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JD Hickman Ltd tackles the road user charges problem with
XLERATE
JD Hickman Ltd has a strong presence on the roads of New Zealand. Founded 18
years ago by John Hickman as a refrigerated transport service for the dairy
industry, it has grown and diversified, providing road transport and storage
services all over New Zealand. Theyve retained their dairy focus and have
depots in Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North and Taranaki.
Their Challenge
With 65 trucks on the road, Mike Aberhart, General Manager of JD Hickman, keeps
a close eye on expenses and he believes that Road User Charges (RUC), are
worth paying particular attention to. One of the big hassles with RUC is that
you always run the risk of over-buying or under-buying. Over-buying is an issue
because you chew through your cashflow faster than necessary and under-buying
is also an issue because the fines can be extortionate. The more accurate your
RUC records are, the more accurate your RUC purchases are, explains Mike.
We were also keen on having a system that would aid with dispatch and managing
the growing fleet. Voice communications with our vehicles was also important
and we had been with TeamTalk for radio for many years, Mike continues
Our Solution
TeamTalk knew that JD Hickman was shopping around for a GPS tracking system for
their fleet and wasted no time in introducing the XLERATE product to Mike. I
have to admit, whilst some of XLERATEs features were similar to the
competition, the additional features like the RUC tool lifted it well above the
rest, said Mike. XLERATE is able to track the on-road and off-road kilometres
automatically, and feeds that information back to the business in real time.
The online user interface also includes a RUC lodgement form, giving businesses
a direct link to LTNZ and no paperwork to complete.
The Benefits
The RUC feature is important for JD Hickman. I never bothered with claiming
our off-road kilometres in the past it was just too much bloody
administration for the returns. Now its all done at the click of a button,
Mike said. We also get to review our fleets movements and are able to
determine where delays are occurring and change our route to accommodate these
problems. XLERATE tells me when my drivers are speeding, or idling too long,
which can get expensive. In addition, I really like the fact that I have been
able to roll my radio voice communications in with my mobile data
communications. Now they are all on the same bill.
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 I have to admit,
whilst some of XLERATEs features were similar to the competition, the
additional features like the RUC tool lifted it well above the rest. 
Mike Aberhart, JD Hickman Ltd.
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