PeopleNet to Combine Software Offerings to Present a ‘Precision Mobility Platform’

This story appears in the Aug. 26 print edition of Transport Topics.

SAN ANTONIO — PeopleNet Communications Corp. unveiled what it said will be the next steps in the evolution of its mobile technology and fleet-management software, including support for 4G wireless service, cloud-based data processing and a greater role for predictive analytics.

Moving forward, PeopleNet will also focus on bringing together its mobile software, back-office platform and analytics to give its customers more tools to boost efficiency, company President Brian McLaughlin said Aug. 20 at PeopleNet’s user conference here.

The combination of technologies create what McLaughlin dubbed PeopleNet’s “precision mobility platform.”

“Going forward . . . we can start to coach drivers in real time on shifting patterns, coach them on safety behaviors, predict which driver is most likely going to have an issue, predict which truck is most likely to have a breakdown and benchmark your fleet against other fleets,” he said. “These are all things you can do when you bring together analytics with mobility.”

Some of the upgrades are already in place, while others are still in development.

Support for 4G, which is still in the works, will enable PeopleNet to send data faster, while also enabling a better Web-browsing experience, McLaughlin said. The company currently uses 3G and 2G wireless technology.

PeopleNet already has expanded its display options to rugged handheld devices through partnerships with Intermec and Motorola, but plans to continue adding more devices, tablets and fixed-mount display options, McLaughlin said.

PeopleNet also is in the process of transferring its data storage and management functions to Web-based architecture from satellite, cellular and Wi-Fi wireless communications.

The cloud-based environment will enable the company to process information more rapidly, said Mark Botticelli, PeopleNet’s chief technology officer.

“We need to get that data off of that truck and into your hands as quickly as possible, and we will measure that in seconds, no longer minutes,” he told conference attendees. “How are we going to do that? We’re going to move communications, and I mean all of it, into the cloud.”

The company also described new predictive analytics offerings in development at its Vusion division.

Vusion uses data to help fleets identify poorly performing assets and make equipment decisions and implement driver scoring, said Tom Fansler, the division’s president.

The division also plans to offer real-time analytics in the cab, which fleets could use to coach drivers, he said.

PeopleNet, which is part of Trimble Navigation Ltd.’s transportation and logistics division, also announced it is collaborating with sister companies ALK Technologies and GeoTrac Systems Inc. to expand its technology for the U.S. energy services transportation sector.

Trimble acquired navigation software firm ALK in December and GeoTrac, a provider of fleet management technology for the oil and gas industry, in June 2012.

Those acquisitions are an example of Trimble’s effort to “take the lead” on bringing together the expertise of different technology businesses, McLaughlin said.

PeopleNet also will continue to partner with outside companies, he added.

In one such partnership, PeopleNet is working with weigh station bypass service provider Drivewyze Inc.

Drivewyze on Aug. 19 announced it is offering a test version of its GPS-based PreClear weigh station bypass service in PeopleNet’s onboard computing systems.

The beta version for PeopleNet’s Tablet and Blu.2 platforms will soon be available and will include analytics to show the costs of unplanned delays due to weigh station pull-ins, Drivewyze said.

During the conference, McLaughlin also discussed what he sees as the current trends in the fleet telematics industry, which he said is experiencing 10% to 20% annual growth.

He said integration with truck manufacturers will grow, while the expansion of support for mobile devices is “exploding.”

McLaughlin also pointed to technology convergence as a clear trend. “Mobility, enterprise software, analytics — all of this is going to come crashing together.”

PeopleNet Senior Vice President Mark Kessler told attendees that the company has added more than 250 customers over the past 12 months.

One of those new customers is Southeastern Freight Lines, which is adopting PeopleNet’s open platform, the technology vendor announced earlier in the month.

The platform will enable the less-than-truckload fleet to combine its own proprietary applications with PeopleNet’s telematics data, according to the announcement. The fleet plans to install PeopleNet’s technology on 2,800 units.