Weekly Updates Week 07
Second Visit to Leicester
2010-02-17 09:30:00 We visited our new client in Leicester today to deliver their operational ReDeTrack system - only two weeks after our initial demo earlier this month. The system includes a data import for their bespoke customer order data file, a web-based portal for them and for their customers and a PDA for scanning bar codes, listing work assignments and capturing proofs of delivery. We have agreed certain additional actions for both sides - we will add certain functions to their configuration to allow other types of operation (all from our existing arsenal of features) and they will test the components delivered today against their processes. We have also agreed to deliver a process map for their various services to help them design their approach their use of ReDeTrack.
Week 06
New Work for Intercity Possible
2010-02-12 10:00:00 We have submitted a proposal to Intercity Express today. They have a new requirement for which they are considering using some of the newer parts of ReDeTrack. They will use some of our new in-depot tools (for goods received, order picking and route sorting).
Warwick Proposal In
2010-02-09 11:00:00 We have today confirmed our project requirements to the University of Warwick. The project will engage the expertise of a post-graduate in the development of process analysis and technical architecture plans for a new suite of functionality for one of our clients.
New Client's Data Import Complete
2010-02-08 15:00:00 Our work to create an import interface for our new Leicester-based client was finished ahead of schedule today. The other parts of the system set up are now mostly complete. We are awaiting delivery of their first PDA here so we can configure it and deliver it to them on our next visit.
Week 05
Decision from Leicester
2010-02-04 09:00:00 We met them only yesterday, but our Leicester-based prospect has contacted us today to tell us that they want to go ahead with ReDeTrack. We will make the establish their ReDeTrack system, develop a data import interface for their customer data and provide a test PDA over the next two weeks before we visit them again to deliver a fully-functioning system.
First Meeting with Leicester Client
2010-02-03 09:30:00 We met with our Leicester-based prospective client today. They were very impressed with ReDeTrack and will be contacting us soon to let us know what they decide.
Visit from Warwick University
2010-02-02 12:00:00 We are planning a joint industrial-academic project with the University of Warwick. Dr Matthew Hocking of the University's International Digital Laboratory visited us at our head office to discuss the project, which will provide process analysis and systems planning for one of our clients (who will not pay for this service).
Week 04
Centrex to Acquire Google Premier API
2010-01-27 09:00:00 Centrex have asked us to go ahead with their purchase of the Google Maps API Premier product. This will enable Centrex to use the Google Maps API to view the location and movements of their fleet using Google maps. It will also allow the ReDeTrack routing algorithms to use Google to measure distances between locations while it optimises routes.
Another New Lead
2010-01-27 09:00:00 A Leicester-based courier has contacted us to invite us to provide a demonstration of ReDeTrack. We have planned this for next Wednesday.
More Centrex Work
2010-01-26 12:00:00 We met with the Centrex team at the head offices in Ashington today. We reviewed the enhancements and changes to ReDeTrack - in particular in the stock inventory management area. They have also asked us to look at more additional functionality. Apparently ReDeTrack is working very well for them and their customers (such as Santander) are very pleased.
Week 03
Phones4u Proposal In
2010-01-20 13:00:00 Our response to the Phones4u requirement has been submitted to them today. We now need to set up the contract and expect to start work next month.
Time Flies
2010-01-19 10:00:00 Becky has reached the end of her three-month probation today and has passed with flying colours. Well done Becky.
Still Life in the South Coast Project
2010-01-19 09:00:00 Back in September we met a company based on the south coast to demonstrate ReDeTrack and to discuss their project requirements. We followed this up with a proposal. We received a call from them today and they tell us they are looking to start the project soon. We hope to hear by the end of February.
Week 02
New Phones4u Project
2010-01-14 09:00:00 Today we met with a director at Phones4u to discuss a new project. They require our skills in setting up a new add-on to their existing IT systems. This new function will mesh with the ReDeTrack system used by their courier for track and trace purposes.
Week 49
Second India Meeting
2009-12-09 10:30:00 Today we meet with the Managing Director of the Indian company. We agreed a scope and approximate timeslcales for a project to produce a trial system. The trial will begin some time next year. Our meeting concluded with the signing of a reciprocal exclusivity agreement, which binds us to working together for the duration of the project.
First face-to-face Meeting in India
2009-12-08 10:00:00 Today we met with our Indian hosts. The purpose of this preliminary meeting was to get to know each other and to enable a demonstration of the ReDeTrack system at their offices. The meeting was extremely positive and we have agreed to meet again tomorrow to look at developing our relationship.
Week 48
India Visit
2009-12-06 09:00:00 We embark today on a trip to India. We will spend a few days with a company that has shown an interest in ReDeTrack. We can't tell you who they are or even where they are based - we are sworn to secrecy!
Week 45
Kuwaiti Proposal In
2009-11-11 09:00:00 Our proposal to our new friends in Kuwait is now with them. They have one interested party and, should our terms suit them, we will work together on delivering a ReDeTrack system in the gulf.
West Midlands ICT Cluster Conference
2009-11-10 09:00:00 The conference at the national motorcycle museum was very interesting today. We gleaned some interesting new information about the European FP7 process and about Shareband (a useful gadget that allows you to combine two different broadband sources to increase bandwidth and to protect you against failure when one goes down but the other stays up).
Week 43
Kuwait Conference
2009-10-28 11:00:00 We held a teleconference with a Kuwaiti company today. They are interested in reselling ReDeTrack into the gulf area and wanted to see what it could do. With the aid of all the latest Internet communication tools, we were able to conduct the meeting and demonstration with sound, vision and a shared desktop.
Week 42
New Starter
2009-10-19 09:00:00 Rebecca Turner joins the team today. Becky is a talented graduate and will be joining us at a full-time programmer and customer service agent. Welcome to the team Becky!
Crossing Continents
2009-10-19 08:00:00 We are moving forward with an enquiry we have received from India. We spoke to them today and are working on a visit plan. We expect to see them in India later this year. I'd like to tell you more about the project, but we have a confidentiality agreement in place. Keep reading the news and watch for announcements regarding this very exciting project.
Week 41
GPS Version for Russia
2009-10-12 14:00:00 Our friends in Russia have today taken delivery of a update that will allow them to demonstrate the GPS tracking capabilities of ReDeTrack to our potential clients in their part of the world.
Week 40
Selection Process Concludes
2009-10-05 00:00:00 We have now made our selection from the four excellent graduate candidates that kindly came to our offices for interview and have issued our offer to Rebecca Turner, who has accepted. Becky is a 1st class honours graduate with a rich variety of skills - both technical and soft - that will provide much benefit to our company and our customers. Welcome to iSware Becky!
Week 39
Interviewing Begins
2009-09-28 14:16:25 We are interviewing four candidates for our graduate programmer position - two today and two more tomorrow. Early signs look promising and we feel certain that we will find someone.
Week 38
Meeting With Mouchel
2009-09-22 14:14:00 We visited Mouchel today to discuss their ReDeTrack project with them and to discuss their plans to progress it. The project is moving slowly, but in the right direction - these big corporates sure do take their time!
Week 37
Demo on South Coast
2009-09-17 14:12:21 We met a representative of a national medical product distribution company today in a town on the South Coast. We demonstrated ReDeTrack as a solution to their delivery tracking requirement and have agreed to provide a proposal.
Week 35
We're Hiring
2009-09-02 14:09:23 We have had a meeting today with Graduate Advantage. They provide graduate search and introduction services to small businesses to help them to find suitable candidates for vacant positions. We will be engaging them with our search for a graduate programmer.
Another New Tool
2009-09-01 14:07:23 We have started work on the design of a new function. To be a PC-based tool, this one will allow large quantities of stock items to be received or removed from a storage depot or warehouse. This is to enhance the stock management functions that have been added to ReDeTrack this year.
Week 34
Ghana Prospect
2009-08-26 14:00:59 We held a meeting with a budding UK entrepreneur today. His company have a relationship with the post office of Ghana. We may be working together later this year to set up a pilot of ReDeTrack in the country to prove its suitability for parcel and letter track and trace.
Week 33
Demo for New Lead
2009-08-20 14:00:00 We received an enquiry from a UK based health sector operator earlier this month. We visited them today to take a look at their requirements and provide a demo of ReDeTrack's capabilities. They were very impressed, both with functionality and with price. We look forward to them taking the next step.
Week 31
New Look for PDA Application
2009-08-06 16:00:37 Our development team have just released a new version of the ReDeTrack PDA application. This one includes what they have called 'skinning'. This allows us to provide your PDA application with a unique an eye-catching look and feel. When your customer signs for a delivery, they will see colours, shapes and icons that fit with your corporate brand rather than the standard Windows(TM) look and feel.
New Enquiry from Health Sector
2009-08-04 15:57:05 We have received an enquiry from an organisation operating in the health sector today. This follows a similar enquiry received in May this year. We have agreed a date for a visit and demo at their offices.
Week 30
Business Figures Positive
2009-07-30 15:48:06 It has always been our policy to avoid business risks wherever possible. For this reason, iSware does is not exposed to any significant issues as a result of the current restrictions in the availability of credit. We have completed our 2007/2008 annual accounts today and are happy to have seen a doubling in revenues on our 2006/2007 accounts. Early signs are that our 2008/2009 accounts will show at least a further doubling.
FP7 Project Proposal In
2009-07-27 13:00:00 Our FP7 project paperwork is now in the hands of the European Commission. They will decide whether or not our project justifies our budget. If they give the go-ahead, the consortium will get together to start planning. We thank our consortium team-members for all the hard work they have put into the proposal over that last few months - that's Staffs University, Verona University, Advel, TTC, Hangartner and Intercity - fingers crossed guys!
New Summary Reporting Capability
2009-07-27 10:00:00 The ReDeTrack reporting system has been extended to provide powerful summary data. The use can select the value or group of values over which to summarise the raw data and the reports switch instantly to the summary view. As with the standard raw data reports, the summary data can be instantly downloaded to Excel and other spreadsheets.
