Tesco hopes to slash costs worldwide by enlisting the help of a technology company to improve the efficiency of truck deliveries.

A trial in Slovakia would begin in March and if successful would be rolled out to all Tesco's international businesses, said Matt Hague, product director at Microlise, the company that won the contract to supply the technology.

Costs would be cut by calculating the best routes to take between RDCs and supermarkets, replacing a multitude of local systems, said Hague. Black boxes would be attached to the trucks to make sure drivers were following the quickest routes. "We fit our GPS tracking unit to all the trailers, and they measure the performance of the driver," he said, adding that companies typically made 5% or 6% cost savings."

Microlise was experiencing a surge in sales as the recession focused minds on costs, he said.

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