ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘telematics’ 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.”

 

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Canadian M2M and telematics company Geotab has launched GO TALK, a new driver coaching tool with a difference: the driving advice is voice-directed.

Designed to improve behind-the-wheel decision making, GO TALK  provides real-time verbal feedback. It is an add-on module for Geotab's  GO7 vehicle tracking device that combines GPS tracking, accelerometer and diagnostic data, as well as other manager programmable data incorporating time of day and location zones to relay instant, spoken instruction and safety information directly to fleet drivers. Information is passed back to the fleet management centre to monitor driver behavior and the effectiveness of responses to the audible coaching.

“GO TALK is another big step forward in coaching fleet drivers and improving driving standards,” said Neil Cawse, CEO of Geotab. “The solution has road and driver safety at its heart, but fleet managers will also recognise productivity and fuel savings it delivers.”

Fleet managers can add custom event-triggers into the fleet management control system, including fastening seatbelt, entering a restricted area, exceeding a fleet-determined speed limit, idling for too long, aggressive acceleration and harsh braking and driving excessive hours.

GO TALK is designed to work with Geotab’s GO7 fleet telematics device which already records and reports data on driving habits, safety and health of vehicle information, such as seat belt use, fuel consumption and engine.

 

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In-built telematics and all-inclusive intelligence platforms are replacing the traditional navigation devices that van drivers have used in the past and changing the future of fleet management, writes Sergio Barata, General Manager EMEA, Telogis.

We’re so accustomed to having location and navigation tools at our finger tips, it’s perhaps hard to believe that GPS began only really began to be fully adopted in consumer and fleet vehicles around eight years ago. Since then, we have seen a dramatic shift in the way devices are sold and the data used to power them. With telematics software in particular, GPS-led vehicle tracking has given way to smart, intuitive and comprehensive intelligence platforms, based on drawing insights from the extensive data sets that GPS has produced. And almost without exception, this is leading in-built telematics and all-inclusive intelligence platforms to replace the traditional devices that van drivers used previously.

So how did the GPS landscape change after the boom, what effect did this have on fleets and what does this change in telematics look like?

The changing consumer landscape

From the high point of Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) after the boom, the popularity of devices led to increased competition within the sector, driving down costs as new players began to enter the market. Through this shift, the emphasis on development first transferred to OEM partnerships in consumer vehicles and in the last few years has focused on the development of apps. The scale of change has been so significant that many major brands previously synonymous with PNDs have had to branch out into the likes of cameras and even watches, while other competitors have opted to pursue investment in and the development of new, cutting-edge navigation technologies.

What does this mean for fleets?

This fundamental shift has been mirrored within fleets, but in a distinctly different manner. While for consumer GPS technologies, the change has come in how the data is presented, in fleets, the very source of the data is changing. Whereas fleet navigation information was previously based solely on satellite-based, global positioning information, and provided little driver-specific information, it is now becoming more social and personnel-led thanks to telematics. In other words, it is increasingly both supplemented and influenced by real-time feedback from drivers on the road, and telematics information live from fleets.

With Telogis for instance, real-time performance data is streamed from each van, which enables fleet managers to track its location, fuel consumption and driver behaviour, as well as monitor for any safety and maintenance alerts. Much of this data is based on driver behaviours, with many metrics designed to encourage safe driving habits (and highlight bad ones). These include features such as driver behaviour scorecards and optional in-cab alerts that provide an audible alert when a driver is speeding, braking too hard or accelerating too vigorously. Telematics supports the process by transmitting vehicle data from the van to a dedicated Telogis website via an embedded cellular connection, allowing location data from a GPS module to be directly embellished by information sourced directly from the van’s electronic systems.

 

The future of GPS

GPS has changed dramatically over the last decade, so what does the future hold? Will it be social?