Week 29
Mouchel Project Continues
2009-07-20 10:00:00 After a pause for the end of various financial years and for a look at the general economic situation, Mouchel are now looking a continuing their ReDeTrack project and we a delighted!
Week 28
Praise Indeed
2009-07-15 13:44:00 Centrex have generously provided a new testimonial for our website. They conclude "Centrex are very pleased with the work that iSware have done and would recommend the ReDeTrack system and the professionalism, responsiveness and commitment of the people behind it.". Read more on out testimonials page.
Second Meeting with High Street Name
2009-07-14 10:00:00 We hosted a meeting of Directors from a major UK retailer today. We discussed their requirements and developed ideas outlined in our previous meeting last month. We also provided a demonstration of how certain parts of ReDeTrack would already meet many of their complex and sophisticated requirements. They will next provide detailed requirements documentation to allow us to drive the project forward.
Week 27
Helsinki Day 2
2009-07-11 09:00:00 Yes, we are working away from our UK home on a Saturday! But it may be worth it if the EU approve our proposal and funds. We intend to go back to basics on the mobile terminal and break down the barriers to the adoption of this sort of technology. Thanks for the splendid salmon Sergey!
Day 1 of Helsinki FP7 Workshop
2009-07-10 09:03:32 We are making progress on our plans to propose a technology project to the EU FP7 committee. The consortium met last month in Brussels to discuss our objectives. This time we will decide on our contributions to the project, which will remove barriers to the take-up of mobile business tracking solutions such as ReDeTrack by providing more affordable hardware.
An Enquiry from Old Friends
2009-07-08 13:57:42 The Director of a Northeast-based distribution specialist visited us today for a demo and to talk about their requirement for a delivery tracking system. We first met them some three years ago and, at that time, they chose to continue with their manual process. Time has now passed and they have realised that they need to catch up and embrace technology in order to remain competitive. We were delighted that they looked us up and brought with them the Director from another major High Street name to see ReDeTrack in action.
Week 26
More Warehouse Work for Centrex
2009-07-02 13:54:30 We visited Centrex again today to go through their stock management functions. The dry run went well and Centrex are keen to show the new features to their customers. With its inventory management modules included, ReDeTrack provides an end to end solution for warehouse and distribution operations, seamlessly connecting the movement of items in and out of the depot or warehouse with up to the minute stock reports.
New Project for High Street Name
2009-06-29 13:50:51 A big High Street name has approached us to discuss using ReDeTrack to support one of their new consumer products. Its too early to reveal more details, but we are very excited.
Week 25
Russian Agent
2009-06-25 13:46:42 Our partners in Russia have recently acquired two PDAs in order to provide demonstrations of ReDeTrack to possible clients. The customised back office tools will be presented using Russian language rather than English, using our translation functions, and the PDAs will be equipped with Russian SIM cards.
Small but Useful
2009-06-25 13:43:51 In a minor change to the ReDeTrack PDA application, our developers have released a new version with increased visibility of battery and communication status. The new version includes battery and mobile network signal strength meters. These will help our users to diagnose issues and prevent battery power failure when using the system.
Week 24
GPS Positioning now Free of Charge
2009-06-19 10:45:00 Our developers have recently released a new version of the ReDeTrack PDA application with a wealth of new features. Top of the list is a GPS tracking capability that requires no 3rd party products to make it work. We will be passing this benefit to our customers by discontinuing our charges for the GPS tracking option.
Week 23
Second Brussels Meeting
2009-06-10 09:30:00 Today we concluded our discussions around the project we are planning with a much clearer idea of what it is we intend to acheive and how. We will meet again next month in Finland to conclude our propsal.
Meeting in Brussels
2009-06-09 15:00:00 Today we hosted a project kick-off meeting in Brussels. The project will develop top-secret product that, we beleive, will open up mobile computing to a much wider user-base. Our collaborators include SMEs and Universities from accross Europe. We will be meeting again tomorrow morning to plan our next steps.
Week 22
A Very Mobile Demo
2009-06-04 13:00:00 Today we met one of our probable future clients to demonstrate using ReDeTrack in their Building Service business. The demo took place on a sunny afternoon at Stratfor rail station. An Asus eeePC provided access to the back office system using a 3G mobile phone connection and the field operations were tracked using a FleetConnect PDA using a GPRS SIM card. A problem was raised and allocated to the field using the PC and the field operative received instructions and completed the task on the PDA. Our client also received email notifications on his Blackberry at key stages of the process. Now that is mobile computing in action!
Week 21
Warehouse Management for Centrex
2009-05-27 11:00:00 We visited the Centrex Milton Keynes Hub today to evaluate the feasibility of their using our new WM add on to handle warehouse inventory. We have agreed a plan and expect to roll the new functionality into their operation over the next couple of weeks.
Week 20
Transport Europe
2009-05-21 14:00:00 Watford-based Transport Europe have asked us to provide a demo today of ReDeTrack at their new head offices.
Avondale Meeting
2009-05-21 11:00:00 We were asked back to Avondale construction today. They have been promoting the Site Delivery Bookings system we provided them with another of their clients lately. They are also interested in ReDeTrack as a possible solution for a tracking problem they have.
Scotland Demo
2009-05-19 10:30:00 We visited a Scotland-based courier to deliver a ReDeTrack demo. This major carrier is looking for a track and trace system and will be evaluating ReDeTrack and a number of competative products.
Warehouse Management Add-on
2009-05-18 09:00:00 As part of our commitment to our existing customer base, we have today begun a project to add certain basic warehouse management functions to ReDeTrack. Initially, these will allow Centrex to maintain an inventory of their clients' assets at their own and their clients' locations. This itenerary will allow them to produce asset summaries, locate individual items and allocate specific items to service tasks under ReDeTrack management.
Week 19
Meeting with Major Healthcare Service Provider
2009-05-12 10:00:00 Today we met with a global service company. They are currently looking for a track and trace system, like ReDeTrack, to help them monitor and control movements of items between their client's healthcare locations in one of the UK regions. We provided a demonstration of ReDeTrack and have agreed to work together on their forthcoming tender.
Week 18
Healthcare Oportunity
2009-05-07 13:00:00 A major service provider operating in the health sector has contacted us with interest in ReDeTrack. We have agreed to meet next week.
Scottish Courier Shows Interest
2009-05-07 10:00:00 We have agreed to visit a courier based in Scotland to demonstrate ReDeTrack. The meeting will take place within the next forthnight.
Inventory Management Function in Beta
2009-05-05 09:00:00 The new ReDeTrack Inventory Management functions are now on trail with one of our customers. This new area of functionality will help customers maintain visibility of stocks and supplies where their businesses involve holding inventory.
Week 17
Centrex Turn Off Legacy System
2009-05-01 07:00:00 Today Centrex have turned off the system they have used for many years to manage their back office process. These functions have been replaced by ReDeTrack, which has added a number of fantastic new functions, such, of course, as track and trace and electronic POD. Being fully web-based, ReDeTrack is allowing the Centrex team at multiple locations to manage their daily and periodic activities on one integrated system. It will also be used by customers of Centrex, including Repairtech, who will be the first of their customers to receive on-line access to the Centrex ReDeTrack Ordering and Reporting functions.
iSware receive Accredit UK approved status
2009-04-28 10:00:00 We heard today that our application for Accredit UK quality approval has been successful. The transformation of some of our business processes and practices have been completed and the time and effort we have put in have proved very worthwhile. We will now be able to display the Accredit UK QA logo on our website and company stationary and the business will perform more efficiently and to a higher quality standard than our already high internally governed quality standards.
Week 16
European Project in the offing
2009-04-23 09:00:00 We are planning a new project. If we can put together a convincing proposal, the project will involve a number of companies in the UK, Europe and Russia and may receive funding from the EU. We are planning a meeting of interested parties to take place in Amsterdam next month.
Enquiry from Eire
2009-04-21 09:00:00 We have received and enquiry from a courier based in the Republic of Ireland today. We will be delighted if they choose ReDeTrack.
Another Enquiry
2009-04-20 09:00:00 We are planning to visit a courier in the North of England on Thursday - they contacted as a result of discussions they have had with another of our clients.
Week 14
Midlands FM Demo
2009-04-08 11:00:00 We visited our potential client in the Midlands today. They are interested in putting ReDeTrack into their facilities management process. They provide services for many high-street names.
Sale in Northwest England
2009-04-07 08:00:00 We have been contacted by a courier based in the Northwest - we aren't saying any more about them right now. We visitied them today to demonstrate ReDeTrack and they have agreed to a purchase.
Week 13
Midlands FM Enquiry
2009-04-03 10:00:00 We have been asked to demonstrate ReDeTrack for a Midlands-based facilities management company. We are hoping to visit them this Thursday.
Accredit UK Assesment (Part 2)
2009-03-31 13:00:00 The Accredit Auditor was with us again today. The assessment was of our software development process this time (the previous one being about our business in general). Everything went very well and the Auditor and he will be recomending us for accreditation. Its been a demanding audit and we beleive our processes and procedures have been improved as a result. We hope that we will be awarded accreditation and that this will help to ensure better confidence in our prospective customers.
Week 12
Centrex Acceptance
2009-03-25 14:00:00 Centrex confirmed today that their ReDeTrack system is now ready for operation. They have a 25 unit system with 22 units operational in the field, 1 on the trunk route and 2 in the main warehouse in Milton Keynes. Their version includes a number of specific features designed to accommodate their particular style of business. The Centrex product combines, workshop repair services with transportation and on-site engineer services to provide high availablity IT equipment sevice. Their ReDeTrack project has already attracted new business, including the recent signing of a new contract worth in the region of £0.5M per annum to them.
Week 11
First Centrex PDA Update
2009-03-17 12:30:00 We visited Centrex today to deliver their updated PDA software. The new version includes two new features specified by them that will give the system greater visibility of engineer activities through feedback captured in the field.
Week 10
Accredit UK Assesment
2009-03-12 13:00:00 The Accredit UK auditor visited us today to assess our Quality Manaement Framework and Business Management. The session went well - it seems we meet most of the requiremens of the Accredit UK quality mark already. Actions have been taken and a further audit has been planned for later in the month.
