In business for more than 125 years, Owens & Minor promotes itself as the nation's leading distributor of name-brand medical and surgical supplies and a supply chain solutions/services provider to the health care industry. The company serves more than 4,000 acute care hospital customers nationwide, through an extensive distribution network that encompasses multiple facilities and a private fleet of 440+ vehicles operated in tandem with third-party logistics provider Ryder System, Inc.
Until 2006, Owens & Minor had no way to determine the location of assets being transported by these vehicles. At that point, a decision was made to remedy the problem with technology. "We wanted a product that would allow us to provide up-to-date location information to our customers about where our assets were," says Richard Zavertnik, corporate director of logistics. "We also looked for technology that would help us boost the productivity of vehicles and drivers."A GPS-enabled telematics solution was the answer.
Source: Integrated Solutions, http://www.integratedsolutionsmag.com