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Is the vendor you are talking to selling you what they have or are they selling you what you need?

Westlake places special focus on transportation and distribution services. Our management team has consulted with hundreds of transportation services about how to apply an effective wireless solution around a highly mobile widely distributed field force. Discussions typically center on job assignment, dispatching, GPS tracking, delivery conformation, field data collection and migration of data into existing back office systems or third party software.

Westlake wireless consulting approach to finding solutions for transportation and distribution organizations is like no other. Expect our organization to provide you a comprehensive framework around a wide variety of technology available within your field. For example, there are a large number of ways of supporting GPS technology; we help to determine which would be best for your organization. This framework includes up front costs, hidden costs and ongoing recurring costs for each solution. If your organization were to opt for a hard mounted GPS solution such as the IR1200 Data Modem that works over the Nextel iDEN data network, long term and on-going servicing can become serious hidden costs. If one vendor charges $10.00/month over and above airtime and next vendor charges $60.00/month over and above airtime for 500 trucks, the cost difference annually totals $30,000 a year in recurring costs. Run this service for five years and the costs mount to $150,000.00. This does not include costs associated with selecting a wireless service provider and their charges.

Do not make the same mistake that thousands of others have made.

Unlike wireless hand held devices that support GPS, once you make the capital investment into hard mounted equipment and the investment to professionally install the equipment, you will also committing to long service agreements and often doing so at a premium rate.

Westlake will help you make the best decision for your transportation and distribution business being we are not committed to any specific technology; but rather, we have a good understanding of all of the technology. For example, it may prove to be more beneficial to use a Motorola hand set, supported with GPS, a bar code reader and a functional field form than a hard mounted solution.

As one of the industries premier and leading wireless consulting agencies, Westlake will help to ensure that when you take 5 steps forward with your wireless implementation, you stay five steps foreword.

With close to 200 vendors to choose from, Nextel Corporation (Fortune 200) selected Westlake Software, Inc. to be their internal wireless integrator.

With close to 200 vendors to choose from, Nextel Corporation (Fortune 200) selected Westlake Software, Inc. to be their internal wireless integrator. Westlake providing consulting, architecture, development, testing, implementation and now on going support for a comprehensive end-to-end wireless supply chain management/customer relationship management system for Nextel National Retail. This includes full GPS support from the Motorola chip set as well as network triangulation methodologies, field data collection, automated job assignments, notification of compliance by their field force on a number of issues and more. See entire case study: Wireless Carrier Goes Wireless.

Nextel selected Westlake because:

1. Our consultative approach describing all of the technology and their related costs was well received and not provided by other vendors.

2. Westlake’s experience in wireless data is unsurpassed. Our management team has participated in over 2500 consulting and implementation projects in wireless data since 1992 including ones with Hewlett Packard, Hitachi, NEC, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, Nortel, AT&T Wireless, Sprint PCS, GTE, Comcast, Shell Oil, United States Secret Service to name a few.

3. Our pricing model is was not driven due to publicly traded or venture capital backed pressures to hold high margins but rather based on being profitable and selling the technology at a fair price. Price was negotiated and decided on by both parties and done so in good faith.

Implementing an effective and reliable wireless data solution in transportation is not a small undertaking. Very few organizations take the time to compare and contrast the technology available and few decision makers (some do) have a strong enough understanding of the technology to make a well-informed decision. GPS technology can be implemented seven different ways. Which is best for your organization? Do you go with hand held devices or hard-mounted wireless modems? Have you considered regulatory issues? Do you need the direction and speed of every vehicle for analysis? Do you need mapping and geo-fencing capabilities to manage tax issues crossing state and country boarders?

If you have not already selected a vendor to work with, contact Westlake for a free no cost consultation and evaluation of your needs. If you should choose not to work with Westlake, the knowledge you will gain by calling will help you make the best decision possible for your wireless transportation and distribution solution.

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