To continually drive efficiencies and keep the edge against your competition, you need real-time data and you need it in the hands of drivers. With this in mind, gamification will undoubtedly add a social aspect to the future of GPS, revolutionising the role of the white van man by pitting drivers’ performance against each other, and doing more than just rewarding conscientious driving through one-dimensional initiatives, which can’t be classed as innovation any more.

We developed the market’s first driver feedback mobile application for Android and iOS, Telogis Coach, which uses real-time intelligence to empower those behind the wheel. There’s a growing trend to put the onus on the drivers themselves to self-assess and self-correct dangerous behaviour; we enable them to take responsibility for managing their own safety out on the road.

Given that the majority of telematics platforms now offer a plug-and-play approach, it’s fair to say that the role of in-cab GPS has fundamentally changed for the white van driver. And this change is set to continue as telematics begins to become universally adopted, with many fleet managers imploring their van drivers to improve their driving based on their key performance insights. With the development of autonomous vehicles already at an advanced stage, the way in which fleets navigate the roads will continue to develop apace. This might change the traditional role of the White Van Man. But as the last ten years have shown their role, and interaction with technology, will surely continue to adapt to the times.

 

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Giles Margerison, Sales Director UK & Ireland at TomTom Telematics, looks at the cost and efficiency benefits of improving driving performance standards.

Improved driving performance standards has long been an under-appreciated method for unlocking cost savings, improving safety levels and boosting efficiency for field service companies.  There is an abiding perception that controlling such a wildly differing variable is a monumental task – one that requires vast resource and has no guarantee of success. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

One problem is that old habits really do die hard. Getting an employee to change the way they drive requires a significant adjustment in behaviour.  Furthermore, there is a wide range of behaviours associated with each identifiable driving characteristic, meaning many companies simply do not know where to start when it comes to analysing data, if there is any.

Each of these challenges has a solution – and the benefits are potentially huge.

1. Involve your drivers

   Change does not need to scare employees, even when it involves the monitoring of driving standards. When implementing a performance programme, it is important to involve drivers in discussions from the outset, including union representation if appropriate. This allows them to ask questions, raise concerns and start a two-way dialogue that helps to demystify the process.

   Change does not need to scare employees, even when it involves the monitoring of driving standards

   Creating advocates and champions also helps. Instilling a sense of pride and responsibility in selected members of staff puts them in a position where they can spread the word and highlight the benefits of driving more efficiently. These might range from improved safety to cost savings that can help to safeguard jobs in the long term.

    

   Creating a specific company ‘mission statement’ and building this into employee inductions can help to drive the message home, stressing the importance of aligning company values with driving for work purposes

   The policy could also outline what consequences might be faced as a result of breaches of expected standards, such as speeding or reckless driving. Any disciplinary process should be clearly outlined and communicated, while giving staff the right to reply. Equally, if there is a programme for incentivising and rewarding drivers, this should be ingrained in policy too.

2. Set clear objectives

   When it comes to driver behaviour, its significance differs depending on the business. This means setting clear objectives which are dependent on organisational goals and choosing which aspect your company wants to improve upon.

   Perhaps boosting customer service levels is the main aim. Data such as vehicle off road (VOR) time is incredibly helpful here, as is the amount of orders or jobs lost during these periods. Identify the most appropriate data sets and set a baseline for the minimum expected standards. Any deviation from that baseline could then be highlighted, allowing management to target specific issues through training and consultation.

   The amount of data available is greater than ever but collecting, analysing and reporting on it does not have to be an overly arduous task. Telematics systems are now more sophisticated than ever, creating individual profiles for drivers based on their performance in a number of key areas related to safe and efficient driving.

   Management can drill down into specific areas of performance to gain greater insight into specific problems. Data is available on a range of behaviours, including speeding, fuel consumption, harsh steering and braking, idling, gear changes and constant speed.

   Devices even provide predictive advice that unlocks even greater fuel savings.