Phones4u Handset Trade-ins are Popular
2009-03-09 10:00:00 Since we created the Phone4u handset trade-in screen (now operational in their 460 stores nationwide) their customers have responded well to the service. Phones4u have asked for a summary report on trade in orders raised and the results were very pleasing. Customers have brought close to 20,000 handsets to their local Phone4u store for an upgrade so far. The Intercity ReDeTrack system is coping well with the extra volumes, with over a million orders handled over the last 12 months.
Week 09
First Phase of Centrex Installation
2009-03-04 12:30:00 We delivered 3 Datalogic Jet units to Centrex at their Milton Keynes repair centre and transport hub today. Two of these units will be used in the hub to monitor and control items in the warehouse setting and while they enter and leave the repair process. The third will be used on the trunk route to monitor shipments between the hum and the satellite depots (initially just the Gateshead depot).
Week 08
Possible Electronics Supplier
2009-02-28 11:00:00 We met a Russian electronics company today. We will work together on a new, lower priced, scanning device for these cash-strapped times.
First Russian Meeting a Success
2009-02-27 10:00:00 We met with the board of a Russian postal company today. They areplanning their response to the global financial crisis and are looking for ways to reduce costs and increase the value of thier service. The see ReDeTrack as a route to acheiving these goals, and by coupling this with a reduction in their volume, believe they can keep their revenues constant. We have agreed to work together on their specification documents over the next few weeks.
St Petersburg Visit
2009-02-26 05:00:00 We are visiting a contact in St Petersburg, starting today. We don't arrive until this evening, but have a busy schedule starting early tomorrow. During the trip we plan to meet with potential clients and suppliers.
Centrex Begin Rollout Test
2009-02-24 16:00:00 Centrex have now begun trialling their ReDeTrack system at their Ashington headquarters and their Milton Keynes hub. This testing will take in all aspects of their operation and their ReDeTrack system, from order entry, to route allocation, to field operations at the warehouse, on a trunk route and in field service delivery, to invoice generation and reporting.
Visit to Centrex in Milton Keynes
2009-02-23 11:00:00 We visited the Centrex central hub warehouse in Milton Keynes today. The purpose of the visit was to help them roll out their ReDeTrack warehouse management and trunk vehicle PDAs. They will begin testing right away.
Week 07
Centrex Rollout Planning Meeting
2009-02-17 12:00:00 Centrex have now taken delivery of their 22 PDAs. We visited them today in Ashington to help them plan the rollout and to organise our support for the process. A further meeting is planned to take place next week at their Milton Keynes warehouse.
Week 06
First Accredit Meeting
2009-02-09 14:00:00 We met the Accredit UK assessor today to talk about our assessment for this new Quality Standard for SMEs. The meeting went well - it seems we are doing much of what is required already (don't be surprised). We will complete the process in April if all goes to plan.
Week 05
Mouchel Take Delivery
2009-02-06 12:00:00 Mouchel today took delivery of their initial 12 PDAs. The rollout is planned to ramp up to full deployment in April. The time until then will be used to tease out snags and execute a training programme.
Version 2.2.8 Under Testing
2009-02-04 00:00:00 This new version includes new features for Centrex, who need to perform fault-tracking functions, and for Mouchel who need to use standard job definitions. It is currently undergoing regression testing and will be released to existing customers as well as our newest.
Week 04
Automated Timesheet Function
2009-01-30 11:00:00 ReDeTrack now tracks work time date for use in time based cost bookings. This feature will feed into the Invoicing function.
Week 03
Russian Trip to be Planned
2009-01-21 11:40:00 Today, we spoke to a Russian business contact made last year at the CPL show. He is keen for us to visit him and his team in St Petersburg and it now seems likely that a trip will be made in February.
Second Mouchel Workshop
2009-01-20 13:00:00 We met the Mouchel team in Rochdale again today. Although there are only a few changes required by this client for the initial trial, we we able to show how their system had been set up and how they would be able to use it to manage their buildings maintenance services.
Last Centrex Workshop Before Delivery
2009-01-19 12:36:00 We met the Centrex team again today at Ashington. The objctive was to run through the entire system, from order entry, through PDA confirmation to customer invoice. The system performed well, even though changes are not yet complete and we are optimistic of completion by the end of the month.
Week 02
First Steps in Internationalisation
2009-01-16 10:00:00 The ReDeTrack console software has been updated to allow non-Roman alphabetic characters and a new translation function has been added to the system. A small number of Russian translations have been tested with the new multi-lingual ReDeTrack system.
Centrex Project Moves Forward
2009-01-14 12:35:00 We held another workshop meeting today at the Centrex offices in Ashington. Work has progressed nicely over the Christmas period and most of the changes identified last year have been completed. There are one or two new ones and one or two still outstanding from the original scope, but a January completion is still possible.
Mouchel Project Kicks Off
2009-01-13 13:00:00 We met the Mouchel team at their offices in Rochdale today to discuss the system requirements and project plans. The intention is to launch the system within the next few weeks. The trial phase will begin within the next three weeks and the full roll out is planned for April 1st.
Week 51
Project Workshop with Centrex
2008-12-22 12:35:00 The development project required for the Centrex ReDeTrack system is now in full flow. We met the operations team today at their offices in Ashington near Newcastle to discuss the changes currently being made to enhance the functionality of ReDeTrack to suit their particular needs. Centrex is a complex business, comprising both courier and servicing functions. We beleive that, once the currently ongoing changes are complete, ReDeTrack will be the only system capable of supporting this sort of business hybrid.
Week 50
Lets go Multi-Lingual
2008-12-18 09:00:00 With interest from Russia and Romania, we have decided to add international languages to the ReDeTrack server and client components. This will start with support for non Roman alphabetic characters. Subsequent work will allow the server pages to be translated on the fly using our new language database.
Mouchel Sign Off
2008-12-15 08:27:00 We are proud and delighted to announce that we have today received confirmation of an order from Mouchel. They will use ReDeTrack to manage the delivery process of their buildings maintenance services operated in Rochdale on behalf of the council. The project will kick off next year and go into service before Easter.
Week 49
Centrex Place Order
2008-12-11 17:00:00 We have today received confirmation that Centrex will be purchasing ReDeTrack to support their IT equipment repair and transportation business. We will be planning the project tomorrow and kicking it off next week. We plan to have a working system in place early next year.
Another Centrex Meeting
2008-12-08 12:00:00 We met Centrex again today, this time at their Newcastle location. The purpose of the visit today was to talk to the operational team and gain visibility of their day to day requirements and determine the suitability of ReDeTrack to support these tasks 'off the shelf'.
Week 48
Centrex Consider Full Rollout
2008-12-04 11:00:00 We met the Centrex team at their office in Milton Keynes today. They are currently looking at a number of possible solutions for their combined IT equipment repair and delivery services. ReDeTrack is a very strong candidate.
A Russian Project in the Offing
2008-12-03 11:00:00 Today we met our Russian contact - a businessman we met at the CPL show this autumn. He has invited us to pay him a visit in Saint Petersburg early next year in order to facilitate progress on his courier project.
Romanian Address Database
2008-12-01 09:00:00 Today we started working on a Romanian Address database. We met a large Romanian courier comany at the CPL show this autumn and have been working with them over the ensuing weeks and months to create a system that they can evaluate for use in Romania. One major stumbling block is the lack of address data available - it is one of Google's current 'black holes'.
Week 47
Four more Pidion BIP 5000s for Intercity
2008-11-27 10:00:00 Intercity today took delivery of 4 more Pidion BIP 5000s running ReDeTrack. This brings their total number of ReDeTrack terminals to nearly 70 - a huge expansion from their initial 15 units less than 3 years ago.
Build Up Stoke
2008-11-26 09:00:00 Today we attended the 'Build Up Stoke' event held at the Britiannia Stadium here in the city. Organisations represented included Kier, Aspire, the North Stafforshire Regeneration Partnership, the Stoke Chamber of Commerce (and some of its various sub-organisation) and Build Up Stoke themselves. The objective of the conference was to raise awareness of construction projects and funding in the region - there seems there will be a lot of money spent in the sector over the next year - and to coordinate efforts to promote local businesses to supply the skills and technology required by these projects.
Week 46
Further Progress at Centrex
2008-11-17 12:00:00 Centrex have requested information from us on how ReDeTrack can support interfaces to other systems. They are currently looking at LEO from Hamilton Hall as a possible solution for their IT equipment servicing product and need to know that LEO and ReDeTrack will talk to each other efficiently. Both systems already use interfaces of a similar nature in installations for other clients and bringing them together for Centrex poses no significant challenges. We provided a convincing case study in the form of a schematic of the multitude of interfaces currently in use in the Intercity Express system, which currently has interfaces to two other systems.
Week 45
Quote in at Manufacturing Company
2008-11-13 13:30:00 Today we responded to the request for a quotation to the UK manufacturing company that we visited earlier this week. The system they are looking for will support the operation of six delivery vehicles.
Week 44
Meeting with Manufacturing Company a Success
2008-11-08 11:00:00 We recently reported an 'interesting enquiry' from a large UK manufacturing company. We visited them today at their site in the Northwest of England. We were given a tour of their impressive manufacturing facility and talked about their requirement. They need a system to monitor the delivery and recovery of trial units from a new range. They need to keep tabs on collections and deliveries, as well as the GPS location of their delivery vehicles. We gave a demonstration of ReDeTrack and they responded by requesting a quote having seen the solution as a perfect fit for them.
New Phones4U Service is to go ahead
2008-11-05 10:00:00 We recently reported on a new service that Phones4U are considering offering to its customers. Today it was confirmed that this project will go ahead. Initially there will be a small-scale rollout to 'test the water' of customer demand. This trial will require some small changes and support from us. Should take-up be sufficient to support a more general rollout, a large-scale project will be initiated. The outcome of this will be further ReDeTrack features and a 40 vehicle fleet increase (and a corresponding ReDeTrack mobile user increase) at Intercity Express.
