Trailer Services Technology

10 Tough Questions to Your Trailer Telematics Provider.

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Keep Your Future in Sight!

The decision on a telematics system is a decision with far-reaching consequences. It is not just a question of money. With a telematics system you set the course for the future of your company and determine which services you can and wish to provide for your customers in the future.

At the same time, a decision in favour of a telematics system off ers the opportunity to check and optimize your own processes. This leads to the greatest possible benefi t for the data-supported logistics system.

The 10 direct questions to the telematics provider of your choice should give assistance in the ability to better compare the constantly growing number of off ers available. Check how individual providers are positioned, how they will develop and what form of expertise is hidden behind the fi ne presentations. The aim should be to make the decision for the coming years easier for you.

So you fi nd a trustworthy partner who is already concentrating on the upcoming challenges and who will develop new functions and services together with and for you.

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1When Do I Need a Trailer Telematics System?

Logistics procedures are constantly subject to change. The provision of information, speed, transparency – those are the requirements which you have to meet as a freight forwarder:

- You need more transparency for your trailers which you place within a trailer pool.

- You must independently monitor previous loaded trailers. - Your trailers are on the move in multi-mode transport by

rail or ship. - You increasingly receive requests from your customers for

real-time data on the load during the transporting.

If only one of these statements applies to you, then a trailer telematics system can be of considerable help to you.

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2Why Do I Need a Trailer Telematics System in Addition to The Telematics in The Tractor Unit?

At fi rst sight it may seem that with a truck-based telematics system you have an overview of all data relevant to your processes. In most cases they often simply consist of the transmitted job information, the digital tachograph and the driver communication.

But in reality, truck and trailer telematics systems complement each other, because one cannot fully replace the other. Essentially, both supply important data for your daily business, each independently. The focus of your client is always on the load. The only reason for the transport business is your transport from one place to another, and this equally applies to the telematics system. The load is on the trailer and it is this which the trailer telematics system takes care of.

The enhancement of the technical data from the trailer make the telematics applications for the entire road train complete.

Constant pressure on costs and for optimisation places consistent demands on you as a freight forwarder to develop new possibilities. Crossover traffi c, trailer pools, the provision of trailers in trailer yards or trailers as a store are just some examples where a trailer has to be planned separately from the truck.

The use of two telematics systems, in the truck and in the trailer, gives you a double potential. The total cost calculation for your shipping will improve considerably. At the same time, you can o� er your customers new and innovative services with the help of modern technology.

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3What Can I Expect From a Competitive Provider of Telematics Systems?

When choosing possible providers you should pay attention to the following tangible benefi ts:

- The highest possible protection class should ensure quality and functioning of the telematics hardware.

- Well-known hardware and software providers are our partners and together we guarantee a professional and upgradable system infrastructure.

- Professional computer centres off er you computing power and data hosting which ensure maximum security for your sensitive data.

- Skilled support from project consultancy work to the back offi ce give you additional help with the telematics system both when you start and during daily business.

- Cost-eff ective fi tting of new equipment and the immediate availability of the telematics system from delivery of the new vehicle is provided by a trailer telematics system from the vehicle manufacturer.

- A large and highly qualifi ed service partner network ensures a simple and comfortable retrofi tting process and maintenance facilities throughout Europe.

- Tailor-made solutions are based on extensive experience of the provider in telematics projects for application in logistics and fl eet management. In this way it is avoided that you become a paying product tester.

- In the long term your investment will really pay off if your provider is able to guarantee advanced development and technical expertise by using the latest technologies and functions.

Don't hesitate to keep on questioning potential providers until the fi nal doubts are cleared. A provider which can easily meet these requirements will be happy to explain all the details to you.

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4What Should My Trailer Telematics System Do in Addition to Giving the Position?

The ability to display the current position should really be just the minimum requirement for your telematics system. It eases the load on your dispatching section because the determination of the exact location renders such things as requests to the driver by telephone unnecessary.

However, much more is possible with a trailer telematics system. You can receive data relating to the specifi c contract with positioning history records, mileage and axle loading. Through “geo-fencing”, the determination of particular corridors and time windows in which the vehicle should always be moving you receive a warning immediately when there is a threat of a delay or even of misuse. That increases security for the freight, vehicle and driver. You can increase your customer satisfaction if you

can add more transparency of job-related telematics data to your delivery information. For refrigerated freight you already are demanded by law to be able to provide indisputable evidence that the refrigeration chain has remained intact at all times.

With the data available on the movements of the transport you can receive from the additional services provided by a trailer telematics system the key elements for modern fl eet management. You can manage an even usage of your fl eet through monthly reports and analyses and thus optimize your costs. In this way you can immediately see whether your long-term general customer contracts meet the real costs and you can go into the next round of negotiations with reliable fi gures. In addition to this, you have the possibility to constantly monitor the technical condition of your trailer fl eet, for example the refrigeration unit, brakes, tyres to prevent premature wear and to be able to quickly act when any faults occur.

In the end you will no longer be able to imagine a logistics operation without a trailer telematics system.

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5Why Should I Pay Particular Attention to High System Availability?

A high level of system availability doesn’t just ensure that your trailer telematics system runs smoothly in daily use. It is at the same time an important indicator of a high quality standard of the equipment.

The basis for a high system availability begins with sturdy hardware. Only if this is specially designed for use on a trailer, the data will reliably fi nd their way into the databases via the GSM network.

Extreme temperatures, poor road conditions, long service intervals and guaranteed operational capability even after long standstill times – those are just some of the challenges which the hardware developers must meet.

