time to replace equipment, I.D. Systems points out.
"We are delighted to add Nestlé Waters North America to our base of world-class customers," said Peter Fausel, I.D. Systems' executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer service. "The system we are implementing for Nestlé Waters is tailored for its corporate needs, including an enterprise-oriented, browser-based software architecture and a version of our SecureStream wireless communications system that incorporates both Wi-Fi and our own 'Intelligent RF' technology."
Nestlé's order was placed by I.D. Systems' strategic marketing partner NACCO Materials Handling Group Inc., a global manufacturer of industrial trucks, and facilitated by Yale Chase, the Yale dealer in Southern California, according to I.D. Systems.
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