Week 43
Continued Interest from Romania
2008-10-31 11:30:00 One of the companies we met at the CPL show earlier this month is based in Romania. They have contacted us today to talk about arranging a ReDeTrack trial. We look forward to providing facilities for this.
An Interesting Enquiry
2008-10-30 12:30:00 A major UK manufacturing company contacted us today to learn more about ReDeTrack. They are planning to roll out a new product and are planning a product field trial project. The new product will be shipped to trial sites throughout the UK and, at the end of the trial, be recovered to the manufacturing plant for checks.
Phones4U System Goes Live
2008-10-28 09:00:00 All 460 Phones4U stores in the UK are now using their ReDeTrack ordering screen to book Nokia N95 trade-ins. Nokie N94 owners can bring their handsets to their local Phones4U store to request a trade-in and the store will use their ReDeTrack ordering screen to schedule the Intercity Express to collect the old handset from the store. The whole process will be tracked using ReDeTrack, from order entry to delivery into the Phones4U warehouse. This is now our largest system installation, having 70 mobile users, 460 remote web-based users and around 6 base office users. The system is running quickly and efficiently.
Week 42
Skanska visit Avondale
2008-10-23 10:00:00 Following their successful demonstration of the ReDeTrack-powered building site delivery booking system to Sir Robert McAlpine last week, Avondale Construction have today provided the same to Skanska, another of their valued clients.
Yet another Phones4U service on the horizon
2008-10-21 10:00:00 We met with Intercity Express today to talk about another new service being mooted by Phones4U. The new service will enhance the current range of customer services (but we can't say how right now). The project, should it go ahead, will require a few additions to the functionality of ReDeTrack and the addition of a further 40 vehicles to the Intercity fleet (and 40 more ReDeTrack mobile scanners).
Week 41
Sir Robert McAlpine get a look at Avondale\'s Booking System
2008-10-13 11:00:00 Avondale Construction hosted a demonstration of their building site booking system (powered by ReDeTrack) at the head offices in London. Representatives of Sir Robert McAlpine attended the demonstration and were reportedly impressed with the new facility.
Week 40
New Phones4U System Preparations Close to Completion
2008-10-08 10:00:00 Phones4U will soon be offering a trade-in service for Nokia N94 users. They will be able to bring their handset to any Phones4U store in the country and receive an N95. This service will be supported by ReDeTrack. All 460 stores will have access to an ordering screen that will pass details of the handset to be collected from the store to Intercity Express, who use ReDeTrack to track collections and deliveries through their national network. We have now created the accounts for all of the Phones4U stores and the system is ready for operation.
Hands Across the (Irish) Sea
2008-10-07 14:30:00 Today we issued a non-disclosure agreement between ourselves and a prominent Dublin-based mail services provider. We plan to work together to promote ReDeTrack in the Republic of Ireland. We already have one project in our sights and, following on from this, our partner will act as our reseller and look for other suitable clients.
A Facelift for Avondale
2008-10-07 12:00:00 London-based Avondale construction are our newest customer. We have provided them a building site delivery booking system using some ReDeTrack components and their customers (such as Sir Robert McAlpine and Scansa) will now be able to access this service using the web. Today we have given their website a facelift (see http://www.avondale-construction.com/) to improve the customer experience. The new website design is clean and modern and utilises our own content managment engine, so they will now be able to keep it up to date without much help from us (just our free support services).
Week 39
CPL Show a Success
2008-10-03 13:55:50 The CPL show was great! We met lots of potential clients and are following up leads. We hope to secure a number of sales over the next few weeks.
New Phones4U Process Supported
2008-10-01 13:57:06 Phones4U will shortly be offering its customers the chance to trade in their old Nokia N95 handsets for the new N96. This offer will be available at their stores and ReDeTrack will be looking after the collection of old handsets. Intercity Express have been using ReDeTrack for 3 years now and are responsible for the delivery and collection of items from the Phones4U stores and the handsets received will be recorded directly into the ReDeTrack database by the store workers before Intercity collect.
CPL Expo in London
2008-09-30 08:00:00 The CPL expo starts today and we have a prime spot. Our stand is ready and our demonstration systems are fully operational. World, here we come!
Week 38
Bromley May Yet Buy ReDeTrack
2008-09-25 13:48:01 We were invited to Bromley council again today and met the team to revisit the details of their requirement. ReDeTrack is still seen as a suitable solution and the funding appears to be in place. We hope to receive and order in the next week or two.
CPL Show Preparations Continue
2008-09-22 13:49:46 Our preparations for the CPL expo are reaching a crescendo, with only a week to go. Everything is in place for our debut at the show. We will be launching our 'Complete Courier' version of ReDeTrack at the show. This includes a ReDeTrack core and a number of new back office components that give the package an unrivalled level of functionality, providing ordering, labelling, invoicing and route planning functions as well as the standard ReDeTrack track and trace and proof of delivery capabilities. Our sister Complete Courier website is under construction.
Week 37
Public Sector Interest
2008-09-17 15:00:00 We today met with a company operating in the local authority realm in the North of England. We won't say who just yet, but they are a vew large and well known organisation and are looking for a mobile system to help manage maintenance work. The visit went well and they are now looking at the business case for a ReDeTrack purchase. We will publish more detail later.
Week 35
More Pidions for Intercity
2008-09-04 14:21:14 Intercity today took delivery of a further 5 Pidion BIP5000 units, bringing their total to 8. We have recently added this low cost unit is the newest addition to our range. Intercity seem impressed and the units delivered earlier seem to be performing well in the field. The GPS service seems particularly good, with a good Satellite signal being received most of the time.
Week 34
Another Overseas Enquiry
2008-08-28 14:11:37 A Dublin-based company contacted us today. They ship articles around the Republic of Ireland and are looking for a system to help them track the deilvery process and keep geographic tabs on their vehicles. They called us after finding our website and reading about ReDeTrack. We're hopeful that this enquiry will develop into a sale as our strategic plans include expansion of our georgraphic market into the European area.
Week 33
New Vodafone Service
2008-08-21 18:00:50 We are happy to announce that we have negotiated a new Vodafone package for our clients. The ReDeTrack system requires a SIM card in each Hand Held Terminal (PDA) to allow the transfer of GPS, delivery and POD details within seconds of them being available. Our new service will allow our customers to use Vodafone data services at a flat rate of £5 per month - with no additional charges for use.
New PDAs on trial at Intercity
2008-08-21 08:57:16 Intercity express today took delivery of three new Pidion BIP5000 PDAs to add to their growing stock of ReDeTrack handheld terminals. The BIPs are lightweight and somewhat rugged (although not industrial strength) and include a 1D barcode scanner and GPRS radio - ideal for ReDeTrack. Intercity chose the GPS vehicle cradle option, which will allow them to use ReDeTrack to track vehicles and, at a later stage, use ReDeTrack's integrated Satellite Navigation facility.
Avondale Website Complete
2008-08-20 08:54:09 We today held a final review of the new website for Avondale construction. The new site brings a new clean look and feel to the Avondale web presence, including new colours and an uodated logo. The new site also includes a new navigation panel to make browsing a more satisfying experience. The handover is planned for next week and the new site will be published shortly after this.
Week 32
New Feature
2008-08-11 14:06:24 ReDeTrack version 2.02.00 will include a new pre-load feature. This will allow warehouse and depot staff to download the load details to the terminal before the driver is on site. The operator types in or scans the registration or route identifier of the vehicle and ReDeTrack provides a list of items to load. When the driver signs in later, the unit and vehicle are already loaded with the deliveries for the day so he or she can get out and start delivering immediately.
Week 31
Bromley Council Still Hopeful
2008-08-08 12:17:02 Bromley are still looking into ways to find funding for their proposed ReDeTrack post room system. Should the project go ahead, they will use ReDeTrack to monitor and control deliveries of internal mail throughout their town-centre campus. There would also be the possibility of a future phase to expand the scope of the system to track deliveries between their main campus and their various satellite locations.
Week 30
Depot Tool Goes Into Service
2008-07-30 12:03:38 Intercity Express have started using our new Depot Tool in their Bristol Depot. This component allows ReDeTrack users to set up a PC-based bar code scanning station within the depot. The tool provides functions to receive and displatch packages and pallets, and to spilt and build pallets that have been received or are due to be dispatched. These functions have been available to users of the PDA application since the launch of ReDeTrack. The new module now brings this capability to the desktop too.
Week 29
Enquiry from Jordan
2008-07-27 11:41:55 No - not Katie Price, the country! We have been contacted by an ICT services company in Jordan who are looking for a Track and Trace solution for one of their customers. Our conversation is ongoing and a meeting is likely to be scheduled for the near future.
Week 28
iSware to seek Accredit UK Certification
2008-07-17 11:45:40 We will soon be emarking upon the Accredit UK quality certification process. This involves examining and improving our quality and business processes and culminates in an assessment. Following a successful examination we would be awarded the Accredit UK mark. We hope to acheive this before the end of 2008.
Avondale Project a Success
2008-07-16 11:49:41 Avondale Construction of London have now completed payments for their new ReDeTrack-powered building site delivery slot booking system. The project took one month from Purchase Order to Delivery. This process included requirements gathering, software design, changes and testing, followed by delivery and training. Avondale and we are very pleased with our performance.
Week 26
Crosby Prospects
2008-07-02 11:00:00 Crosby Lend Lease have now been using ReDeTrack for six months to help monitor and manage their mobile team of engineers in the Birmingham area. They are currently engaged in a major software rollout to update their customer services systems. We met with them today to discuss activities and it seems likely that we will soon be called upon to provide integration services to allow their new system to work alongside ReDeTrack.
Centrex
2008-07-01 10:00:00 Centrex Services, of Newcastle, have requested a 3 unit pilot of ReDeTrack. The system will help them plan, monitor and control their operations. Centrex provide delivery and repair services to their IT customers from their bases in Newcastle and Milton Keynes.
