It goes without saying that there needs to be a ‘why’ behind any product or service you want customers to buy into. A “why should I get involved?”, to accompany the ‘what’ and the ‘how’?
With Connected Solutions the ‘why’ is a big one, especially as the market is tipped to grow to $6.46 billion by 2023 (an annual growth rate of 11.17%)
That’s because it’s tied up with many of the biggest challenges fleet managers and transporters today – from the need for greater load/temperature visibility to the drive for greater cost efficiency.
The sustainability play
A big factor driving market adoption is the compliance angle, and the growing need to ensure all fleet activities comply with local regulations for sustainable deliveries.
It’s here that fleet managers are looking to get smart around sustainable deliveries. In particular, those involved with last mile drops, and the ever-growing list of regulations concerning emissions, noise, and diesel engines.
Hence the market growth of telematics and the continued development of GPS-based solutions, combined with automation, to inspire the ‘smart fleet’ – and ensure right vehicle, right time, right load.
From alarm to reaction
Another obvious factor in market adoption is customer expectations. These continue to evolve toward the demand for greater ‘last mile’ flexibility. The challenge however is that such requirements are occurring in tandem with a growth in regulatory restrictions.
All of which puts the focus on location. Fleet Managers are typically aware of any Low Emission Zones (LEZs), Ultra-Low Emission Zones (ULEZs), diesel exclusion zones, or areas where PIEK standards for sound outputs are rigorously enforced.
The attraction of Connected Solutions is that they can be used to geo-fence these zones, and to trigger alarms when drivers enter them. The reaction can then be to switch from diesel to electric (if the unit allows), or to make alternate arrangements.
The route to success
Another market development inspiring the take-up of Connected Solutions is route optimization. Put simply, the drive for greater cost-efficiencies are leading many to seeking abilities to re-adjust routes and schedules in real-time to save time and money.
The sustainability play here is that businesses can optimize the ‘diesel section’ of every journey (distribution center to local supply hub), and then the non-diesel part for inner-city drops.
This enables Fleet Managers to:
- Plot the ideal route and vehicle for each journey, and identify multiple pick-up and drop-off points to ramp up the profitability of each route
- Identify routes that help minimize idling times – and therefore cut fuel wastage (which in the US alone is estimated to reach 22.7 billion liters each year)
- Arrange routes to structure last mile deliveries from a time perspective as well, to prioritize earlier deliveries in urban areas with high PIEK standards
Removing blind spots
Finally (for this high level overview) there come the benefits associated with recording, storing, and tracking all the data being streamed back from the fleet. Information that’s increasingly being analyzed in real-time to enable:
- The monitoring of driver performance – including mandatory breaks and time on the road, to align with new EU regulations (165/2014) for smart tachographs
- The building up of a comprehensive view of the fleet’s ‘network’, including location, movement, and vehicle status, to eliminate blind spots in the business
- The ability to demonstrate compliance for both the load being transported and the vehicle doing the delivery to protect the brand reputations of all involved
Give your customers the ‘why’ to get connected
With Connected Solutions you can help customers find solutions to many of the industry’s biggest questions. Regardless of industry or operating environment, the issue of sustainable deliveries is a growing challenge for many organizations – and Connected Solutions provides many of the answers.
