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SkyBitz Launches Local Fleet Telematics Division
The company said its new business unit, SkyBitz Local Fleets, offers GPS tracking and driver efficiency and safety applications for sales, service and local delivery fleets that typically operate vans and medium-duty trucks.
In addition to vehicle-location monitoring, the technology enables fleet managers to track the fuel usage, speed and mileage of their vehicles through real-time, automated reporting.
“With this launch, SkyBitz is taking the next step in expanding its leadership in commercial telematics,” said Henry Popplewell, president of SkyBitz. “SkyBitz Local Fleets allows our customers to spend more time working to grow their business while our technology cuts costs through subtle improvements to employee driving habits.”
SkyBitz said it created the new business unit from its July acquisitions of two technology firms in the local fleet management sector — Reltima, a fleet tracking provider, and GPS North America, its largest distributor.
SkyBitz Local Fleets uses GPS tracking devices that transmit information to a cloud-based platform. It is available on a subscription basis, eliminating the need for upfront investment, the company said.
SkyBitz said it has also created a customer service group to serve as a resource for users.
Although the Local Fleets division provides tracking services for predominantly light- and medium-duty vehicles, Popplewell said SkyBitz is open to the idea of providing telematics for the heavy-duty truck segment as well.
“We think there are opportunities in the Class 8 space,” he told Transport Topics. “We are looking at commercial telematics broadly, and we think there are opportunities for SkyBitz in adjacent business areas that maybe we have not historically pursued.”
In October, SkyBitz acquired SmartLogix, a provider of fleet-management technology for petroleum distributors.
SkyBitz, based in Herndon, Virginia, is a subsidiary of Telular Corp., which is owned by Avista Capital Partners.
