Corporate fleets are on the verge of a productivity revolution triggered by increasingly pervasive and sophisticated vehicle connectivity tools being built into vehicles that will transition fleet management from a reactive to proactive profession. In most cases, these technology trends are manifestations of a broader technological transformation that is percolating throughout the global economy, impacting many different industry segments, with fleet representing only one offshoot of this multi-faceted change.

The impact on fleet will be further augmented by other macro-societal changes, such as the migration to the "internet of everything" and the use of big data, which will drive decisions for all aspects of fleet management, including vehicle selection, maintenance management, and fleet safety initiatives.

In the near-term, big data will help fleet managers understand relationships that were never analyzed in the past, such as employing metrics to enhance sales performance by fine-tuning vehicle routing to a granular level.

Or, identifying previously unrecognized patterns for accidents by evaluating data in ways that we would never have considered in the recent past. With the use of fleet analytics and the accessibility to greater amounts of data, corporate fleets will become ultra-efficient and gain the capability to make quantifiable increases in driver productivity.

Turning Raw Data into Actionable Events

Data analytical tools create the ability to turn raw data into actionable events. This watershed development will significantly impact all fleet managers, regardless of fleet vocation and fleet size. These next-generation productivity tools will aggregate and correlate massive amounts of data and turn these data points into the industry’s new best practices that, in turn, will evolve into the new best-in-class standards that will drive our industry.

Currently, and even more so in the future, fleet productivity will revolve around telematics. Fleet productivity tools are evolving at a rapid pace due to the adoption of telematics by many commercial fleets. There will be improvements in the standardization of data collected between telematics providers and their devices, as well as between vehicle types. 

The widespread rise of integrated, advanced data analytics will be the start of a new chapter in the history of fleet management. Data being generated by the vehicle itself, combined with its actual and predictive maintenance data, will allow fleets to target replacement schedules on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis rather than a generalized replacement date.

Embedded and aftermarket vehicle technologies will be the catalyst of a new and expanded fleet business model focused on managing a connected vehicle ecosystem, which will encompass not only the vehicle, but also the occupants of the vehicle – the mobile workers, the work they perform, and the tools they use.

The evolution of this connected commercial vehicle ecosystem will parallel the concurrent evolution of a consumer connected vehicle ecosystem. The trend is to manage beyond the vehicle itself and transition into the domain of the mobile workforce. When vehicles are connected between themselves and the surrounding infrastructure, it will create a multifaceted conduit to provide new solutions to the vehicle occupants and the opportunity to digitize many of the off-line analog work functions that exist in today’s mobile work environment.

Ultimately, the work vehicle will evolve beyond a transportation and cargo-carrying tool into a mobile connectivity work platform. 

Deep Dive Discussion on Global Connectivity

If you want to learn how to better manage a multi-regional fleet in this emerging environment, Geotab and its reseller partners will present on June 4, a Deep Dive discussion on vehicle connectivity and the journey to a multinational connected vehicle solution. This half-day discussion is one part of the larger 2019 Global Fleet Conference on June 4-6 in Miami. 

The Geotab-sponsored Connectivity Deep Dive will discuss:

Opportunities Arising from Global Fleet Big Data: Discussion of the unique fleet requirements, goals, challenges, and opportunities from the perspective of global fleet colleagues.

Benefits of a Global Telematics Solution: Discussion on how to create a global connected vehicle technology strategy focusing on why you should think globally and enable locally.

Procuring a Top-Notch Telematics Solution: Using real-world examples, this session will identify what to look for when searching for the best telematics solution for your fleet and steps for running a successful RFP.

Connectivity around the Globe: International fleet experts from Splend, AB InBev, Shell, and Pepsi will share their challenges and successes in their journey towards a multinational connected vehicle solution. Also discussed will be right-sizing considerations when implementing a multinational telematics solution.

Transformative EV Solutions: This session will get you thinking critically and acting practically to identify an effective EV strategy for your fleet.

Discovering New Telematics Opportunities: This session will identify ways Big Data and developing artificial intelligence can improve an international fleet program. 

Connected Vehicle Technology of the Future: As more vehicles in your fleet offer connectivity, discussed will be disruption possibilities, change predictions, along with analyzing future fleet strategies, and what role telematics companies will play. 

You can find more information about the 2019 Global Fleet Conference at www.globalfleetconference.com

Let me know what you think.

mike.antich@bobit.com