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• Allied Aims, the computer service company of Allied Breweries, will launch a new version of its vehicle cost management system (VCMS), specially developed for smaller operators, at the Institute of Road Transport Engineers' exhibition in Solihull later this month.
The new version is designed to run on a personal computer rather than a minicomputer, making it less expensive to purchase outright.
It also enables operators who already use personal computers to purchase the vehicle cost management system software and use it on their existing computer hardware.
Mike Connolly, managing director of Allied Aims, says the new version of the vehicle cost management system provides his company with a system at the bottom end of the vehicle fleet computer market, which will compete with existing systems offered by small software houses.
Operators purchasing the new Allied Aims system can increase the capacity of their computer systems, by upgrading to IBM System 36 computers (on which the system is based). Connolly says the new version of the vehicle cost management system has sufficient capacity to keep records of up to 150 vehicles over 18 months, providing the largest capacity personal computer, with a memory capacity of 32mega bits (32 million characters).
The vehicle cost management system provides operators with such facilities as vehicle inventory, maintenance costs, operating costs, and workshop performance.
There are also a number of optional facilities available including vehicle maintenance reporting standards, workshop scheduling, and tachograph and fuel system monitoring.
A total of 15 organisations in the UK use the existing Allied Aims system, including Allied group companies, the Post Office (27,000 vehicles). Tesco, (which operates 2,500 vehicles) and the British Printing and Communications Corporation (2,800 vehicles). Connolly hopes the new personal computer-based version of the system will extend the appeal of the system to companies with much smaller fleets.