Volvo, Mack Join Omnitracs to Create Telematics Product

Volvo Trucks and Mack Trucks are partnering with technology supplier Omnitracs to develop integrated fleet-management services that would utilize their trucks’ built-in telematics hardware.

These collaborations would expand the third-party applications available on Volvo and Mack models, the two truck makers said in separate statements on Aug. 17. Volvo and Mack are part of Volvo Group.

John Sommers II for Transport Topics

The sister companies’ agreements with Omnitracs continue an industry trend toward greater collaboration between truck makers and technology suppliers, in many cases resulting in factory-installed technology that eliminates the need for aftermarket hardware purchases and installation.

Integrated services from Omnitracs would be enabled by the same hardware that drives Volvo’s Remote Diagnostics and Mack’s GuardDog Connect platforms, which provide proactive fault-code data and repair-planning assistance to reduce vehicle downtime.

Remote Diagnostics is standard on new Volvo trucks powered by Volvo engines, while GuardDog Connect is standard on Mack’s Pinnacle, Granite, Titan and TerraPro concrete-pumper models.

The original equipment manufacturers did not specify which fleet-management offerings their partnerships with Omnitracs would seek to create, but Volvo listed vehicle tracking, vehicle and driver performance data and regulatory compliance as examples of those types of services.

Initially, the Volvo and Mack services will use tablets or smartphones as the in-cab display, said Richard Glasmann, Omnitracs’ vice president of OEM strategy, sales and marketing.

He wouldn’t provide a specific target date for the product launches, but said the companies have taken a “very aggressive” approach to the timeline.

He also said Omnitracs will differentiate the feature sets of the Volvo and Mack offerings and tailor them to the customers of each brand.

“This relationship with Omnitracs will advance our connected-vehicle strategy by opening the door to another leading provider of services to help our customers run their businesses more efficiently,” said Conal Deedy, director of connected-vehicle services at Volvo Trucks.

“With more options available, customers will be able to choose the fleet-management solution that best meets their needs and improves their total cost of ownership,” said David Pardue, Mack’s vice president of aftermarket business development.

Last year, Volvo and Mack launched fleet-management packages from Telogis, including applications for driver performance monitoring, electronic logging of hours of service and truck-specific navigation.

Volvo also has a memorandum of understanding in place with PeopleNet dating back to March 2013. The companies have yet to launch a joint offering, but a PeopleNet spokeswoman said conversations have been continuing and the companies were set

to discuss plans at PeopleNet’s user conference, which begins Aug. 24.

Moving forward, Omnitracs sees collaborations with OEMs as an important part of its future, said Glasmann, who worked at Volvo and Navistar Inc. before joining Omnitracs in April 2014.

“In the last five years, every OEM has gotten into the telematics game in one shape or form,” he said. “The game has changed.”

With platooning and autonomous driving on the horizon, the trucks of tomorrow will feature more and more electronic control units, potentially opening up new opportunities for integration and data sharing, he said.

Glasmann said Omnitracs is open to working with OEMs, component suppliers and end customers in whatever manner they need.

“If they already have their hardware, we will be hardware agnostic and work off of their platform,” he said. “If they need a hardware solution that we could provide, we will definitely do that as well.”

Clem Driscoll, founder and principal at research and consulting firm C.J. Driscoll & Associates, also sees the truck telematics business increasingly moving toward factory-fit hardware but different service providers.

“I think we are heading in the direction of the hardware being factory installed, but able to run different aftermarket platforms, because I think that’s what fleets want,” he said. “The fleet operators don’t really want multiple devices in the truck. It doesn’t make sense.”

Other OEMs have also been expanding their integrations with third-party technology suppliers.

In June, Daimler Trucks North America announced it had acquired a minority stake in telematics firm Zonar Systems Inc. The companies have been collaborating on DTNA’s Virtual Technician remote diagnostics platform for several years.

At the Mid-America Trucking Show in March, Kenworth Truck Co. and Peterbilt Motors Co. introduced their own remote diagnostics systems, which use factory-installed telematics hardware supplied by PeopleNet. Kenworth’s TruckTech+ and Peterbilt’s SmartLinq platforms, which both entered production this summer, come standard on new models equipped with Paccar MX-13 engines.

Navistar Inc.’s OnCommand Connection open-architecture remote diagnostics platform works in conjunction with a variety of third-party telematics systems.

Engine maker Cummins Inc. also offers its own Connected Diagnostics system through third-party telematics vendors.

Telogis, in addition to its partnerships with Volvo and Mack, has launched or announced OEM partnerships with Hino Trucks, Isuzu, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co.