   Drivers can get advice in real-time through their driver terminal to inform them where they are able to improve. Devices even provide predictive advice that unlocks even greater fuel savings. Drivers are told when to take their foot off the accelerator on the approach to roundabouts or junctions, allowing them to drive in a smoother, more fuel-efficient manner.

    

3. Culture of collaboration

   Real employee engagement is needed to experience long-term change in driver behaviour. Rather than a ‘them and us’ philosophy, putting drivers at the heart of the programme can help them feel empowered and more receptive to change.

   When it comes to getting your workforce on board, incentives such as extra holidays, cash or qualifications for personal development work to your benefit. However, simple recognition and acknowledgement of their efforts can be equally effective. League tables that compare the driving performance of individual drivers are also useful for sparking a sense of healthy competition and giving staff goals to work towards.

There is no one-size fits-all approach to improving driver behaviour and the wealth of data now available to field service companies provides a number of ways for them to tackle the issue, depending on their objectives.

However, by following a set of established guidelines – creating a culture of excellence, providing strong leadership, choosing data to suit objectives and working with employees to achieve improvements – best practice can be achieved.

 

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As telematics specialist Microlise launches  Clear, its new driver coaching and behaviour app developed specifically for field service organisations, Kris Oldland discovers his inner White Van Man and realises that not all stereotypes are true…

UPDATE: SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF THIS EVENT REVIEW MICROLISE AND FIELD SERVICE NEWS HAVE TEAMED UP TO REPEAT THE DAY FOR FIELD SERVICE NEWS READERS.

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When we hear the phrase “white van man” it doesn’t always conjure up the most positive connotations: a red top paper somewhere on the dashboard, an arm hanging lazily out of the window and, worst of all , reckless driving with little care for other motorists all fit into the traditional stereotype.

However, the white van driver is not only at the heart of the field service industry but also at the heart of the UK economy as well.

“Over the last few years there has been a meteoric explosion in the white van market. From September 2014 to February 2015, 150,000 vans were registered in the UK” stated TV presenter and author Quentin Willson. Willson was opening an event hosted by telematics specialist Microlise at the Milbrook Technology Park to launch its Clear telematics solution for field service.

“Bringing in £35Bn to the UK economy the idea of White Van man being the spine of the UK economy has been embraced by government.” Wilson continued underlining just how significant a role the White Van Man has in the British economy as the UK continues to rebuild it’s status as a leading financial power following the economic downturn and double dip recession of recent memory.

And of course for those companies who operate these vehicles, there are huge potential savings to be made from improving driver behaviour, to ensure that fuel economy is at an optimum whilst vehicle degradation remains at a minimum.

Service engineers are drivers too

This, essentially, is what Microlise’s Clear is all about: helping coach our field engineers into being better drivers in order to reduce costs.

 

This in itself isn’t a particularly new concept, of course. Telematics companies such as TomTom, Telogis and Fleetmatics have been raising this point and aiming their products at field service companies for some time now. It’s a busy market as it is so is there space for another telematics company toeing the same line as everyone else?

What do Microlise bring to the table that differentiates them from their competitors and peers?

Well for a start they have an extremely strong pedigree in the haulage sector, where they are very well established with fleet operators and truck manufacturers. The annual Microlise Transport Conference is the biggest transport conference in the UK with over 1,000 delegates attending this year’s event held at the Ricoh arena.

Secondly, Clear is aimed specifically at field service companies and is actually a very slick piece of kit indeed.

It is designed with compliance and safety at the forefront, with built-in vehicle walk round checks to both increase fleet uptime and safety standards. There is a comprehensive reporting suite that provides management with insight into utilisation, productivity and compliance in terms of work patterns and HMRC tax requirements.

 

The Clear launch event included interesting presentations from associations including the FTA and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency which both highlighted the looming burden to van operators of having to meet the stricter servicing and roadworthiness compliance regime that already apply to HGV operations. (Given the fact that almost half of all vans fail their MOT first time this could, arguably, be merited. However, it would likely prove costly to both operators and government alike.)

