Simacan product updates

Curious about what’s new or what the future holds? We’d love to walk you through our latest product developments!

Updates August 2025

Easier organisation recognition for better collaboration in the Control Tower

In veel transportoperaties werken meerdere partijen samen, zoals leveranciers en vervoerders. Tot nu toe was het vaak lastig om overzicht te houden: wie doet precies wat? Zeker als één organisatie meerdere rollen vervult, zoals vervoerder, subcontractor én verzender, of als je op specifieke locaties moet kunnen filteren, kan dat tot verwarring leiden.

Daarom hebben we dit proces vereenvoudigd. Vanaf nu herkent de Simacan Control Tower elke partij op basis van de organisatienaam, dus niet meer op basis van hun rol. Of een organisatie nu vervoerder is, verzender of allebei, je ziet direct wie het is. Dit maakt het makkelijker om ritten per locatie te bekijken en zorgt ervoor dat je met de juiste partij communiceert, zonder misverstanden.

This change improves communication clarity, strengthens collaboration between stakeholders across the supply chain, and prepares the platform for future capabilities, such as notifications per organisation, chat features, and targeted communication on exceptions, all within the correct context. Less confusion, more control.

Targeted chat with organisation tags in the Simacan Control Tower

With this new organisation-based recognition in the Simacan Control Tower, the chat functionality has also been enhanced. Previously, general tags such as “@carrier”, “@shipper” or “@subcontractor” were used. From now on, you can specifically tag the name of the organisation in your messages.

This makes communication much more concrete and personal. You know exactly who you’re addressing, and only organisations that are actually active on the platform can be tagged. If you leave out the tag ‘@’, the message is only visible to your own organisation. This makes it even easier to communicate clearly and purposefully with the right people during transport execution.

Simacan expands to Czech (CZ)

“Vítejte!” Our Simacan Control Tower and Track & Trace portal are now also available in Czech! With this addition, we expand the language options on our platform, which already includes Dutch, German, French, English, Danish, Polish, and Romanian. This enhancement makes it even easier for international users and partners to work in their native language within the Simacan platform. A significant step forward in our mission to simplify collaboration in transport chains even further!

More flexibility for home delivery operations: easily add stops to planned or ongoing trips

In home delivery operations, it’s common for trips to require adjustments. For example, sending a driver back to a previously visited address or adding an extra stop at the last minute. This can be useful when something needs to be picked up or returned to a customer. In such situations, it’s crucial to make changes quickly and without hassle.

To support this operational flexibility, Simacan has expanded its functionality for adding stop locations during already planned or ongoing trips. With the new “Add Stop” button, Simacan users can easily insert an additional stop or repeat a previous one without disrupting the existing planning. This way, you maintain full control over your delivery process, even when your driver is already on the road.

Broader support for accurate mileage registration

In most design strategies, we apply the principle of “less is more.” But when it comes to data, we prefer the opposite! At Simacan, we continuously seek additional data sources to enrich and validate existing data. That’s why we are currently expanding the determination of realized mileage with new data inputs.

In addition to our existing support for wheel rotation data (odometer data) via FMS systems like Trimble (connected to the tachograph), we are integrating with other telematics and mobile solutions. This includes expanding support for odometer data from other FMS providers. As part of this initiative, we are working on integration with Webfleet and including Transics, Geotab, and other systems in the development roadmap.

We are also addressing scenarios where an FMS does not provide a direct odometer interface. For these cases, we focus on mobile solutions that are OTM-compatible and capable of recording mileage, such as App2Track. This ensures that reliable mileage reporting remains possible.

In this way, we can offer broadly applicable, accurate, and robust mileage reporting—regardless of vehicle type or onboard equipment. This expansion enhances the reliability of monitoring, reporting, and analysis within the platform and strengthens data quality for all stakeholders in the transport process.

Updates March 2025

Experience the new map display in the Simacan Control Tower

The map in our Control Tower has received a major upgrade! Thanks to the latest WebGL technology, the map is now faster, smoother, and more detailed than ever before. This enhances navigation and provides greater visibility for your transport operations.

What's improved?

Smoother and deeper zooming for a detailed view of routes and locations.
Street names remain visible, without being obscured by traffic information.
Roadworks, closures, and diversions displayed directly on the map.
Emission zones clearly marked, helping you comply with environmental regulations or avoid restricted areas.

WebGL required

The updated map runs on WebGL, a standard feature in modern browsers. You can check if WebGL is supported on your device by visiting https://get.webgl.org/. If it is not supported, the Control Tower will automatically switch back to the previous map version, but you will miss out on the latest features.

Updates January 2025

Emission zones visible in the Control Tower

All emission zones (ZEZ and LEZ) currently enforced in the Netherlands are now displayed on the map in our Control Tower. Simacan users can instantly see the applicable emission classes (such as Euro standards) and access restrictions for each zone.

With our technology, these environmental zones are integrated into the map data. Vehicles will soon automatically follow permitted routes, avoiding restricted zones, whether the destination is inside or outside an environmental zone. Legislation evolves quickly, but our platform adapts seamlessly and stays up-to-date.

This functionality will soon be available for multiple European countries, further enhancing cross-border transport efficiency and compliance. Stay tuned for updates.

Snoozing exceptions: now even easier

With the improved ‘snooze’ functionality in the Simacan Control Tower, managing exceptions has never been easier. If you want to temporarily hide an exception, you can now remove it from view with a single click. Choose from preset snooze durations (30 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, or indefinitely) or set a custom end time.
As noted in the previous product update, collaborating organisations can now independently snooze exceptions, ensuring each team remains focused on the most urgent transport issues.

Towards accurate mileage tracking

We are evaluating how to calculate actual (measured) mileage as accurately as possible. This involves accounting for varying input from different Fleet Management Systems (FMS). A key focus is precise monitoring of stops, as the calculation of driven miles directly depends on this. Stay tuned for updates.

Pin important trips and always stay up-to-date

Simacan users can now ‘pin’ specific trips in their overviews ‘Trips’ and ‘Exceptions’. This feature is especially useful for trips you want to continuously monitor and quickly locate. Pinned trips are prominently displayed at the top of the trip overview, regardless of any applied filters or exceptions. This ensures a more efficient and time-saving workflow.

Automatic rerouting at road closures

We improve our platform by taking road closures into account. In the Control Tower, we display the (suggested) diversion route and calculate travel times. This enhances the estimated time of arrival (ETA) and provides insights into any route changes compared to the original plan.

Simacan users gain more insight into trips scheduled on roads affected by closures, enabling them to proactively address disruptions. The Control Tower’s trip details screen now shows both the original route (without closures) and the rerouted (proposed) route. The closures causing the detours are clearly highlighted. Additionally, users can see the impact of the reroute on travel time from location A to B.

Improvements are also implemented in the overviews ‘Trips’ and ‘Exceptions’: users can easily filter trips impacted by road closures. These are now marked as ‘Trips with detours.’ These enhancements provide users with greater control over their transport processes, allowing proactive responses to changes. This leads to more efficient planning and improved communication with customers.