Week 25
A Clean Test Run for Phones4U
2008-06-27 08:09:56 The modifications to ReDeTrack for the new Phones4U repair process were tested in the real world yesterday and early results suggest a clean run. Handsets were logged in the repair booking sytem at two Phones4U stores in the Midlands. Intercity Express drivers later collected the phones for return to the Intercity depot, where they were checked and boxed up for dispatch to the repairer. The boxes (or totes) were delivered by trunk vehicle to the repair company at their Norwich site. Both ReDeTrack and the repair company's booking system were kept up to date using the new automated interfaces at every step in the process. Phones4U are anticipating going live within the next few days.
Avondale Accept Delivery
2008-06-24 09:00:00 Avondale today accepted the delivery of their new Site Delivery Booking System. They spent the last few days trying it out in-house and reported 'everything
working well' and the manager responsible said 'I am very pleased with it'. The next step in the project will be to roll it out to one of their clients. This should happen within the next couple of weeks.
Week 24
Yet another Complete Courier Component
2008-06-20 10:00:00 A new project was started today. We will be adding an in-depot tool to the already massive set of components to be included in our forthcoming 'Complete Courier' solution. The new component will allow a PC in the depot to be used to scan the bar codes of packages and pallets on receipt and dispatch, and to manage palletisation of packages, either building pallets or splitting them up. The new system will enable even greater visibility of package movements, even when ad-hoc palletisation is employed in day-to-day operations.
Avondale Final Furlong
2008-06-17 11:00:00 We payed another visit to Avondale Construction in Camden Town today. The purpose of the visit was to demonstrate the final changes to their Site Delivery Booking System, which uses certain ReDeTrack components to provide an on-line service to their clients. The demonstrarion and Avondale were delighted with the system. The final release of the system will be delivered next week along with user documentation. Avondale plan to try the system out in-house before rolling it out to clients over the next few weeks.
Week 23
Phones 4U Testing Nearly Finished
2008-06-13 14:39:01 The changes to allow Intercity Express to convey broken and repaired handsets between Phones4u stores and A-Novo repair centres are complete and in testing. The testing, led by Phones4u, has been underway for three weeks now an is expected to be completed this week or next. Following this, the way will be clear for the new Phones4U repair process to be implemented, and that ReDeTrack will be able to provide up to the minute information on the location and process stage of any repair. This will help Phones4u give their customers a clear picture of the progress of the repair.
Avondale Changes Nearing Completion
2008-06-13 14:34:11 The site delivery booking facility is now ready for its final review. This will take place next week at the Avondale London headquarters. Following approval at this stage, the Avondale team will test the system out before introducing it to their business partners. The system may go into use as early as late June and Avondale clients such as McAlpine, Scanza and Bovis will be able to plan deliveries to site in a more controlled manner and reduce the amount of waiting time as a result.
Avondale Project Milestone
2008-06-10 11:30:17 We visited Avondale today to demstrate the progress of their customisation work. The team were happy with the form and function of their site delivery time booking facility. The meeting raised a few additional details, which will be included in the production release, due early next week. Avondale have also asked us to present some designs to replace their existing website. They feel that the current site needs a makeover. This work will also deliver an new corporate image with new colours and a new logo for Avondale.
Week 22
Routing Trial
2008-06-06 10:00:00 We met with Mark Clarke of Intercity Express (an existing ReDeTrack customer) today. As the Intercity business grows, they are finding the routing and scheduling process increasingly difficult. Coupling this with the recent increases in fuel prices, Mark has identified the need to automate these processes to some degree in order to speed up the process and, hopefully, to make routes more fuel efficient. We have agreed to go into trials with Intercity of our the Routing component of our forthcoming 'Complete Courier' solution.
Mobile Platforms Research
2008-06-03 18:00:00 We today agreed with Staffordshire University on the setting up of a collaborative project, researching developments in mobile platforms. New and emerging technologies shall be investigated, including the iPhone / iPOD Touch platform, Android and Open Moko. The collaboration will also include Tang Solutions and Portech.
Week 20
Avondale Order Confirmed
2008-05-23 12:00:00 Avondale Construction today confirmed their order for a materials delivery time booking system based on components of ReDeTrack. Avondale are a major building services company, operating in the City
and Greater London area. They are employed by some of the UK's biggest
main contractors, such as Sir Robert McAlpine and Laing O'Rourke. ReDeTrack will allow the main contractors to book time-slots on line, using the Avondale website. The bookings will be managed by the Avondale team and confirmed by email.
Avondale Construction
2008-05-20 09:00:00 We met Avondale Construction today at one of their offices in London. Avondale are a major building services company, operating in the City and Greater London area. They are employed by some of the UK's biggest main contractors, such as Sir Robert McAlpine and Laing O'Rourke. Discussions today focussed on a new Avondale requirement. They need a system to allow them to control the timing of materials deliveries at their sites. We will be proposing a solution based on certain components of ReDeTrack.
Week 19
Portech Partnership
2008-05-15 11:00:00 We met Shaz Nazeem or Portech today at their headquarters in The Custard Factory in Birmingham. Portech have two mobile solutions: their 'wireless waiter' is an off the shelf product for restaurants and bars, and their bespoke mobile systems provide more flexible solutions for their other clients. The Portech and iSware systems provide different and complementary functions that could be combined to provide hybrid solutions. We may work closely together on future projects. This agreement complements the one made with Tang this week and it seems likely that the three companies will work on collaborative projects going forward.
RFID Expert
2008-05-13 12:00:00 We met Kelvin Cushman of the RFID superstore today. Kelvin has agreed to provide iSware customers the RFID expertise needed to complete the ReDeTrack RFID solution.
Closer Working with Tang Solutions
2008-05-13 10:00:00 We met with Simon Bromley of Tang Solutions in Wolverhamton today to discus working together on a number of projects. Barracuda is Tang's mobile computing product. Unlike ReDeTrack, Barracuda allows the user to define screens that the operator uses to collect technical data during processes such as safety inspections. The data collected is then presented in the form of pre-designed PDF documents. It is possible that we will work with Tang on future projects to provide our customers with a richer pallette of solutions as our two products have a number of complementary features.
Week 18
Interest from another Construction Company
2008-05-09 11:12:05 We will be meeting a London-based construction company later this month to discuss their requirements. They operate at a number of London locations and have many household names amongst their clients.
Phones 4U Changes
2008-05-09 11:07:05 The changes for Intercity are nearing completion now and testing is scheduled for next week. These changes will allow one of their customers, UK-based Phones 4U, to manage and monitor phone repair services using ReDeTrack, which already handles the delivery and return of new handsets to their UK stores. The changes include process changes within Phones 4U and Intercity as well as system changes in ReDeTrack and in the systems of their repair supplier.
Week 17
Collaborations Gallore
2008-05-01 08:46:23 It turned out that the Interop 'Trade Mission' we attended last week was a great way to meet other businesses. We have already arranged to meet four with a view to working together. In some cases it is anticipated that ReDeTrack may be a suitable solution for existing clients, in others we will provide technical consultation and in others, receive specialist knowledge to help us expand the service we offer to our clients.
Interop 2008
2008-04-28 08:40:51 The Interop expo kicked off today at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas. We were there to meet representatives of Microsoft, Google, Motorola and many others in the exhibition rooms.
We also took part in the side-room seminars in the 'Wireless and Mobile' stream. There is a lot happening in the platforms arena. If some speakers are right, the market share currently enjoyed by Microsoft in hand held device operating environments is about to be eroded. The new kids on the block are Open Moko (open source), Android (from Google) and Apple (on the iPhone and iPod touch).
We will be teaming up with Staffordshire University to look at these new technologies. In particular, we will be looking at the possibility of an iPhone version of ReDeTrack.
Week 16
Silverlight
2008-04-25 10:45:13 Wednesday afternoon saw an Introduction To Silverlight presentation to the iSware staff and one of our customers by Jon Mellor. The focus of this event was to lay the groundwork for the future improvements that Silverlight will give the web experience and to fully evaluate its current position and potential. The demonstration highlighted that Silverlight 2.0 in its current beta incarnation is not stable enough to develop the kinds of front ends that we would need. This will hopefully change by the final release of 2.0 in June. In the meantime we will continue to evaluate each release as and when they occur.
The Road To Mandalay (Interop 2008)
2008-04-25 10:39:27 We will be attending Interop 2008 in Las Vegas next week in order to keep our skills and domain knowledge at the forefront of current developments in mobile computing. The show, held at the Mandalay Bay hotel, brings industry leaders from around the world together to show of their latest products and services. We will be on the look out for new products to enhance ours and future technologies that may be just around the corner.
Intercity Upgrade
2008-04-25 10:35:48 ReDeTrack has been a crucial part of Intercity customer experience for some time now. One of their customers is currently undergoing a change to a part of their business process and is set to form a relationship with a new supplier. Intercity are to be involved in this part of the process so ReDeTrack will be there too, seamlessly tracking movements of items between the various parties involved.
Week 15
Advert in PIR CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE
2008-04-18 18:17:05 PIR CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE will be including a printed advertisement for ReDeTrack in next months issue. This is the first time that we have advertised in the printed press so it will be interesting to see whether it generates any leads.
The image is a shrunken version of the quarter page advert that will appear.
Gantt Charts
2008-04-18 16:43:41 We are proud to produce our latest addition to ReDeTrack functionality. Project planners may now create and manage tasks using our new Gantt chart tool. This allows task definition with sub-tasks, resource allocation and dependencies. Tasks are automatically passed to the relevant resources when work on them is required. The plan is automatically updated when tasks are started and completed, so early completions and overruns are quickly identified.
Week 14
Package Labels
2008-04-11 16:52:23 The Complete Courier version of ReDeTrack can now generate package labels. These are produced using the order management screen and can be printed on regular paper or on sticky labels using either desktop or portable printers. The labels incorporate bar codes to allow them to be scanned by the delivery drivers, so there should be no more errors.
Invoice Tool
2008-04-08 16:50:13 We have added a PDF invoice tool to our forthcoming Complete Courier version of ReDeTrack. This will use information gathered from the order and from delivery records to create invoices for your customers. These will be generated periodically - daily, weekly, etc - or automatically when the POD is received.