We also heard some excellent case studies from facilities management giant Interserve and pay-TV providers Sky.

The road ahead is Clear

After a morning of we had the chance to test out Clear first hand which of course meant getting behind the wheel of a van ourselves. Our challenge was to complete the Alpine course as close to the optimum time of seven minutes, with as few driving faults as possible. The course which was apparently model on a section of road actually in Alps, certainly provided a challenge, with hairpin bends, heavy cambers and steep inclines combining to make a route that certainly demanded attention.

Stepping into a brand new Ford Transit van provided by co-sponsor Hertz , I admit I felt a sudden rush of nerves. I’d only ever driven a van once and that was not long after passing my test and I’ll readily admit that on that particular occasion I found myself quickly living up to the stereotype as I hogged the middle lane of the M40.

How would I cope on what those who had gone before me described as a tricky track? Was I about to have all my driving weaknesses laid out bare in front of me? Fortunately it seems that, like a good wine, I’ve improved somewhat with age and whilst the course itself was tricky I managed to get around with a respectable B from Clear’s rating system in a not too shabby 7 minutes and 37 seconds.

 

With my dignity secured I could now spend some time with the coaching side of the app to understand better how it works. With my recorded data transferred I was ready to see where I went wrong and was duly handed a tablet (the app is available on both IoS and Android) to have a look through the low points of my run.

The app itself had a nice intuitive interface and I was impressed with how quickly and easily I was able to drill down into data such as fuel efficiencies, carbon emissions and of course dangerous driving elements such as over steering and harsh braking.

And as I looked through my reported errors, I was advised on where I went wrong by none other than Ben Collins, AKA the Stig, the former racing driver who know makes his living perform insane stunts for the movie industry.

Whilst our group were each getting their specific feedback there was also an opportunity to see the back end of the system at work, as it comfortably managed our ‘fleet’ of 30 or so delegates and fed back data in real-time.

The reporting suite also gives field service managers valuable information on fleet utilisation and productivity, delivering additional operational benefits, whilst real-time vehicle tracking gives fleet managers the insight to understand the location and operational status of every vehicle in the fleet.

Clear field service benefits

“Clear will deliver huge benefits to organisations operating fleets of vehicles” commented John Mills, Head of Mobile Workforce Telematics at Microlise. “The product has been developed with the specific needs of these organisations in mind, and we’re excited to be working in such a dynamic space.

“Whilst telematics solutions are traditionally centred on vehicle tracking and driver performance, Clear comes complete with a range of other features that will help field service organisations to be compliant in terms of HMRC reporting, DVSA regulations and in-house vehicle safety standards. Comprehensive task management and communications further enhance efficiency and service levels.”

As well as highlighting driver faults in real-time, Clear also offers easy access reporting. I could very much see how self coaching via smartphone or tablet helps improve engagement and education of our field workers. And such a tool could be very powerful means of communicating to our engineers that they are indeed professional van drivers as well as professional engineers.

In fact,  perhaps one of the biggest challenges of improving the driver standards of our field engineers, could possibly be convincing them they are professional drivers in the first place.

 

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Coming soon: More on the importance of convincing field engineers they are also professional drivers.

 

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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.

 

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Facility management and construction specialists, Oakley Industrial Services, reports  improved vehicle utilisation and more accurate job scheduling since fitting the routeMASTER tracking system from AGM Telematics.

“We started with the system about a year ago with the aim of improving the way we allocate vehicles to particular assignments," says director Natalie Clarke. "Previously we would spend quite a lot of time trying to locate drivers and would have to calculate when they could get to the next job.”

Now, Natalie and the team can monitor each vehicle’s movements in real time from the moment they switch the engine on until the end of the day.

