The road based transportation operations are growing rapidly, but the current infrastructure cannot sustain the entire growth. At the same time vehicle utilisation and fill rates are low. Improved efficiency of the operations is a necessary way forward for road based transportation. Parallel to this, heavy vehicle producers are currently improving the efficiency with services accompanying the product that are focused on the driver and the vehicle performance. However, the data from connected vehicles required for these services only entail a small amount of the operational data generated by connected vehicles. The case study aims to answer how to use connected vehicle operational data in order to suggest value adding services in a dynamic road distribution system. The applied methodology is an inductive study with an explanatory approach to map the current and future service offerings of the case company. This knowledge is combined with an exploratory approach with interviews of transport planners and theories of Lean and fleet management. Primarily, it is concluded that the perspective of operational data requires widening. Considering not only driver and vehicle operations but rather the entire transport operation of a company. It is also concluded that value creation with operational data is possible during three phases of fleet management. First, if knowledge about order data is accessible, the planning of transportations can be improved using route optimisation and operations research. Secondly, it is possible to create value during the execution phase, throughless manual supervision and communication by transport planners. Lastly, both the currently used operational data and further data usage can contribute to a better understanding of the performance of a fleet operation and facilitate for continuous improvements during an evaluation phase.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a modern fleet management system in improving the logistics of transporting staff, goods and materials in Kenya Power & Lighting Company, a utility firm in power distribution. In today’s competitive marketplace which is characterised by rapidly changing business requirements, leveraging leading edge technologies and adopting best practices are essential in order to ensure sound logistical support that guarantees both effectiveness and efficiency in the transportation processes. The sampling procedure of one-stage, cluster sampling and the use of the simple random sampling technique were used in this study to select a sample size which was sufficiently representative of the whole population. Both the descriptive study approach and the survey research strategy were adopted to enable the collection of data in a manner that allowed in-depth examination while gathering information that explained the relationships between constructs, in particular, cause and effect relationships. The main purpose of this dissertation was therefore to establish that the use of information technology is feasible in transport industries, explain possible obstacles and also any major advantages of its implementation. Secondly, as regards the theoretical aspect, a broadened view on the use of online tracking for vehicles using a global positioning system is presented, together with practical examples, to illustrate its successful implementation in a fleet management system. The study concludes by offering suggestions and recommendations from the research results and the researcher’s experiences for future studies. / Transport Economics, Logistics & Tourism / M. Com. (Transport Economics)

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a modern fleet management system in improving the logistics of transporting staff, goods and materials in Kenya Power & Lighting Company, a utility firm in power distribution. In today’s competitive marketplace which is characterised by rapidly changing business requirements, leveraging leading edge technologies and adopting best practices are essential in order to ensure sound logistical support that guarantees both effectiveness and efficiency in the transportation processes. The sampling procedure of one-stage, cluster sampling and the use of the simple random sampling technique were used in this study to select a sample size which was sufficiently representative of the whole population. Both the descriptive study approach and the survey research strategy were adopted to enable the collection of data in a manner that allowed in-depth examination while gathering information that explained the relationships between constructs, in particular, cause and effect relationships. The main purpose of this dissertation was therefore to establish that the use of information technology is feasible in transport industries, explain possible obstacles and also any major advantages of its implementation. Secondly, as regards the theoretical aspect, a broadened view on the use of online tracking for vehicles using a global positioning system is presented, together with practical examples, to illustrate its successful implementation in a fleet management system. The study concludes by offering suggestions and recommendations from the research results and the researcher’s experiences for future studies. / Transport Economics, Logistics and Tourism / M. Com. (Transport Economics)