Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/555101
8 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | AUGUST 2015 N o matter what the OEM makeup of your fleet looks like, a truck isn't worth a hill of beans if you can't rely on quality service and support to diagnose the problem and repair the tractor quickly. Daimler Trucks North America, which currently touts a 40 percent share of the North American Class 8 truck market, understands this. "I would say with OEMs, it was all about product five years ago, but we clearly understand that our industry is changing," says Friedrich Baumann, DTNA's senior vice president, aftermarket. "Today, it is as much about the service as it is the product." In 2011, the company partnered with telematics solu- tions provider Zonar to launch DTNA's Virtual Technician remote diagnostics platform in an effort to shorten repair turnaround times for customers at its 750 dealer and dis- tributor locations in North America. In June, the collaboration took another step when DTNA became a minority investor in Zonar, creating a long-term partnership aimed at creating advancements in intelligent connectivity. "Combining the strengths of both organizations pro- vides an almost unbeatable combination," says Baumann. One recent enhancement Zonar has made to its product suite is ZFuel, which takes telematics information to the next level by providing a geographic overlay of engine fault code information generated by Virtual Technician. "We wanted to take the spatial information that allows fleets to really drill down to make sure drivers aren't shift- ing too soon or idling when it's 70 degrees outside, where are they using or not using cruise control, etc.," says Mike McQuade, co-founder and chief strategy officer for Zonar. A natural progression of the DTNA-Zonar partnership could be predictive diagnostics, says Brett Brinton, Zonar's co-founder and chief executive officer, adding that the first provider of such an evolution in remote diagnostics likely would come from an OEM. Since the inception of Virtual Technician, Zonar has collected more than 100 terabytes of data coming from engines and vehicles. "We have the data now, and DTNA has the information on their end to put it together and make it happen," says Brinton. But he adds that even though data and analytics is the next frontier, there is not a product on the roadmap currently in development. Looking 20 years out, the future of telematics and OEM offerings has the potential to be a game-changer for fleets. "Mechatronics will become more of a topic than it is today because everything will be run on wires – brake by wire, steer by wire – and it will become much more domi- nant," says Baumann. "What that means for service is that the technician's life will be different because the majority of work can be done remotely." "When every truck is connected, contextual infor- mation that will allow experts to remotely diagnose a truck will be commonplace and demanded just like any other feature on a truck," says McQuade. "Fuel economy will improve astronomically because you can compress the 30 percent variability that a driver brings, and prognostics will eliminate hits to fuel economy from component failure." Baumann also expects mobile service and remote offerings will continue to grow. "I think a lot of stuff will happen with flashing over the air, and that has the capability to provide more individualized service," he says. "With FOTA, in a number of years, each vehicle could be programmed for the specific route to optimize fuel econ- omy based on terrain, load type and weather and traffic forecasts. No longer will you have to take it to a dealership and hook it up to have it reflashed." The DTNA-Zonar partnership isn't happening in a vacuum, of course, as other OEMs and telematics provid- ers are teaming up to provide enhanced service offerings. As this trend continues to happen and as more advance- ments in telematics take place, truck productivity and profitability will continue to increase. UPFRONT Customers should reap benefits from next waves of telematics advancements BY JEFF CRISSEY Enhanced DTNA-Zonar partnership takes service, support to the next level JEFF CRISSEY is Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail jcrissey@ccjmagazine.com.