“We have the ability to switch vehicles from job to job with no uncertainty regarding the optimum route to take. We can also keep tabs on individual driving history and always know how long each driver has been behind the wheel. “

This, according to Natalie, helps to maintain cost effective journey plans, reduce time wastage and save fuel. Furthermore, the traffic office can provide customers with accurate and instant ETA information at any time.

“For every project” concludes Natalie Clarke, “we provide detailed risk and method statements along with safety planning and security provision. Accuracy and safety lies at the heart of what we do and it makes good sense to bring our fleet control in line with general policy. Certainly, the routeMASTER system provides a number of benefits in this regard and it fits well with our overall approach of supplying a reliable and efficient backup service in the field.”

Oakley Industrial Services is based in the Midlands and provides a nationwide service which covers all aspects of facility management including roof maintenance and gulley clearing, fall protection, drain jetting, general façade maintenance and wall cladding.

 

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Workwave, the US-based provider of cloud-based solutions for businesses with mobile workforces,  reports revenues up 55% and adds 900 new customers. 

WorkWave, the US-based provider of cloud-based field service management and last-mile fleet management software solutions has announced it added over 900 new customers in the first half of 2015, grew recurring revenue by 55% and increased staff by nearly 30%.

The company, founded in 1984,  was best known as Marathon Data Systems until it underwent a corporate rebranding in June 2015 coinciding with its  acquisition of telematics company Foxtrax. Workwave has made significant investment in its field service management platform to improve the level of connectivity and visibility its customers have inside their office and in the expansion of its mobile workforce platform. This now includes proprietary mobile apps and route planning and optimisation technology, to provide the same visibility and connectivity for field service operations.   The tightly integrated, mobile-first,  suite of software solutions includes WorkWave Service, WorkWave Fleet, WorkWave GPS, PestPac, together with marketing and sales automation  solutions.

“Demand for WorkWave’s field service management and fleet management software solutions continues to grow among both small businesses and enterprise customers, as they increasingly realise that efficiencies from the cloud continue to make their options more affordable and effective,” said Chris Sullens, CEO of WorkWave. “WorkWave helps clients large and small operate more efficiently and profitably, and our combination of deep industry expertise in multiple service and delivery verticals and flexible cloud-based solutions enables us to quickly scale to support this continued year-over-year growth.”

 

WorkWave is off to a strong start in 2015, fuelled by growth in its core vertical of pest control and rapid adoption of its integrated routing, GPS and lead generation offerings across its target industry segments. Key customer wins US Coachways, Friendly’s Ice Cream, Fort Point Beer Co., Hoskins Pest Control, Budget Pest Control, Molly Maid, City of Houston and Spring-Green. Staff numbers increased from 144 employees to over 180 during the first half of 2015 and are expected to reach 200 by the end of 2015.

WorkWave and CEO Chris Sullens were also named a winner in the 2015 Globee Fastest Growing Private Companies Awards which recognise company growth and success in privately-held organisations from around the world.

 

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The great and the good of the telematics industry arrived in Amsterdam for the TomTom Telematics' Developers Conference and left with a new vision of what telematics may look like in the not so distant future...

It’s a strange quirk of fate at the moment that almost every other event in the European field service calendar seems to be held in the wonderful city of Amsterdam. The Dutch capital has become something of a European hub for field service in recent years and another event to add to that list was this year’s TomTom Telematics’ Developers Conference.

However, given that the telematics giant have their headquarters in Amsterdam, perhaps the decision to host their annual conference in the City too, was more about taking advantage of being on home turf. The one-day conference was held at the De Hallen centre, a former tram depot. What better place then for members of the telematics industry to come together to discuss both the latest trends in technology and how they can help in overcoming the seemingly perennial challenges of reducing fuel costs, improving driver behaviour and of course getting field engineers to the right place, on time, everytime?

And whether it was a reflection of the sense of community in the area we found ourselves in or the ongoing effort of TomTom to bring those operating in various pockets of the telematics world together, there was a true sense of community across the day’s event.

