ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘connected-vehicle’ CATEGORY

TomTom Telematics is using its fleet management expertise to develop connected car services. The first pilot is with a leading European vehicle importer.

In a national pilot across Holland, leading European car importer Pon’s Automobiel Handel will deploy connected car technology to deliver real-time information about their vehicles’ status and performance to customers and dealerships.  The company will use TomTom Telematics'  cloud-based services platform and its mobile app development expertise that draws upon vehicle dashboard information.

“TomTom Telematics has more than 15 years of experience providing data insights for fleet management,” said Thomas Schmidt, Managing Director. “Developments in connected car technology are now opening up new opportunities for us to underpin innovative solutions for consumers and the wider automotive industry.”

The partnership with Pon will enable car owners to receive feedback and advice about their vehicles on their smartphones – from dashboard indicators, driver performance information, mileage and battery level to car location and door-lock status. Alongside many other features, driver score rankings will allow for competition between drivers and help them to save fuel, drive more safely.

Car engine status and maintenance information can also be made available to dealerships, if authorised by the car owner. This will allow drivers to select their preferred dealer for all their vehicle service requirements and provides dealers with more opportunities to liaise with customers and improve service standards.

“The market-leading advancements TomTom Telematics is offering in cloud services for the connected car are enabling us to raise the bar in customer support and takes service provision from our dealerships to a whole new level,” said Pon Service Director, Tjeerd Tuitel.

Schmidt added: “We are proud to add telematics to the navigation products TomTom already offers the automotive industry and look forward to growing our collaborations with industry partners to use our robust platform and connected car technology to improve company service levels, road safety, sustainability and the driver experience.”

 

---

 

Be social and share this news

The emergence of TomTom Telematics as a true platform-as-a-service provider is big news for field service companies.  In Part Two of our report from the company's Developers Conference, we ask whether it means evolution or revolution for the telematics sector in general.

In Part One of this report from TomTom Telematics' Developers Conference, we heard how the combination of open-architecture hardware and the launch of the its App Store is transforming the telematics giant into a true Platform-as-a-Service provider and one-stop shop for mobile workforce management

Here, we take a deeper look at the potential impact the development could have on the telematics market. Indeed, in the excitement of the day there was talk of revolution as well as evolution. Would TomTom becoming an all encompassing platform for telematics, change the way we build our telematics solutions in the not too distant future? What will be its role in the emergence of the connected vehicle?

“We want to make it as easy as iTunes or the Salesforce app exchange” claimed George De Boer, International Alliance Manager at TomTom Telematics. “You just go to your appstore, you download your software and you install it”

“As easy as consumers are finding it to install an app we want to make telematics as easy for them as well” he added.

Indeed, it is an interesting and attractive proposition: one that could mean each company could essentially cherry pick the right apps that are best suited to their organisation and then build a bespoke telematics solution that meets their exact requirements.

App partners

One of the developers that has opted to build an app for the TomTom platform is Magenta Technologies, whose Maxoptra tool provides companies with a dynamic scheduling engine, a key tool for many large field service companies. Alexei Badjanov, Head of Development for Magenta believes this new approach to building a telematics solution is absolutley the future.

“The platform is the key” Badjanov comments “There is a wide number of telematics providers in the world but the one that has the most applications will be the leader”

Indeed this is very true; in one sense TomTom have not broken new ground. Other telematics providers such as Telogis and Trimble have both developed something akin to a telematics based platform some time ago,. However, unlike TomTom, they opted to focus more on developing their own apps within an ecosystem as opposed to the open architecture approach taken by the Dutch firm.

Of course whilst TomTom’s move to position themselves as a central hub upon which to build a telematics solution is both a clever and forward looking one, there is a strong argument that it was forced upon them, as with the onset of the connected vehicle they faced a choice of evolve or die.

However, where as the imminent arrival of connected vehicles would once have possibly meant ringing the death bells for TomTom, now the connected vehicle brings with it opportunity for both the telematics provider and their field service customers alike.

The connected vehicle

At a telematics conference the connected vehicle was bound to be a key topic that dominated conversations throughout the day, with the consensus being that the connected vehicle has finally made the transition from exciting potential to tangible reality.

