Brussels,
30
June
2021
|
14:00 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

Digitisation is the driving force for transportation

Summary

Everything in our lives is becoming increasingly digital from being able to see what's in your fridge using your smartphone to connecting with a remote team over on the other side of the world. The transportation industry is no different. More and more we're seeing technology step in and solve the problems of both manufacturers and fleet managers alike.

The availability of data in the industry is nothing new. Understanding what's happening at the vehicle level, as well as with a wider fleet is important but, currently, that data is spread across multiple devices. As more elements of transport become connected, collating and tracking that data is becoming increasingly difficult.

With a view to streamlining data collection, Goodyear has joined forces with ZF to provide a combined suite of connectivity solutions. This will maximise vehicle and trailer safety, efficiency, and uptime while optimizing fleet operations. This is an important step towards the wide-scale digitisation of the transportation industry.

Grégory Boucharlat, VP commercial Europe at Goodyear, explains the need for this in the industry, he says: “Data can provide so many opportunities to fleets but it's only useful if it's easily accessible. Goodyear has partnered with ZF to provide integrated tyre and vehicle management solutions that will support fleet managers in making decisions and improving efficiency."

The data available to fleet managers has, historically, been fragmented and difficult to access. This makes it much harder for fleet managers to take advantage of digital transformation opportunities; despite the many benefits to being able to use this data to automate processes, use machine learning, and digitise information flows. Not only can this kind of data make a fleet more operationally efficient, but it can also help obtain visibility on environmental impact and regulatory standards.

Goodyear and ZF are coming together to address these challenges and give fleet managers access to these benefits. The interoperable solutions will make it simpler to track data on both tyre and vehicle performance — all through one device. Being able to connect the dots in this way allows fleet managers to see the bigger picture and make more informed decisions.

The strategic collaboration brings together Goodyear's Total Mobility and ZF's advanced Fleet Management Solutions (FMS) capabilities. This expanded suite of harmonized services will offer transportation companies a one-stop solution to manage and understand the information available to them. Combining historical data will also allow for preventative maintenance, which helps to reduce downtime that could cause delays or present potential safety issues for drivers.

Boucharlat adds: “This collaboration will continue to evolve, incorporating innovation from both ZF and Goodyear. We'll be able to increase the value of the data and present more solutions to fleet managers to help further improve competitiveness."

The transportation industry is in the midst of a digital revolution. OEMs and fleets that are able to embrace this now will have more data to work with in the future. This can inform everything from operations to maintenance and beyond.