Week 13
iSware at Interop
2008-04-03 15:35:49 We will be attending Interop 2008 in Las Vegas later this month. This is a huge conference with input from many industry sectors, such as software, networking, security and mobile computing. We form part of the WMMW (West Midlands Mobile and Wireless) delegation. We are hoping to forge new relationships with US vendors in order to find channels to the US market for ReDeTrack and to get the low down on the latest technologies. We have already had enquiries from other delegates wishing to meet us there. Please drop us a line in EventMingle if you will be there too.
Recurring Tasks now Available
2008-04-03 15:31:48 The ReDeTrack service management configuration has been extended to allow recurring tasks to be defined. These are defined in terms of the customer site affected, the task description, the start date and the repeat interval (in days, weeks, months or years). The system automatically creates the repetitions, which the system user must then allocate to an individual engineer so that the task can be performed.
iSware to Present at CPL
2008-04-03 15:21:32 We are happy to announce that the ReDeTrack 'Colplete Courier' solution will be launched at this years CPL show (Courier Parcel and Logistic, see http://www.clp-expo.com). We have booked a stand at a prime location in the main hall, so please come and meet us there (stand 2321). We will also be presenting at the postal and operations express summit, which is part of the expo, so look out for our slot. Our talk will be in the form of a case study, so you will be able to hear about what ReDeTrack has done for one of our customers. We are hoping to have a customer with us so you can hear it from the horses mouth.
Week 12
Council Mail Room
2008-03-27 15:00:54 Today we issued a quotation to a UK local government office. Their intention is to use ReDeTrack to keep tabs on mail as it is moved around their large campus of a number of buildings. There is the possibility of the scope being extended to road operations should the campus-based rollout be a success. We expect progress on this project before the end of May.
Laundry Project to Continue in April
2008-03-27 14:58:37 Our laundry owner client in West London (previous reported in week 05) is expecting to start the project in April or May this year. ReDeTrack will be used to track movements of both van drivers and stock. We are delighted to be working in yet another market sector and in this important geographical location.
Week 11
New Partnership Takes a Step Closer
2008-03-20 16:15:26 A leading UK consultancy has agreed to work together with iSware to deliver ReDeTrack to a broader customer base. This new partnership opens up the local government and blue chip market sectors and will provide our customers with industry-strength support and consultancy services to create a complete IT services environment with ReDeTrack at its core.
SatNav Improved
2008-03-20 16:10:44 Sygic have released Drive version 7.5, the latest update to their Satellite Navigation product. The new version comes with a better user interface and a number of new functions (including display of current speed restriction on the from screen). This new version was integrated with ReDeTrack this week and is ready for market.
The Complete Courier Solution
2008-03-20 16:08:20 Our order entry and routing components are coming along nicely. Both can cope with courier operations (with a collection and a drop on the same day) and more traditional delivery tasks. The routing tool is very fast and provides extremely efficient delivery run plans on an ad-hoc basis or based on standard run 'skeletons' to allow for businesses that deliver to the home-based customer and to regular business customers.
Week 10
News - you're reading it!
2008-03-13 16:31:42 We added news to the website this week. We will be publishing weekly updates from now on and the highlights will be published in our monthly update too. Both weekly and monthly updates are available by RSS feed.
Website Revamp
2008-03-13 16:27:52 ReDeTrack is continually improving and broadening its reach. We have added a number of new components and functions over the last few months and the website had become a little out of date. We have spent a little time this week restructuring the website and have added a lot of new content. We have also brought a little more focus to our AdWords campaign - especially in promoting the Facilities Management capabilities of ReDeTrack.
Investment News
2008-03-13 16:24:55 Alan Hessell has today invested in iSware Limited, our trading body. The capital injection will help support some of our running costs, but more importantly to fund some of our marketing plans. Look out for our new CompleteCourier offering - which will provide a complete business management system for the Courier and Parcel delivery sector - we will be launching this sensational new product at the Courier and Parcel Logistics (CPL) expo in London next September and October.
Week 09
Another New Partnership on the Horizon
2008-03-06 11:19:03 A meeting has been arranged for March 20th with a software company based in the North Midlands. This will be an initial investigation into the scope our two companies might have for collaboration, possibly including one or both of us acting as resellers for the other.
Report Optimisation
2008-03-05 11:16:25 Our programming department has been busy this week. As our customers use ReDeTrack for more of their daily work, the amount of data in the database grows. This has the effect of slowing the online reports over the last year so that they were taking about twice as long to execute than at this time last year. An optimisation exercise was completed this week, bringing about dramatic performance improvements. A typical daily report that would have taken 20 to 30 seconds last week now completes in around 3.
New 'IBT' Service
2008-03-03 11:11:55 Intercity Express have been asked by one of their clients to allow items to be collected from one branch and delivered through the network to another branch. The client describes these types of transaction as IBTs - inter-branch transfers. A small amount of development work has now been completed to facilitate IBTs. These changes used some work that is currently in development that, when complete, will be part of our forthcoming new release that will allow ReDeTrack to manage sameday courier activities including single vehicle pickup and drop.
Week 08
New Market Sector a Possibility
2008-02-29 18:34:26 At a meeting with a medium sized Staffordshire software company, it was agreed that ReDeTrack might provide value to the companies existing customers. Feelers will be put out over the next week or so to evaluate interest. Should the feedback be positive, meetings between ourselves and the end users will be arranged in order to discuss requirements and to arrange pilot projects.
The name and business sector of the potential partner will be announced after the agreement is formalised.
New Partnership
2008-02-28 10:00:00 We demonstrated ReDeTrack at a meeting with Bob Boyd of UK Internet Mobile and Wireless, who specialise in IT solutions in the construction sector. Bob is looking at a number of potential products with a view to providing them as solutions for the specific requirements of his clients. The outcome of the meeting was positive, with Bob showing interest in reselling ReDeTrack.
Crosby Training 'Excellent'
2008-02-27 11:00:00 Training of the Birmingham engineering team was completed today with a session for the remaining two. The session included a ReDeTrack overview and specific training on operation of the handheld. A usability issue was raised and has now been addressed. The session was described as 'Excellent'.
Week 07
Interest from Buildings Maintenance Company
2008-02-20 15:17:53 This week we visited a Midlands bases buildings maintenance business to demonstrate ReDeTrack. Their requirements are very similar to those of Crosby Lend Leases, one of our existing clients, so the system should suit their needs. The company concerned look after the maintenance of buildings for a number of national clients.
Week 05
A Possible Hospitality Sector Project
2008-02-08 15:23:13 Today we met with the owner of a London based laundry business. Their clients include hotels and restaurants in the West End and in Central London. ReDeTrack will provide better visibility of movements of sheets, tablecloths and the like as they are collected and delivered at customer sites.
| Monthly Updates January
Another New Lead 2010-01-27 09:00:00 A Leicester-based courier has contacted us to invite us to provide a demonstration of ReDeTrack. We have planned this for next Wednesday. Centrex to Acquire Google Premier API 2010-01-27 09:00:00 Centrex have asked us to go ahead with their purchase of the Google Maps API Premier product. This will enable Centrex to use the Google Maps API to view the location and movements of their fleet using Google maps. It will also allow the ReDeTrack routing algorithms to use Google to measure distances between locations while it optimises routes. Still Life in the South Coast Project 2010-01-19 09:00:00 Back in September we met a company based on the south coast to demonstrate ReDeTrack and to discuss their project requirements. We followed this up with a proposal. We received a call from them today and they tell us they are looking to start the project soon. We hope to hear by the end of February. New Phones4u Project 2010-01-14 09:00:00 Today we met with a director at Phones4u to discuss a new project. They require our skills in setting up a new add-on to their existing IT systems. This new function will mesh with the ReDeTrack system used by their courier for track and trace purposes.
December
Second India Meeting 2009-12-09 10:30:00 Today we meet with the Managing Director of the Indian company. We agreed a scope and approximate timeslcales for a project to produce a trial system. The trial will begin some time next year. Our meeting concluded with the signing of a reciprocal exclusivity agreement, which binds us to working together for the duration of the project. First face-to-face Meeting in India 2009-12-08 10:00:00 Today we met with our Indian hosts. The purpose of this preliminary meeting was to get to know each other and to enable a demonstration of the ReDeTrack system at their offices. The meeting was extremely positive and we have agreed to meet again tomorrow to look at developing our relationship. India Visit 2009-12-06 09:00:00 We embark today on a trip to India. We will spend a few days with a company that has shown an interest in ReDeTrack. We can't tell you who they are or even where they are based - we are sworn to secrecy!
November
Kuwaiti Proposal In 2009-11-11 09:00:00 Our proposal to our new friends in Kuwait is now with them. They have one interested party and, should our terms suit them, we will work together on delivering a ReDeTrack system in the gulf. West Midlands ICT Cluster Conference 2009-11-10 09:00:00 The conference at the national motorcycle museum was very interesting today. We gleaned some interesting new information about the European FP7 process and about Shareband (a useful gadget that allows you to combine two different broadband sources to increase bandwidth and to protect you against failure when one goes down but the other stays up).
October
Kuwait Conference 2009-10-28 11:00:00 We held a teleconference with a Kuwaiti company today. They are interested in reselling ReDeTrack into the gulf area and wanted to see what it could do. With the aid of all the latest Internet communication tools, we were able to conduct the meeting and demonstration with sound, vision and a shared desktop. Crossing Continents 2009-10-19 08:00:00 We are moving forward with an enquiry we have received from India. We spoke to them today and are working on a visit plan. We expect to see them in India later this year. I'd like to tell you more about the project, but we have a confidentiality agreement in place. Keep reading the news and watch for announcements regarding this very exciting project. GPS Version for Russia 2009-10-12 14:00:00 Our friends in Russia have today taken delivery of a update that will allow them to demonstrate the GPS tracking capabilities of ReDeTrack to our potential clients in their part of the world.
September
Demo on South Coast 2009-09-17 14:12:21 We met a representative of a national medical product distribution company today in a town on the South Coast. We demonstrated ReDeTrack as a solution to their delivery tracking requirement and have agreed to provide a proposal. We're Hiring 2009-09-02 14:09:23 We have had a meeting today with Graduate Advantage. They provide graduate search and introduction services to small businesses to help them to find suitable candidates for vacant positions. We will be engaging them with our search for a graduate programmer.
