Triple Allied advance
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• Allied Aims has announced three major advances for its computerised Vehicle Cost Management System, and is promising a new version, specifically designed for hire and reward hauliers, due for launch later this summer.
Two of the latest advances in VCMS will help fleet operators keep track of fuel consumption: Allied's Tri-Scan fuel management system and the All Star fuel card can both be used in conjunction with VCMS.
Tr-Scan automatically stores details of a fleet's fuel transactions and passes them directly into a company's VCMS computer. All Star customers simply take the All Star fuel Transaction records on a computer floppy disc, and feed this straight into the VCMS computer for an immediate update. The third advance of the system, which is primarily for own-account operators, comes with the development by IBM of its System 36 computer. Allied Aims claims the new powerful IBM System 36D computer can now handle a fleet of up to 50,000 vehicles which would cover all but one fleet in the UK.
A hire and reward haulage version VCMS that is being developed will include features like charge-out, profit and loss, and income. It is scheduled to be launched in August or September.
Allied Aims' biggest customer, the Post Office, installed a £1.5 million VCMS System to control its 30,000strong fleet last October. Malcolm Filsell, the Post Office's head of road transport, predicts that the system could save £1.5 million a year in fuel and a further £1.5 million a year in maintenance through improved control.
Filsell expects the VCMS System to affect the Post Office's vehicle purchasing policies as the Age Con package, which keeps track of vehicle costs, will tell Filsell when to replace vehicles.