Neil Foley, Operations Manager, CMS Transport Systems

Qualified CPAs and experienced transport business managers

“Among the qualified CPAs now working on Freight2020 implementations we have Keith Robertson, who has been assisting with Freight2020 implementations and business transitions for a number of years; Linda Rosendale, who is also a qualified trainer and expert in accounting system transitions; and Neville Aganoff, based in our new Brisbane office. Neville was a CFO in the transport industry and has more than five years’ experience as a day-to-day Freight2020 user,” said Neil.

Melissa Fonteneau, Freight2020 Implementation Consultant

“Melissa Fonteneau joined CMS in Melbourne after 20 years as a manager in warehousing and logistics. Melissa brings this wealth of front-line operational knowledge into streamlining processes for users of Freight2020,” Neil said.

“Glenn Ozanne has more than 16 years’ experience working on business systems design and implementation in the mining, utilities, defence, and transport industries, with some of this time spent on offshore projects in Thailand, Russia and Kazakhstan.”

Based in Sydney to support Freight2020 implementations in New South Wales is now Peter Chaing, an accomplished commercial manager with over 25 years’ experience in financial and management accounting and more than two years using Freight2020 hands-on while working at 1^st Fleet.

National growth of Freight2020 implementation team ‘inevitable’

Glenn Ozanne, Freight2020 Implementation Consultant

With hundreds of Freight2020 users distributed across every state in Australia, the establishment of satellite implementation bases in New South Wales and Queensland was inevitable, according to Rob Mullins, managing director of CMS Transport Systems.

“We often have Queensland-based transport businesses making the transition to Freight2020, so it makes sense for CMS to locate an implementation specialist in Brisbane, as well as in Sydney, where companies are wanting to start using Freight2020 with increasing frequency,” Rob said. “New Freight2020 users in Victoria, Tasmania, ACT, South Australia and Western Australia will continue to have their implementations handled by our national implementation team from Melbourne.”

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This new position carries responsibility for the project management of Freight2020 system development, support, and implementation, and is centred around the technical development and help-desk departments of the firm’s Australian headquarters in Melbourne, Victoria.

Neil joined CMS following more than six years working with Australian mobility solutions company Interdev, the last three-and-a-half years being served as Interdev’s general manager.

“Over the course of my time at Interdev I was able to work closely with CMS on a number of projects. It was always a pleasure to work with senior CMS people, and trusting relationships were established. On the technical side, I became impressed by the firm’s capabilities, and the cleverness of the Freight2020 system. It meant no insult to Interdev when I agreed to accept the offer of a new, more technically-oriented role at CMS. Interdev are a great company with great products. I just felt it was the right time for me to extend my own focus beyond one niche of development in transport industry technology, to the breadth of Freight2020 as a fully-integrated, end-to-end solution,” Neil said.

Australia’s transport operations technology very advanced

“I’m originally from the UK, although I’ve been in Australia for more than eight years now. For nine years I worked with the most successful fleet management system in the UK. Like Freight2020, this solution is developed in a Progress environment. I was the product manager before I moved here. Based on my UK experience, I can say that Australia’s ability to develop technology for transport operations and fleet maintenance management is very advanced. That’s one reason why I chose to further my career in this field in Australia.”

Grant Walmsley, general manager of CMS Transport Systems, welcomed Neil to the organisation with surrender of his centrally-positioned office for a new workspace, on the same floor of the building, but further away from the technical area where Neil needed to be more accessible. “The record number of new Freight2020 users in 2014 has meant a record number of system implementations for our technical people. Neil has joined CMS in time for the growing number of new-user implementations to be handled smoothly, and ongoing development deadlines to be comfortably met,” Grant said.

“The creation of this new technical operations management position, and acceptance of this role by Neil Foley with his industry-specific experience, means that Rob Mullins can concentrate on working with senior technicians on the roadmap for future Freight2020 development, and I can spend more time with our customers and prospective new customers,” said Grant. “I think it was a very astute decision for CMS, and it has positioned the company very well for future growth.”

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“It would not have been sustainable in the long-term for our company to continue managing a growing national transport business through the largely manual administrative processes we’d traditionally used. We needed a transport management system that would set us up properly for the future, and we found that in Freight2020,” Peter said.

Widely recognised for their high-profile carrying of iconic frozen-food lines like Sara Lee desserts and Sargents-brand pies, PRT decided it was time to revamp their entire web presence with a matching customer login page and interface environment for Freight2020 Online.

“We think our new website is really cool,” joked Mark Smith, national operations manager for Prospect Refrigerated Transport. “Seriously though, in so many ways, particularly with our new ability to offer real-time online services to our customers, PRT has reinvented itself.”

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“The technology and types of expertise involved in the development of transport management systems and mobility solutions are vastly different,” said Grant Walmsley, general manager of CMS Transport Systems. “No single provider can specialise in both fields, but one of Freight2020’s many strengths is our ability to integrate the system to any of the leading mobility solutions currently available.”

Mt Noorat Freighters was established in 1996 to deliver stockfeed, grain, fertiliser, and other bulk products throughout Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and southern Queensland. The company now runs a fleet of 20 Western Star and Kenworth trucks. Dissatisfaction with its former transport management technology provider led to its second-time-around evaluation of no less than 10 different providers against a very specific selection criteria.

“Mt Noorat Freighters wanted their new system to reduce the administrative workload for back-office staff, and help meet legal requirements regarding NHVAS compliance along with fatigue and speed management. They were also definite about wanting to work with experienced people who were dedicated to the transport industry, and had a strong cultural fit with their organisation,” Grant said. After a series of in-depth product evaluations, and assessing the potential of various technology-partner relationship combinations from those represented, Mt Noorat Freighters finally decided upon Freight2020 as its billing and operational ERP, with Transtech’s mobility offerings completing their requirement for round-the-clock, ‘everywhere’ control of their business.

Implementation of the new solution across administrative functions prompted Scott Guthrie, systems manager of Mt Noorat Freighters, to comment, “The administration side of the business has improved by 100%. The reporting capabilities we now have with Freight2020 are excellent too. For example, it’s now very easy for management to review profit and loss reports on each individual asset.” Of Freight2020 being coupled with Transtech’s in-cab system, Scott said, “Previously we were doing double the data entry, as drivers would compile their own information, and back-office staff would have to enter it into our systems. This no longer has to be done twice, and staff have more time to concentrate on what they are supposed to be working on,” said Scott.

Reported gains in administrative productivity and efficiency were just the start of whole-of-organisation improvements realised following implementation of Freight2020 with mobile integration. The chosen in-cab touchscreen devices allow drivers to receive their jobs and communicate with the office via on-screen messaging. Drivers can easily and quickly enter pre-trip checklists, declare vehicle mass, and view when their next rest break is required.  Back-office staff can track all vehicles and produce on-demand trip and driver efficiency reports. The real-time monitoring of speed and fatigue levels has resulted in fewer driver violations. Delivery performance has benefited immensely too. Jobs are dispatched directly from Freight2020 to the driver – and when the driver completes the job, all the accounting and billing information is transferred from the truck back into Freight2020.

“Mt Noorat Freighters is a relatively small yet successful company that continues its growth in a crowded market,” Grant said. “Their management team is to be congratulated for their diligence and foresight in selecting technology partners this time. Not only have they achieved real-time control over every aspect of their business, and gained efficiencies in billing and operational administration, they are definitely future-ready with the scalability and competitive edge to maintain the expansion of their market share.”

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