“It’s already happening, It’s already here” commented Taco van der Leij, Global VP of Marketing for TomTom Telematics.

But just what does the connected vehicle actually mean to field service companies? Is it not just a case of the same telematics, just now being fitted as standard by the vehicle OEMs? In fact Van der Leij thinks the impact of the connected fleet will be far wider. “What you will see is the number of applications in this industry will multiply, so you will get much bigger scope and different possibilities for field service companies to actually enhance their business.”

“Basically what you see with a normal business environment in the office, Cloud solutions are already there, driving more and more applications. With all commercial vehicles being connected we will see the same happening for mobile workers also”

De Boer also echoed his colleagues sentiments when the conversation turned to the connected car.

“I’m seeing even more possibilities” he says as we discuss some of the obvious benefits to workflows when having seamless connectivity between the vehicle and the office.

“The service engineer that goes to his customer and uses some of the spare parts in his van for example. If he uses the connection of a barcode scanner and our link.connect API, he can scan the spare parts and the warehouse can start preparing the box that he needs to have for the next day.” He explains before concluding “The connected vehicle is really all about further optimising the business process”

In fact this final summation acts well as headline for what the TomTom Developers Conference was all about: further optimising the business process.

But beyond that, it was a day when we saw TomTom evolve from a pure play telematics provider to fully fledged telematics platform and if the connected vehicle is going to change everything in the telematics industry, TomTom Telematics look set to be right there at the heart of the community continuing to drive change and innovation.

 

---

 

Be social and share this feature

The number of unplanned truck standstills can be cut by 80 per cent. This is revealed in a study conducted by Volvo Trucks. In the long term, the aim is that unplanned standstills should entirely disappear. One key explanation for this expected trend is online connectivity in trucks, a development that creates entirely new scope for working with preventive maintenance.

An unplanned standstill is one of the most problematic issues that can affect a haulage firm. Apart from the inconvenience for the driver, it creates extra costs for repairs, lost transport revenue and, in the worst-case scenario, a damage to customer reputation.

“Since the transport industry already operates with very small margins, an unplanned standstill hits haulage firms hard. We therefore have to be better at understanding why unplanned stops take place and help both customers and drivers increase their productivity and thus also their profitability,” says Hayder Wokil, Director Quality and Uptime, Volvo Trucks.

In order to increase knowhow about how to help haulage firms boost their productivity, Volvo Trucks conducted a comprehensive survey that based on real-life user data from 3500 Volvo trucks gathered over a 5-year period. With this authentic statistical basis the company then conducted advanced simulations and generated a variety of possible service situations to analyse how, why and when trucks suffer unplanned standstills. The aim was to find out how unplanned stops can be avoided.

 

“The study clearly showed that by being able to monitor the truck’s usage and the current status of the vehicle’s various key components, it is possible to plan maintenance better. We reckon we can reduce the number of unplanned standstills by 80 per cent if the truck is serviced in time and in response to actual needs,” explains Hayder Wokil.

Connected trucks are the way to zero unplanned standstills


One important prerequisite for reducing the number of unplanned standstills is to be able to predict maintenance needs and to tailor servicing for each individual truck. This is possible since today’s trucks can be connected online to the workshop.

“For instance, a service technician can remotely monitor exactly how the truck is being used in real time, schedule maintenance well in advance before something breaks down, or order spare parts in advance. What’s more, a scheduled service can also be postponed if the workshop technician can see that the truck’s various components are subject to less wear than expected, thus saving time for both the haulage firm and the driver,” relates Hayder Wokil.

Although Volvo Trucks has made considerable progress in this area, Hayder Wokil feels that the development of preventive service is still in its infancy.

 

“We see considerable potential in this area. Connected vehicles are the route to zero unplanned standstills in the future,” says Hayder Wokil.

 

---

 

Be social and share this story

Whilst telematics is now a well established part of field service operations, connected devices will open the way for even greater efficiency gains. With the TomTom .connect conference just around the corner just around set to bring together the IT and developer community together to further improve the efficiency of connected vehicles TomTom Telematics George De Boer outlines how connected vehicles are changing the face of field service... 

