Mercury is a fleet management consulting firm with extensive experience in developing, implementing, and supporting a wide range of integrated, commercial-off-the-self and custom solutions. Through our own resources and formal partnerships with other leading companies in the fleet and technology industries, we are able to offer our clients the best of breed solutions.

Because we are a consulting firm that understands fleet management and information technology we are able to meet the specific business needs of each client organization. We bring our most experienced fleet management consultants into each project so that we can understand your business process - before any installation or development of solutions occur.

Our goal is to produce an integration plan, not an implementation plan, which is tailored to meet your needs. An integration plan focuses not only on how to use a new piece of technology, but also concentrates on modifying and refining business processes to produce the greatest return-on-investment. Whereas, an implementation plan solely focuses on the installation and training of end-users on how to utilize the new hardware and software. Moreover, implementation plan does not address improving business processes, information production and consumption, or industry best practices.

Our belief is that technology can enable fleet operations to significantly automate tasks, management information, reduce costs, and streamline complex processes. However, these benefits can only be achieved by developing, implementing, and enforcing sound business processes that are designed to incorporate the value that the technology offers. For example, one of the standard features that virtually every modern fleet system offers is the ability to establish minimum and maximum stocking levels and reorder points for parts inventory items. This functionality allows parts management operations to automate the reordering process of stock items by simply running standard or ad hoc reports. Yet few organizations that have recently purchased fleet information systems have taken advantage of this feature, because their implementation plans did little more than include the minimal tasks to transition into production.
 

Applications

We offer a variety of leading edge fleet business solutions (e.g., fleet information systems, electronic repair and maintenance manuals, and e-commerce) to operations of every size, composition, and industry. Through our partnerships with industry-leading technology developers we have the ability to provide easy to use, integrated fleet management solutions.

Our focus is on providing intuitive technology that is simple to utilize and manage at all levels of an organization, because our experience has been that the most significant ROI occurs when users can easily use such business tools and the data they gather. In fact most of our clients have tried more complex and expensive solutions, which they have abandoned for our user-friendly, full featured applications. This is because our fleet systems do the complex calculations and logic behind the scenes - where it belongs.

A significant issue that we come across in our consulting engagements is the inability for users to get "meaningful" information out of their asset management systems. This is largely due to inadequate or inaccurate system documentation, deficient database design, or poor reporting architecture. In many cases the more complex and expensive systems available suffer from one or more of these defects.

Because we understand these issues, we only partner with fleet software companies that are fanatical about maintaining clean, consistent, and intuitive solutions - from the databases to user interfaces.
 

Web Technologies

The increased availability of data in organizations has resulted in significant pressure on managers and staff to maintain and produce a wide array of management information for clients, financial and auditing departments, executives, elected officials, and the general public. Fleet management operations are not exempt from this trend. A major challenge for fleet managers has been and will continue to be the struggle to keep these entities sufficiently informed in a timely manner.

Mercury is sensitive to the on-going pressures for fleet management operations to produce meaningful information for a wide audience of consumers. Thus, we have developed and integrated several web technologies, such as web-based reporting, as a means for fleet operations to distribute information to their customers and other information consumers. We can provide web technologies to distribute information on a broad range of enterprise database platforms, including:

• SAP R/3

• Baan

• PeopleSoft

• Siebel

• Microsoft SQL Server, Access, and Analysis Services

• Oracle

• IBM DB2

Our web technologies allow users to securely access information in a real-time, read-only mode through their Intranet, Extranet, or Internet web site. Moreover, by utilizing 128-bit encryption, Certificate Authorities, group authorization, and other security procedures we not only control user access, but we can also regulate the information with which users are presented. Authenticated users are presented with a simple menu of web resources (i.e. reports, applications, email, calendars, and much more). This solution permits users to gather the information they need on a timely basis and without interfacing with the fleet management personnel.
 

Wireless Communications

Mercury is a leading provider of wireless solutions and data devices to the fleet management industry. We enable laptops, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), tablet PCs, and other portable information devices with wireless communications to allow the people that use them to access business resources. Additionally, we also offer a wide array of portable devices that can be used in a real-time, wireless environment or stand-alone mode.

Wireless communications is an important emerging technology, because it increases the distribution and range of information to users. For example, currently most people need to use a networked workstation in order to retrieve electronic information; whereas with wireless communications users can travel and interact with applications, data, and other users on demand. Wireless solutions are also dropping in price, which is making the initial investment minimal.

While the cost of wireless technologies has been falling the security of these solutions has improved significantly. With the integration of 128-bit encryption, Certificate Authorities, Virtual Private Networking (VPN), and other security measures a wireless enabled network can be as secure as a wired network. Some of the most popular wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth, 802.11b, and 802.11a, offer the benefits of short-range, broadband communications. Other wireless technologies, like CDMA and CDPD, offer a wider area of coverage to certain geographic areas. This has allowed fleet operations to information out on the shop floor, parts warehouse, and other areas that were otherwise inaccessible or unpractical to provide applications and information.

Mercury can assist you in selecting the appropriate wireless communication solution and integrate it with your existing network and security environment, applications, email platform, and databases. Moreover, we can also assist you in reengineering existing business processes in order to take full advantage of the increased productivity offered by real-time connectivity.

Portable Information Devices

One of the leading trends in the fleet management industry is the increased availability of data on the fleet and the fleet management organization has placed significant pressure on fleet managers and staff to maintain and produce a wide array of management information for employees, fleet users, finance and audit departments, management decision makers, elected officials, and the general public. A major challenge for fleet managers has been and will continue to be the struggle to keep these entities sufficiently informed in a timely manner. Mercury is sensitive to this requirement, which is why we offer our clients the portable information devices and wireless communications in order to provide anywhere, real-time data capture and information access.

Portable information devices (PID) provide users with the ability to travel with electronic data stores and applications that can be queried, updated, and saved. These electronic tools can also interact with remote business resource, such as the Internet, by integrating wireless communications. Thus, depending on its use a PID can be used in a real-time, wireless environment or stand-alone mode.

PIDs are available from several technology vendors in a variety of flavors (e.g. PDAs, tablet PCs, laptops, and web-enabled phones). However, the features and capabilities of these platforms vary significantly - even between the makes and models of each manufacturer. Mercury can assist you in selecting the appropriate portable information device solution, wireless communications, and integrate it with your existing network and security environment, applications, email platform, and databases. Moreover, we can also assist you in reengineering existing business processes in order to take full advantage of the increased productivity offered by these mobile information workstations.

Tablet PCs are one of the most useful productivity tools for people, like mechanics, that need to be mobile and unchained from a desk and PC. The tablets are designed to combine the best features of a notebook PC, a daily planner, notepad, PDA, and sticky notes. Moreover, they are also extremely light-weight, durable, and provide a long battery life for extended usage. As one of the only fleet solutions providers in the industry to offer this platform to the industry, Mercury is uniquely qualified to implement and integrate this solution for fleet maintenance / management operations.

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Fleet Management Consulting Services, Simplified™