The infrastructure for the data transfer also demands constant development and service by professional partners who can ensure that data security, internet connection and the bandwidths necessary for the transmission are maintained. The GSM provider should be able to off er a high level of coverage within the roaming network. That can be compared with the availability and signal quality within your mobile telephone network.

Only when all components and systems within the telematics are perfectly tuned to one another can you assume an availability of >98 %. If you wish to provide support for transport or maintenance processes through the telematics system, then a high level of availability is an absolute requirement.

Telematics systems today have to be able to work worldwide – based on the GSM network coverage, because you, as a customer, accept an increasingly large number of intercontinental cross-border contracts.

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6The maximum benefi t of trailer telematics often comes through the networking of the data with the other business processes. Isolated applications have long been a stumbling block for development in modern data management. Many opportunities for the application of telematics result from particular customer requirements which assume an open standard and fl exible possibilities for analysis.

You, as the customer, must be able to freely decide into what application, as your leading system, the data should be integrated into in each case. Thus it is possible to assume, for instance, that job-related telematics data could be integrated into an order management tool while the technical data could be tied into the fl eet management software.

I Want to Have the Telematics Data in My Existing Systems, How Does that Work?

Open standardised interfaces make the system connections very simple today. You, as the customer, only have to make the eff ort to defi ne which data should go where. It is to your benefi t if you can be sure of professional support from your telematics provider when doing this. In the end, such actions as the optimised application of the data are dependent on this.

A maximum of process optimisation and thus maximum customer benefi t therefore result from this.

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TelematicOne

7How Do I Obtain an Overview of My Heterogeneous Fleet?

There are solutions on the market and open interfaces also play an important part.

The “TelematicOne” portal from T-Systems is an example of a product which on the one hand takes on the task of bundling together the data on the various trailers from owned, rented and from various manufacturers. On the other hand, it also off ers functions which support the logistics processes. Thus you can make use of a forecast arrival time as you can of a transfer of job-related refrigeration data to the customer on arrival at the destination.

Through this development, you can have, as a customer, complete freedom in the selection of vehicles, telematics systems and rental partners.

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8What Will My Investment be Worth in the Future?

The decision on a telematics system is a long-term investment. You should be certain that the partner you select will still have the market presence and expertise in the future as a trendsetter to be able to provide you with customized solutions in the coming years. Therefore, also speak to your favoured candidate about his plans for the future.

A number of trends can be recognized already: - The market is consolidating and the professionalism of the

remaining providers is forging ahead. Only companies which operate telematics as their core business will be able to continue to develop in line with their customers and transform new developments into marketable applications.

- Telematics data are becoming increasingly used in an application-specifi c manner and, at the same time, are being bundled and made available in comprehensive data portals. In addition to logistics, fl eet management applications should be mainly mentioned in this respect. In the next step telematics data on goods, materials handling equipment or other logistics elements will be able to be analysed so that the whole of the logistics process from the store to production or sale in the outlet can be incorporated within special software solutions.

- Of course, mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones will also change the possibilities to benefi t from telematics. Through apps telematics data are becoming available at any time and any place.

Here, too, rapid progress in the possibilities will be made. Therefore, it is all the more important to select a telematics solution which is set up fl exibly for the future.

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9What Advantages Does a System Tied to a Manufacturer Offer Me?

Telematics systems which are tied to a particular manufacturer are increasingly becoming a standard feature of new vehicles. Right from the development of an integrated trailer telematics system the manufacturer’s expertise can be transferred fi rst-hand for later use in the vehicle. The technology is then available from the very start and you save time and money for a retrofi tting. However, the greatest advantage which you have from some manufacturer solutions is that a comprehensive, sensible combination of the various services can be carried out. You, as the customer, can then receive “one-stop shopping” off ers to highly attractive conditions.

That begins with an in-house fi nancial services provider with whom you can immediately include both the telematics fi tments and the running operating costs into your fi nancing. In addition to cost security through Full Service contracts, a telematics package off ers you simple monitoring of the maintenance cycles. In combination with the expertise from a database-supported repair software package you receive, for instance, in “Fleet4You” from Schmitz Cargobull a fl eet management system which can even give you recommendations for exchanging vehicles within your fl eet. And, in the end, the resale value of optimally monitored and maintained trailers increases in the manufacturer's own second-hand trade.

Telematics systems which are tied to a particular manufacturer o� er you naturally an integration into the product development and a comprehensive range of services which an independent provider is unable to o� er you.

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10How Quickly Can a Trailer Telematics System Pay Off for Me?

Established telematics manufacturers nowadays off er you a price level at which your telematics investment can pay off within 12 months. The prime factor is the direct savings eff ects which you can gain through the reduction in communication costs in your dispatch section, in the optimisation of your routes and in the reduction in fuel costs simply through having the correct tyre pressure.

But only if you optimize your processes and internal procedures you will be able to completely benefi t from the savings potentials of your trailer telematics system. With a resource-optimised fl eet management system, the combination of the various telematics services and the networking with the tools

of a logistics management system at the loading companies you can achieve highly effi cient business processes. For this aspect the part which a skilled support team from your provider can play in the detailed discussions in the introductory stage should not be underestimated.

In addition, when selecting a provider also ensure that the fl at-rates are really fi xed and do not contain any hidden costs. It is also important that the roaming costs are included in the monthly usage rates. Major providers nowadays off er fl at-rates which can be used worldwide. As a customer, that gives you the reassurance of a transparent cost calculation.

We look forward to receiving your questions.

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Schmitz Cargobull AG · Bahnhofstr. 22 · D - 48612 Horstmar, GermanyTelephone +49 2558 81-0 · Telefax +49 2558 81-500 · www.cargobull.com

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