It was fantastic to see developers, providers and end users from all across the continent and beyond – even as far as Malaysia and Morocco - all coming together to discuss best practices and new ideas across the break out sessions and in the networking zone throughout the day.

 

It would have been easy for TomTom to attempt to shoe-horn a number of sales pitches in throughout the day but instead the sessions were focused much more on problem solving, emerging technologies or case studies of how companies are using telematics to improve their workflow, including an excellent session with the Rotterdam Fire Service, which really brought home just how important a role technology can play for an organisation for whom getting to their next job on time really is a matter of life and death.

Platform-as-a-Service

Of those sessions that did focus on TomTom and their own offerings there was a very clear message that came through. TomTom Telematics is evolving, they are doing so rapidly and they are quite possibly going to change the way we view telematics forever as they do so.

A big statement? Perhaps but whilst the core technologies of vehicle tracking and routing of course remain a strong element of what TomTom Telematics offer, they can no longer be considered as simply a pure play telematics provider. Instead they have grown and developed, becoming very much a fully fledged Platform-as-a-Service provider within the telematics space in a move seemingly modeled on Salesforce’s approach to CRM.

It is a move that has been gaining momentum for a while: last year in an exclusive interview with Field Service News, Giles Margerison talked at length about the importance of their focus on establishing three separate APIs to make connectivity to the TomTom Telematics platform as simple as possible.

 

The TomTom app store

However, the momentum has now really kicked in with TomTom using the Developer Conference to officially launch their new app store. Even at launch this was full of various  apps provided by both the numerous developers attending and demonstrating their solutions at the conference, and the many, many more out in the wider TomTom ecosystem.

George De Boer, International Alliance Manager at TomTom Telematics commented: “We started out as a telematics company making sure fleet managers could manage their fleet but as soon as we introduced the connected navigation, together with telematics it soon became a solution that you could use for optimising your business processes.” “So we went from purely managing fuel and savings on the wear and tear on the vehicle to becoming an end-to-end manufacturer and supplier of a solution that could be used throughout the whole business process.”

Whilst TomTom have now placed themselves firmly at the heart of this telematics revolution, the responsibility for driving the technology forward seems to be very much shared between TomTom themselves, their developer partners and, most importantly, their customers.

 

The customer role

One such customer which has worked closely with TomTom in a relationship that sees both companies driving the use of telematics forward as they work alongside each other, is UK utilities company Scotia Gas Networks (SGN).

With a remit to maintain 74,000km of gas main pipe within the UK, and a fleet of over 2,000 vehicles, plus SLAs that include response times of just one hour, keeping track of the fleet is absolutely vital for SGN.

Having originally implemented the TomTom Telematics system for just point-to-point referencing - knowing where the vehicle is, and using the system for time sheet validation and so on - SGN soon realised that they could achieve much more with the WebFleet system.

“Straight away I knew what TomTom could do for us” recalls Chris Stone, SGN Head of Finance. “We’ve evolved now into a relationship where we are trying to do more and more. In fact we are pioneering a lot of what TomTom do and what they can do,” he adds

 

Indeed Stone, and SGN’s open approach to working closely with TomTom on their new developments is yielding far greater dividends than a more hands-off approach might. “I like to get two or three benefits out of a system I invest in.” states Stone “Yes we can put a tracking system in our vehicles and we can track them but what else can we get out of it? Well we can get driver behaviour, fuel efficiency, economy…. there are all these other bolt-ons”

However, whilst there are clear benefits for establishing such a close working relationship with your technology partners and adopting a leading edge appetite for utilising new technology, to continuously enhance your service standards and improve margins, it is not an approach all companies can take. After all, not every company has the influence of a utilities company with a fleet of  2,000.

However, the emergence of TomTom as a platform provider is big news for companies of all sizes.

Look out for Part 2 of our report, where we’ll hear more about TomTom’s new App Store. Is it set to revolutionise 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?

 

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