New ERA Solutions assists Eldo Coaches with World Summit planning

Eldo Coaches, the well-known bus operator commissioned to provide transport for delegates attending next week`s World Summit, recently implemented New ERA`s Solution for Transport (NEST) to cope with the logistical demands in supplying buses for the event.

Eldo Coaches currently has a fleet of over 70 buses and is experiencing tremendous demand for its services. Coupled with the huge responsibility of transporting delegates to and from the various conference venues for the World Summit, the management team at Eldo decided to invest in information technology to manage the business and improve customer service levels.

After evaluating various solutions, Eldo chose New ERA Solutions and its NEST product suite.

Azhar Moolla, co-owner of Eldo said: "We were looking for a fully integrated solution with a low total cost of ownership from a solution provider that understood transport and could relate to our business. We found New ERA to be head and shoulders above everyone else. Their solution included customer relationship management, operations management and financial management, all integrated. We could immediately see the value in the solution."

He added: "Not only would we be able to provide better customer service but we would also be able to immediately measure the true profitability of the business right down to the profitability of each vehicle or trip."

Developed by New ERA Solutions, NEST is a fleet management system with a difference. NEST provides a "cradle-to-grave" approach for the operator to effectively plan and manage the entire business as opposed to the "point" solutions offered by most vendors that tend to focus merely on the running costs of the vehicles. The entire product is based on Microsoft technology so low cost of ownership is guaranteed.

Myles Rennie, Technology Director for New ERA, says: "There is a lot more to running a transport business than merely tracking vehicle costs. Sales, marketing, resource planning and scheduling, route optimisation, maintenance, depot management, customer support and financial management are all key elements that cannot be looked at in isolation."

He added: "Our development team has gone to great lengths to provide a solution that incorporates all of these elements and this makes New ERA unique in the marketplace."

With a few days to go before the World Summit begins, Moolla feels confident that his company is well prepared to deliver the necessary service to the delegates. "The New ERA team has been extremely helpful," he concluded.

Scott McKenzie, Managing Director of New ERA, says: "We are really excited to have Eldo Coaches on board using our NEST solution. As a company, we are totally committed to the transport sector and our aim is to become the market leader in Fleet Management systems in the next two years. We have already started to market the solution in Europe and it won`t be long before we move onto the other continents."