August
Ghana Prospect 2009-08-26 14:00:59 We held a meeting with a budding UK entrepreneur today. His company have a relationship with the post office of Ghana. We may be working together later this year to set up a pilot of ReDeTrack in the country to prove its suitability for parcel and letter track and trace. New Look for PDA Application 2009-08-06 16:00:37 Our development team have just released a new version of the ReDeTrack PDA application. This one includes what they have called 'skinning'. This allows us to provide your PDA application with a unique an eye-catching look and feel. When your customer signs for a delivery, they will see colours, shapes and icons that fit with your corporate brand rather than the standard Windows(TM) look and feel.
July
Business Figures Positive 2009-07-30 15:48:06 It has always been our policy to avoid business risks wherever possible. For this reason, iSware does is not exposed to any significant issues as a result of the current restrictions in the availability of credit. We have completed our 2007/2008 annual accounts today and are happy to have seen a doubling in revenues on our 2006/2007 accounts. Early signs are that our 2008/2009 accounts will show at least a further doubling. New Summary Reporting Capability 2009-07-27 10:00:00 The ReDeTrack reporting system has been extended to provide powerful summary data. The use can select the value or group of values over which to summarise the raw data and the reports switch instantly to the summary view. As with the standard raw data reports, the summary data can be instantly downloaded to Excel and other spreadsheets. Mouchel Project Continues 2009-07-20 10:00:00 After a pause for the end of various financial years and for a look at the general economic situation, Mouchel are now looking a continuing their ReDeTrack project and we a delighted!
June
New Project for High Street Name 2009-06-29 13:50:51 A big High Street name has approached us to discuss using ReDeTrack to support one of their new consumer products. Its too early to reveal more details, but we are very excited. Russian Agent 2009-06-25 13:46:42 Our partners in Russia have recently acquired two PDAs in order to provide demonstrations of ReDeTrack to possible clients. The customised back office tools will be presented using Russian language rather than English, using our translation functions, and the PDAs will be equipped with Russian SIM cards. Meeting in Brussels 2009-06-09 15:00:00 Today we hosted a project kick-off meeting in Brussels. The project will develop top-secret product that, we beleive, will open up mobile computing to a much wider user-base. Our collaborators include SMEs and Universities from accross Europe. We will be meeting again tomorrow morning to plan our next steps.
May
Warehouse Management for Centrex 2009-05-27 11:00:00 We visited the Centrex Milton Keynes Hub today to evaluate the feasibility of their using our new WM add on to handle warehouse inventory. We have agreed a plan and expect to roll the new functionality into their operation over the next couple of weeks. Avondale Meeting 2009-05-21 11:00:00 We were asked back to Avondale construction today. They have been promoting the Site Delivery Bookings system we provided them with another of their clients lately. They are also interested in ReDeTrack as a possible solution for a tracking problem they have. Meeting with Major Healthcare Service Provider 2009-05-12 10:00:00 Today we met with a global service company. They are currently looking for a track and trace system, like ReDeTrack, to help them monitor and control movements of items between their client's healthcare locations in one of the UK regions. We provided a demonstration of ReDeTrack and have agreed to work together on their forthcoming tender.
April
iSware receive Accredit UK approved status 2009-04-28 10:00:00 We heard today that our application for Accredit UK quality approval has been successful. The transformation of some of our business processes and practices have been completed and the time and effort we have put in have proved very worthwhile. We will now be able to display the Accredit UK QA logo on our website and company stationary and the business will perform more efficiently and to a higher quality standard than our already high internally governed quality standards. European Project in the offing 2009-04-23 09:00:00 We are planning a new project. If we can put together a convincing proposal, the project will involve a number of companies in the UK, Europe and Russia and may receive funding from the EU. We are planning a meeting of interested parties to take place in Amsterdam next month. Midlands FM Demo 2009-04-08 11:00:00 We visited our potential client in the Midlands today. They are interested in putting ReDeTrack into their facilities management process. They provide services for many high-street names. Sale in Northwest England 2009-04-07 08:00:00 We have been contacted by a courier based in the Northwest - we aren't saying any more about them right now. We visitied them today to demonstrate ReDeTrack and they have agreed to a purchase.
March
Centrex Acceptance 2009-03-25 14:00:00 Centrex confirmed today that their ReDeTrack system is now ready for operation. They have a 25 unit system with 22 units operational in the field, 1 on the trunk route and 2 in the main warehouse in Milton Keynes. Their version includes a number of specific features designed to accommodate their particular style of business. The Centrex product combines, workshop repair services with transportation and on-site engineer services to provide high availablity IT equipment sevice. Their ReDeTrack project has already attracted new business, including the recent signing of a new contract worth in the region of £0.5M per annum to them. Phones4u Handset Trade-ins are Popular 2009-03-09 10:00:00 Since we created the Phone4u handset trade-in screen (now operational in their 460 stores nationwide) their customers have responded well to the service. Phones4u have asked for a summary report on trade in orders raised and the results were very pleasing. Customers have brought close to 20,000 handsets to their local Phone4u store for an upgrade so far. The Intercity ReDeTrack system is coping well with the extra volumes, with over a million orders handled over the last 12 months.
February
First Russian Meeting a Success 2009-02-27 10:00:00 We met with the board of a Russian postal company today. They areplanning their response to the global financial crisis and are looking for ways to reduce costs and increase the value of thier service. The see ReDeTrack as a route to acheiving these goals, and by coupling this with a reduction in their volume, believe they can keep their revenues constant. We have agreed to work together on their specification documents over the next few weeks. St Petersburg Visit 2009-02-26 05:00:00 We are visiting a contact in St Petersburg, starting today. We don't arrive until this evening, but have a busy schedule starting early tomorrow. During the trip we plan to meet with potential clients and suppliers. Centrex Begin Rollout Test 2009-02-24 16:00:00 Centrex have now begun trialling their ReDeTrack system at their Ashington headquarters and their Milton Keynes hub. This testing will take in all aspects of their operation and their ReDeTrack system, from order entry, to route allocation, to field operations at the warehouse, on a trunk route and in field service delivery, to invoice generation and reporting. Centrex Rollout Planning Meeting 2009-02-17 12:00:00 Centrex have now taken delivery of their 22 PDAs. We visited them today in Ashington to help them plan the rollout and to organise our support for the process. A further meeting is planned to take place next week at their Milton Keynes warehouse. Mouchel Take Delivery 2009-02-06 12:00:00 Mouchel today took delivery of their initial 12 PDAs. The rollout is planned to ramp up to full deployment in April. The time until then will be used to tease out snags and execute a training programme.
January
Russian Trip to be Planned 2009-01-21 11:40:00 Today, we spoke to a Russian business contact made last year at the CPL show. He is keen for us to visit him and his team in St Petersburg and it now seems likely that a trip will be made in February. First Steps in Internationalisation 2009-01-16 10:00:00 The ReDeTrack console software has been updated to allow non-Roman alphabetic characters and a new translation function has been added to the system. A small number of Russian translations have been tested with the new multi-lingual ReDeTrack system.
December
Lets go Multi-Lingual 2008-12-18 09:00:00 With interest from Russia and Romania, we have decided to add international languages to the ReDeTrack server and client components. This will start with support for non Roman alphabetic characters. Subsequent work will allow the server pages to be translated on the fly using our new language database. Mouchel Sign Off 2008-12-15 08:27:00 We are proud and delighted to announce that we have today received confirmation of an order from Mouchel. They will use ReDeTrack to manage the delivery process of their buildings maintenance services operated in Rochdale on behalf of the council. The project will kick off next year and go into service before Easter. Centrex Place Order 2008-12-11 17:00:00 We have today received confirmation that Centrex will be purchasing ReDeTrack to support their IT equipment repair and transportation business. We will be planning the project tomorrow and kicking it off next week. We plan to have a working system in place early next year.
November
Four more Pidion BIP 5000s for Intercity 2008-11-27 10:00:00 Intercity today took delivery of 4 more Pidion BIP 5000s running ReDeTrack. This brings their total number of ReDeTrack terminals to nearly 70 - a huge expansion from their initial 15 units less than 3 years ago. Further Progress at Centrex 2008-11-17 12:00:00 Centrex have requested information from us on how ReDeTrack can support interfaces to other systems. They are currently looking at LEO from Hamilton Hall as a possible solution for their IT equipment servicing product and need to know that LEO and ReDeTrack will talk to each other efficiently. Both systems already use interfaces of a similar nature in installations for other clients and bringing them together for Centrex poses no significant challenges. We provided a convincing case study in the form of a schematic of the multitude of interfaces currently in use in the Intercity Express system, which currently has interfaces to two other systems. New Phones4U Service is to go ahead 2008-11-05 10:00:00 We recently reported on a new service that Phones4U are considering offering to its customers. Today it was confirmed that this project will go ahead. Initially there will be a small-scale rollout to 'test the water' of customer demand. This trial will require some small changes and support from us. Should take-up be sufficient to support a more general rollout, a large-scale project will be initiated. The outcome of this will be further ReDeTrack features and a 40 vehicle fleet increase (and a corresponding ReDeTrack mobile user increase) at Intercity Express.
October
Phones4U System Goes Live 2008-10-28 09:00:00 All 460 Phones4U stores in the UK are now using their ReDeTrack ordering screen to book Nokia N95 trade-ins. Nokie N94 owners can bring their handsets to their local Phones4U store to request a trade-in and the store will use their ReDeTrack ordering screen to schedule the Intercity Express to collect the old handset from the store. The whole process will be tracked using ReDeTrack, from order entry to delivery into the Phones4U warehouse. This is now our largest system installation, having 70 mobile users, 460 remote web-based users and around 6 base office users. The system is running quickly and efficiently. Yet another Phones4U service on the horizon 2008-10-21 10:00:00 We met with Intercity Express today to talk about another new service being mooted by Phones4U. The new service will enhance the current range of customer services (but we can't say how right now). The project, should it go ahead, will require a few additions to the functionality of ReDeTrack and the addition of a further 40 vehicles to the Intercity fleet (and 40 more ReDeTrack mobile scanners). Sir Robert McAlpine get a look at Avondale's Booking System 2008-10-13 11:00:00 Avondale Construction hosted a demonstration of their building site booking system (powered by ReDeTrack) at the head offices in London. Representatives of Sir Robert McAlpine attended the demonstration and were reportedly impressed with the new facility.
