We, at Metropolitan, believe that the company that makes the best investment in technology is going to be the company that prospers in the 21st century and beyond. Over the past 80 years, our commitment to investing in the latest trucking technology has helped our company grow and prosper in an extremely dynamic and challenging industry. Embracing technological advances have provided us with many opportunities to improve our operations and better serve our customers and employees.
Mobile Satellite & Terrestrial Communication
With Qualcomm’s OmniVision systems aboard
our trucks, Metropolitan is never out of touch
with our drivers. This means that customer shipments
are never beyond our control. When there is
a change of plans, a change in the weather or
any other unforeseen situation, OmniVision helps
keep everyone informed. In addition to providing
real-time, two-way communication with vehicles
in transit, OmniVision supplies precise vehicle
location reports. Our customers shipments are
not only secure, but are delivered faster and
with more reliability.
Our OmniVision units also provide Hours of Service Electronic on-board recording
system that automatically creates driver logs which are fully compliant with the
latest rules and regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Another capability of our Qualcomm technology allows us to receive a comprehensive,
actionable view of safety oriented, event-driven data summarized by vehicle and driver.
Electronic Data Interchange
Metropolitan currently uses electronic data
interchange to receive orders from customers,
advise customers of shipment status, and invoice
customers electronically. We utilize a dedicated
data line to IBM’s worldwide network,
Advantis, as well as EDI mailbox services at
Kleinschmidt and Innovative Computing to manage
our EDI communications. This allows us to receive
instantaneous EDI transmissions for immediate
movement of freight, and scheduled hourly or
daily Data Transfers to accommodate specialized
customer requirements. Our EDI capability combined
with our Mobile Satellite Communication System
on every tractor provides real time communication
between the customer, centralized dispatch,
and the vehicles in transit. The result is a
service level that is unsurpassed in the industry.
Load Optimization
Load optimization is the most technologically
advanced approach to systematically assigning
the right load to the right truck. Metropolitan’s
computerized decision support system helps our
experienced load planners and dispatchers ensure
that driver and load matches take into account
on-time service requirements, driver home time
needs, driver productivity, equipment availability,
and more.