The face of field service is changing more rapidly than ever before. Technological innovations are constantly expanding the boundaries for what is possible and connectivity, in particular, is predicted to sit at the heart of this bold new generation.

Effective use of software and hardware has long been key to delivering top-class field service but developments are now occurring at breakneck speed and the quickest adopters will gain a head-start on the competition.

Telematics itself is nothing new in the field service industry. It has long been crucial for providing visibility into the activities of mobile workers, delivering data on everything from time on site and job completion to driving performance. But connectivity and the open platform will transform its use, allowing companies to easily overcome the physical distance between a mobile worker and the office with an increased number of automated, paperless processes.

 

Data from a range of sources, including routing and scheduling, CRM and mobile hardware, can be brought together on one platform to improve efficiency and increase the sharing of intelligence across different departments.

The power of the API

A number of big players in business technology, such as Salesforce and Mendix, have long operated an open platform approach. This basically means software developers are provided unhindered access to their platform for the purpose of developing scalable integrations and applications that add extra functionality to the core system.

As a result, technological platforms can be tailored to suit a multitude of purposes and offer specific solutions for a variety of different industries.

At this year’s Service Management Expo, TomTom Telematics will showcase its own three APIs that allow developers to create solutions that bring together data from different sources.

 

The WEBFLEET.connect API allows office software - such as routing and scheduling optimisation, ERP, transport management system (TMS), supply chain planning, and asset

management - to integrate with the WEBFLEET fleet management platform.

LINK.connect allows mobile hardware - including barcode scanners, printers or temperature sensors - to integrate with the in-vehicle LINK telematics device via Bluetooth, while PRO.connect allows the creation of mobile apps for use by drivers on the tablet-style PRO driver terminal.

Efficiency through apps

The outcome for field service organisations is greater efficiency in workflow processes, improved control over mobile workers and less reliance on paper for the recording of data.

To provide an example of how that happens in the field, workers can be given access to a single app on a centrally-controlled, tablet-style device that allows them to complete a number of daily tasks.

At the start of each day or week, vehicle checks can be made via the device, with the results instantly updated in the back office to ensure maintenance schedules are up to date and Duty of Care responsibilities strictly enforced.

Once checks have been completed, daily workflow is loaded onto the device and navigation provided to each destination along the worker’s route. Using live traffic data, the fleet management software can generate accurate ETAs for each journey, with automatic alerts sent to customers via text or email to advise them of arrival time.

On arrival, the worker can submit proof of delivery using the app’s signature capture functionality or by scanning with the device’s in-built camera or NFC chip. Once jobs are completed, status is updated in the back-office system, along with daily mileage records and worker hours, eliminating the need for laborious record-keeping processes.

Revolutionary processes right out of the box

One of the most important things about the recent growth of open platform technology is that companies do not need to invest large sums in IT consultancy to benefit from the latest advancements.

Development projects no longer need to be undertaken on a case-by-case basis. Once a developer or integrator has used an API to create an app, this can be made available to all customers out of the box. TomTom Telematics, for example, has more than 330 technology partners and lists all available applications in its App Centre.

In the field service sphere, these include integrations with Brother and Zebra mobile printers and route planning and scheduling software, such as Ortec and PTV Smartour.

 

The latter integrations can deliver significant gains in customer service, allowing companies to develop a new model of dynamic planning that changes according to the situation out on the roads.

Existing routing and scheduling software can take advantage of real-time traffic information, historic journey times and up-to-date ETAs from the telematics system to ensure schedules are immediately altered to take account of any delays in previous jobs or out on the road. Similarly, the future of field service is constantly changing but firms have the tools at their disposal to meet increasing customer service demands and tackle an uncertain economic landscape by striving for greater efficiency.

 

---

 

IT professional or Developer? Join TomTom Telematics and Field Service News at the .connect developer conference in Amsterdam June 9th

 

---

 

Service Professional? Join TomTom Telematics and Field Service News at the Service Management Expo June 16 to 18

---

Be social and share this feature

According to a Juniper Research report published in the latter half of 2014 in-vehicle apps are anticipated to reach almost 270 million within the next four five years. This increase, more than five fold on last year’s figures – is a clear indication that the hotly anticipated arrival of connected vehicles is here.

