The Next Horizon for Fleets: Automation

For the past twenty years, the buzz for fleets has been about vehicle connectivity and fleet management systems that make sense of the data. Now, most fleets have several systems collecting and interpreting data. Where before there was an overload of data and fleet management systems solved that by sifting through to create insights, we are now at a point where we have an overload of insights.

Fleet automation picks up where fleet management leaves off

Fleet management systems, GPS tracking systems, cabin monitoring systems and others all generate notifications of some condition that need attention. These alerts queue up with fleet managers and require manual actions to resolve. The elegance today's systems that identify what needs to be done abruptly stops when it is time to resolve the actions. The more insights generated, the more manual labor created.

That's about to change. Fleet automation picks up where fleet management systems leave off. Today's actionable insights need to become triggers for automated workflows. Automation has become a hot industry for enterprises. Companies such as UiPath and Automation Anywhere have solutions that automate the routine in order to streamline workflows. It's time that this well-established enterprise concept makes its way to the fleet industry.

Moving from connected to digitalized vehicles unlocks powerful automations

Connected vehicles provide information about the state of the vehicle, the location and even the driver. A digitalized vehicle is one that allows that state to be changed digitally. By digitizing vehicle keys and the immobilizer, you're able to create a new class of automations that grow revenue, minimize loss, and decrease the cost of operations.

• Last mile delivery: Sense when the driver has left the vehicle to deliver a package, and run the automation that locks the doors and immobilizes the engine.
• Rental fleets: Fully digitize the rental process to allow unattended rentals, issuing digital keys to renters, and automated photo inspections for vehicle return.
• Motorpool: A full keyless solution that safeguards vehicles by automatically locking them when they return to the station.
• Corporate leasing fleets: Automatically detect and decode check engine lights and automatically dispatch the appropriate maintenance crew to diagnose.
• Any kind of fleet: Stolen vehicles and those where customers with past due accounts can have the digital keys revoked and the immobilizer set to prevent vehicle restarts.

IoT for fleets has for too long been associated with understanding the state of the fleet through sensors. The full power of IoT is harnessed when insights from vehicles initiate actions that change the vehicle, allowing for powerful automations.

If you want to learn more about how automations are going to change the fleet-related industry, please check out this video recording of a talk I gave this week on the role of automation in fleets.

This is an exciting time in the industry! It's good to see us on the cusp of being able to fully embrace IoT and move from connected to digitalized vehicles. Learn more at www.ridecell.com.