September
Bromley May Yet Buy ReDeTrack 2008-09-25 13:48:01 We were invited to Bromley council again today and met the team to revisit the details of their requirement. ReDeTrack is still seen as a suitable solution and the funding appears to be in place. We hope to receive and order in the next week or two. Public Sector Interest 2008-09-17 15:00:00 We today met with a company operating in the local authority realm in the North of England. We won't say who just yet, but they are a vew large and well known organisation and are looking for a mobile system to help manage maintenance work. The visit went well and they are now looking at the business case for a ReDeTrack purchase. We will publish more detail later.
August
New Vodafone Service 2008-08-21 18:00:50 We are happy to announce that we have negotiated a new Vodafone package for our clients. The ReDeTrack system requires a SIM card in each Hand Held Terminal (PDA) to allow the transfer of GPS, delivery and POD details within seconds of them being available. Our new service will allow our customers to use Vodafone data services at a flat rate of £5 per month - with no additional charges for use. New PDAs on trial at Intercity 2008-08-21 08:57:16 Intercity express today took delivery of three new Pidion BIP5000 PDAs to add to their growing stock of ReDeTrack handheld terminals. The BIPs are lightweight and somewhat rugged (although not industrial strength) and include a 1D barcode scanner and GPRS radio - ideal for ReDeTrack. Intercity chose the GPS vehicle cradle option, which will allow them to use ReDeTrack to track vehicles and, at a later stage, use ReDeTrack's integrated Satellite Navigation facility. New Feature 2008-08-11 14:06:24 ReDeTrack version 2.02.00 will include a new pre-load feature. This will allow warehouse and depot staff to download the load details to the terminal before the driver is on site. The operator types in or scans the registration or route identifier of the vehicle and ReDeTrack provides a list of items to load. When the driver signs in later, the unit and vehicle are already loaded with the deliveries for the day so he or she can get out and start delivering immediately.
July
iSware to seek Accredit UK Certification 2008-07-17 11:45:40 We will soon be emarking upon the Accredit UK quality certification process. This involves examining and improving our quality and business processes and culminates in an assessment. Following a successful examination we would be awarded the Accredit UK mark. We hope to acheive this before the end of 2008. Avondale Project a Success 2008-07-16 11:49:41 Avondale Construction of London have now completed payments for their new ReDeTrack-powered building site delivery slot booking system. The project took one month from Purchase Order to Delivery. This process included requirements gathering, software design, changes and testing, followed by delivery and training. Avondale and we are very pleased with our performance. Centrex 2008-07-01 10:00:00 Centrex Services, of Newcastle, have requested a 3 unit pilot of ReDeTrack. The system will help them plan, monitor and control their operations. Centrex provide delivery and repair services to their IT customers from their bases in Newcastle and Milton Keynes.
June
Avondale Accept Delivery 2008-06-24 09:00:00 Avondale today accepted the delivery of their new Site Delivery Booking System. They spent the last few days trying it out in-house and reported 'everything
working well' and the manager responsible said 'I am very pleased with it'. The next step in the project will be to roll it out to one of their clients. This should happen within the next couple of weeks. Yet another Complete Courier Component 2008-06-20 10:00:00 A new project was started today. We will be adding an in-depot tool to the already massive set of components to be included in our forthcoming 'Complete Courier' solution. The new component will allow a PC in the depot to be used to scan the bar codes of packages and pallets on receipt and dispatch, and to manage palletisation of packages, either building pallets or splitting them up. The new system will enable even greater visibility of package movements, even when ad-hoc palletisation is employed in day-to-day operations. Routing Trial 2008-06-06 10:00:00 We met with Mark Clarke of Intercity Express (an existing ReDeTrack customer) today. As the Intercity business grows, they are finding the routing and scheduling process increasingly difficult. Coupling this with the recent increases in fuel prices, Mark has identified the need to automate these processes to some degree in order to speed up the process and, hopefully, to make routes more fuel efficient. We have agreed to go into trials with Intercity of our the Routing component of our forthcoming 'Complete Courier' solution.
May
Avondale Order Confirmed 2008-05-23 12:00:00 Avondale Construction today confirmed their order for a materials delivery time booking system based on components of ReDeTrack. Avondale are a major building services company, operating in the City
and Greater London area. They are employed by some of the UK's biggest
main contractors, such as Sir Robert McAlpine and Laing O'Rourke. ReDeTrack will allow the main contractors to book time-slots on line, using the Avondale website. The bookings will be managed by the Avondale team and confirmed by email. Portech Partnership 2008-05-15 11:00:00 We met Shaz Nazeem or Portech today at their headquarters in The Custard Factory in Birmingham. Portech have two mobile solutions: their 'wireless waiter' is an off the shelf product for restaurants and bars, and their bespoke mobile systems provide more flexible solutions for their other clients. The Portech and iSware systems provide different and complementary functions that could be combined to provide hybrid solutions. We may work closely together on future projects. This agreement complements the one made with Tang this week and it seems likely that the three companies will work on collaborative projects going forward. RFID Expert 2008-05-13 12:00:00 We met Kelvin Cushman of the RFID superstore today. Kelvin has agreed to provide iSware customers the RFID expertise needed to complete the ReDeTrack RFID solution. Closer Working with Tang Solutions 2008-05-13 10:00:00 We met with Simon Bromley of Tang Solutions in Wolverhamton today to discus working together on a number of projects. Barracuda is Tang's mobile computing product. Unlike ReDeTrack, Barracuda allows the user to define screens that the operator uses to collect technical data during processes such as safety inspections. The data collected is then presented in the form of pre-designed PDF documents. It is possible that we will work with Tang on future projects to provide our customers with a richer pallette of solutions as our two products have a number of complementary features.
April
Interop 2008 2008-04-28 08:40:51 The Interop expo kicked off today at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas. We were there to meet representatives of Microsoft, Google, Motorola and many others in the exhibition rooms.
We also took part in the side-room seminars in the 'Wireless and Mobile' stream. There is a lot happening in the platforms arena. If some speakers are right, the market share currently enjoyed by Microsoft in hand held device operating environments is about to be eroded. The new kids on the block are Open Moko (open source), Android (from Google) and Apple (on the iPhone and iPod touch).
We will be teaming up with Staffordshire University to look at these new technologies. In particular, we will be looking at the possibility of an iPhone version of ReDeTrack. Package Labels 2008-04-11 16:52:23 The Complete Courier version of ReDeTrack can now generate package labels. These are produced using the order management screen and can be printed on regular paper or on sticky labels using either desktop or portable printers. The labels incorporate bar codes to allow them to be scanned by the delivery drivers, so there should be no more errors. Invoice Tool 2008-04-08 16:50:13 We have added a PDF invoice tool to our forthcoming Complete Courier version of ReDeTrack. This will use information gathered from the order and from delivery records to create invoices for your customers. These will be generated periodically - daily, weekly, etc - or automatically when the POD is received.
March
The Complete Courier Solution 2008-03-20 16:08:20 Our order entry and routing components are coming along nicely. Both can cope with courier operations (with a collection and a drop on the same day) and more traditional delivery tasks. The routing tool is very fast and provides extremely efficient delivery run plans on an ad-hoc basis or based on standard run 'skeletons' to allow for businesses that deliver to the home-based customer and to regular business customers. Investment News 2008-03-13 16:24:55 Alan Hessell has today invested in iSware Limited, our trading body. The capital injection will help support some of our running costs, but more importantly to fund some of our marketing plans. Look out for our new CompleteCourier offering - which will provide a complete business management system for the Courier and Parcel delivery sector - we will be launching this sensational new product at the Courier and Parcel Logistics (CPL) expo in London next September and October. Another New Partnership on the Horizon 2008-03-06 11:19:03 A meeting has been arranged for March 20th with a software company based in the North Midlands. This will be an initial investigation into the scope our two companies might have for collaboration, possibly including one or both of us acting as resellers for the other.
February
New Market Sector a Possibility 2008-02-29 18:34:52 At a meeting with a medium sized Staffordshire software company, it was agreed that ReDeTrack might provide value to the companies existing customers. Feelers will be put out over the next week or so to evaluate interest. Should the feedback be positive, meetings between ourselves and the end users will be arranged in order to discuss requirements and to arrange pilot projects.
The name and business sector of the potential partner will be announced after the agreement is formalised. New Partnership 2008-02-28 10:00:00 We demonstrated ReDeTrack at a meeting with Bob Boyd of UK Internet Mobile and Wireless, who specialise in IT solutions in the construction sector. Bob is looking at a number of potential products with a view to providing them as solutions for the specific requirements of his clients. The outcome of the meeting was positive, with Bob showing interest in reselling ReDeTrack. Crosby Training 'Excellent' 2008-02-27 11:00:00 Training of the Birmingham engineering team was completed today with a session for the remaining two. The session included a ReDeTrack overview and specific training on operation of the handheld. A usability issue was raised and has now been addressed. The session was described as 'Excellent'. Interest from Buildings Maintenance Company 2008-02-20 15:17:53 This week we visited a Midlands bases buildings maintenance business to demonstrate ReDeTrack. Their requirements are very similar to those of Crosby Lend Leases, one of our existing clients, so the system should suit their needs. The company concerned look after the maintenance of buildings for a number of national clients.
November
A Possible Electronics Supplier 0000-00-00 00:00:00 We met with a small, young St Petersburg company today. The graduate team are working on modern electronics and may be able to help us provide an entry-level PDA for these leaner times. The prototype will comprise either a bar code reader or an RFID radio, either a GPS+GPRS combo (for the field) or WiFi for the warehouse. The device will have a very simple user interface - possible a single button and some form of status display - and have no signature capture capability. |
