PeopleNet Expands OEM Partnerships, Appoints Managers for New Business Lines
PeopleNet has expanded its partnerships with truck and engine makers and recently appointed leaders for two of its new divisions as it continues to broaden its business beyond its core aftermarket offerings.
The mobile technology provider named Garland Jackson Jr. as general manager for its growing business with original equipment manufacturers, which now includes new remote diagnostics deals with Kenworth Truck Co. and Peterbilt Motors Co. and an expanded partnership with engine maker Cummins Inc.
PeopleNet also appointed Jim Rodi as general manager of its North American oil and gas services division.
The OEM and energy services divisions are among the four newly-established business lines that PeopleNet announced in January. The others are its main trucking technology business, led by Mark Kessler, and a new video intelligence division.
Jackson, who has been with PeopleNet for 15 years, said the company plans to continue building its OEM relationships moving forward.
“We want to partner with everyone in the OEM community,” he said. “The industry is changing and we’re changing as well. We want to be more aligned with the places where we’re going to serve.”
Jackson said fleets will continue to purchase onboard technology on an aftermarket basis in the years ahead, especially if they operate vehicles from multiple OEMs, but predicted that a growing number of trucking companies will want factory-fit telematics so they can put their new trucks in service as soon as possible with the least amount of effort.
“I think it’s going to be a combination of both, but I do believe that you’re seeing the market lean toward having it installed in the factory so the truck can be placed on the road sooner,” he said.
Under the new agreements with Kenworth and Peterbilt, PeopleNet’s Mobile Gateway hardware will come factory-installed on the OEMs’ new trucks equipped with Paccar MX-13 engines.
With that technology, Kenworth’s TruckTech+ and Peterbilt’s SmartLINQ telematics systems will remotely monitor vehicle health and help fleet managers coordinate with dealers to expedite repairs.
The truck makers announced their new telematics platforms last month at the Mid-America Trucking Show and plan to launch them this summer.
PeopleNet and Cummins also announced the availability an introductory version of a remote diagnostics platform for equipment powered by Cummins engines on PeopleNet’s current g3 onboard computer.
The new service, named Cummins Connected Diagnostics, wirelessly connects the truck to Cummins’ fault code analytics to immediately diagnose the vehicle’s condition.
The new collaboration between Cummins and PeopleNet builds on the integrated fault code analysis already available to PeopleNet users.
Dan Jester, senior director of business development at PeopleNet, said remote fault-code monitoring is becoming an essential service across the trucking industry, particularly with today’s complex emission-reduction systems.
“This connected diagnostics is now a critical component of a productive truck,” he said. “It’s becoming a necessary, critical capability for these very high-tech trucks to stay operational.”
The technology supplier’s move into the OEM space began with its 2013 agreement with Navistar International Corp. to provide diagnostics data for the truck maker’s OnCommand Connection platform.
PeopleNet is one of 11 telematics vendors currently working with OnCommand, which uses third-party telematics systems to remotely monitor fault codes.
The company also has a memorandum of agreement dating back to March 2013 to develop fleet-management services for Volvo Trucks.
Volvo Trucks and sister company Mack Trucks have existing partnerships with technology vendor Telogis, but both OEMs said they are seeking to partner with additional suppliers moving forward.
At the Mid-America Trucking Show, Göran Nyberg, president of Volvo Trucks North America, said a Volvo truck “should be like a smart phone.”
“We should have an interface for anyone that has a good app for the customers’ needs to connect with our technology,” he told Transport Topics. “We are having discussions with other partners that we believe can bring value to our customers.”
Meanwhile, the PeopleNet’s oil and gas division is combining its resources with GeoTrac, one of its sister companies under Trimble Navigation, to provide a comprehensive technology product that will go to market under the Trimble brand.
The division is offering asset tracking, analytics, navigation and security applications to crude oil and fuel haulers as well as the operators actually servicing the wells, said Rodi, its new general manager.
One key product is turn-by-turn navigation to well sites through an integration with ALK’s Copilot Energy product, he said.
Although crude oil prices have plummeted recently, Rodi said businesses in that sector are investing in technology to streamline their operations so they are better prepared when prices rise again.
“That’s where technology like ours really pays dividends for these guys,” he said.