With smartphone major players Apple and Android both launched their vehicle specific version of their OS in the first quarter of last year, (CarPlay and AndroidAuto respectively) the report predicts uptake will be fairly rapid with report author commentating 

 

However, whilst in the consumer realm the usual suspects were sharing the headlines in the world of enterprise telematics there was one company that were storming ahead of the pack when it cames to integrating their technology into commercial vehicles. That company was Telogis.

Across the summer of last year Telogis were busy confirming and announcing a raft of key strategic partnerships including Hino Trucks, Volvo and Ford.

The Hino partnership resulted the HINO INSIGHT 2.0 which was developed as part of Hino’s ongoing strategy of building an offering that gives their customers a much improved total cost of ownership (TCO), including better vehicle uptime and user experiences and will be a standard fit on 2015MY Hino 195h and 195h-DC hybrid models, and as an option on the 195 and 195-DC models and the full conventional truck product line-up.

Indeed Telogis seemed to be on a mission to establish themselves as a part of the furniture in the road haulage industry, with the US based organisation now also bringing built-in compliance, telematics and navigation services to Volvo Trucks customers in North America.

Volvo customers are able to access Telogis’ services via smartphones and tablets, leveraging Volvo’s integrated connected vehicle hardware, standard on new Volvo-powered Volvo trucks.

In commercial trucking’s evolving legislative and regulatory landscape, Telogis’ offerings for Volvo Trucks help drivers and back office teams manage FMCSA compliance and keep drivers safer by delivering electronic log tools and routing information that is specifically designed commercial drivers.

“We’re pleased to collaborate with Telogis to deliver tremendous value to motor carriers seeking flexibility and the robust information needed to fine-tune their operations,” said Göran Nyberg, president, Volvo Trucks North American Sales & Marketing.

“Leveraging the connectivity of our vehicles to facilitate fleet management services represents a breakthrough for fleet managers, who are no longer captive to hardware. As part of our long-term strategic focus, we’ll look toward further integration of our vehicles with best-in-class fleet management solutions.”

 

And it is not just in the HGV arena that Telogis have been working, their agreement with Ford is related to their transit vans – the vehicle of choice for many a mobile worker.

Telogis are the exclusive technology provider behind Ford Crew Chief, the light-duty commercial telematics solution that comes factory-fit in Ford’s lineup of 2015 Transit vans as well as its complete line of commercial light-duty trucks.

As the agreement was announced Bill Frykman, manager, business and product development at Ford Motor Company commented

“Ford Crew Chief, another example of Transit’s smart features, complements the Transit line by helping customers save money through fuel management, and more effective route and work planning; keep their drivers safer by understanding and coaching driver behavior; and improving overall operations by getting a big-picture view of maintenance, location and productivity.” 

With many other manufacturers also implementing similar agreements to incorporate the latest technology into their vehicles in 2015 (Audi are including Android Auto whilst Mercedes and Volvo are committed to working with both Android Auto and CarPlay) it seems that the connected car is definitely on its way.

What may take a little longer but is continuing to develop along a steady path, is the driverless vehicle.

 

With Google having already demonstrated their prototype of a self-driving car which the technology giants described as ‘a vehicle without a steering wheel, gas or brake pedal - because they don’t need them’ the futuristic concept of robot cars is on it’s way.

While the current prototype can only go as fast as 25 mph, the promise for the future of fleet management could include better route and fuel efficiency, safer driving, and giving field service engineers the ability to answer email and work while on the road.

For urban fleets, the vehicle could even drop the field tech off at the service location, go find parking for itself and then be summoned to pick the tech up once the call is finished.

And to further speed up the development the University of Michigan is teaming up with top carmakers and tech companies to create the first closed test track in the United States for connected vehicle technology.

Dubbed "M City," the 32-acre testing facility is being built in Ann Arbor, Mich. to "test vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications in safe, realistic scenarios”

That's the first step in an ambitious plan by the university to "blanket all of Ann Arbor with a V2v and V2I network, including autonomous control,"

Whilst connecting the college town with enough infrastructure to allow self-driving cars to dominate the streets and roadways will take several years. The university and its partners are aiming to complete the transformation by 2021.

be social and share this feature

Technology has long been a key driver for innovation and change in business. Regardless of size or industry, the pace of technological change is a major factor in the ability of businesses to evolve, meet increasing customer demands and maintain a commercial advantage. Giles Margerison, Director with TomTom Telematics explains more...

Rarely has this relationship been more evident than in the recent development in the connected vehicle and the opportunities it offers to field service organisations.

Advancements in fleet management technology have resulted in a growing suite of applications designed to help managers boost operational efficiency and, increasingly, realise new levels of customer service delivery.

As a consequence of the recent economic slowdown, customers are seeking ever-greater value for money and demanding more from business than ever before. The effective application of connected vehicle technology could be crucial in helping field service operators to act quickly and introduce new services and innovations to further improve the customer experience.

What is the connected vehicle?

Although it is undergoing a period of rapid technological change, the connected vehicle is not a new concept. It has its roots in vehicle tracking, which has long allowed businesses to improve efficiency by gaining greater visibility of their mobile workforce.

But we are now experiencing greater degrees of connectivity than ever before - driven in part by the pace of technological innovation in the consumer sphere. Advancements are occurring at an ever-quickening pace, driving adoption and making technology such as smartphones and tablet PCs integral business tools.

These devices can work hand-in-hand with advanced telematics technology to create a seamless IT operation that encompasses all aspects of life – from business to your home, car and leisure time.

The same goes for business, where vehicle, smartphone, mobile hardware and office software can form a seamless loop that allows for greater flow of data through disparate parts of a business and its operations.

For example, a wireless Bluetooth connection might allow the tracking unit fitted into a vehicle to communicate with mobile printers, barcode scanners, signature-capture devices or even smartphones.

The result is an exchange of data which allows such hardware to incorporate precise information regarding time and location for the production of more accurate invoices or proof of delivery. This can then be communicated back to the office in real-time, allowing better management of workflow and fulfilment of customer orders.

Bringing mobile workers into the office fold

Such innovations allow management to exercise a greater degree of control over their mobile workforce, ensuring employees on the road are as connected and accessible as those in the office.

Combined data from in-vehicle technology and mobile hardware can be communicated back to the office and shared with the appropriate software applications - a vital relationship given society's increasing dependence on electronic relationships between companies and their customers, suppliers or partners.

When an order is received by a company, for example, the details can automatically be passed from the e-commerce platform or CRM to the fleet management dashboard.

This allows the mobile operations manager to view outstanding orders and dispatch the most appropriate employee to each job based on how long it will take them to arrive, with directions sent immediately to their satellite navigation device. Once the job is done, data will be sent from the vehicle back to the office, allowing the final details to be added to the CRM or invoicing software, completing the loop.

Such a situation is only made possible through the integration of fleet management hardware and software with existing office applications, which has become a growing concern given the rate of technological change.

IT integration must extend to all elements of a business, including both office and mobile operations, in order to form a flexible framework capable of providing a lasting competitive edge.

What does the future hold?

Even greater advances are close at hand. A number of insurance companies are already using fleet management technology to send driving performance data to a policy-holder's smartphone with a view to helping them drive more safely and reduce premiums.

For field service organisations, it is not hard to imagine a situation where the customer places an order and subsequently receives a message to their smartphone providing an accurate ETA for when the operative will arrive at their house - perhaps even tracking real-time progress on a map.

Not only that, but the smartphone then tells the customer exactly how long it will take for them to travel home in order to meet the operative and provides them with the best possible route, taking into account traffic congestion.

Extending the idea further, deliveries could be sent to a customer's exact location, pinpointed according to the GPS signal from their smartphone, whether that’s home, work or even the local coffee shop.

Roadside assistance companies could allow customers to make a distress call via a smartphone app before sending out the most appropriate responder based on engine diagnostics and location data sent immediately from the customer's vehicle.

No matter the application, the connected vehicle will only continue to offer new possibilities for the field service industry to future proof its service offering.