Heavy Duty Trucking, April 2018

compliance and administration and even mobile invoicing and payment Q How do you see Verizon Connects solutions evolving with all these changes in mind A The rise of big data has been a gamechanger for businesses of every type and the connected commercial vehicle industry is no different In the past telematics software had only been capable of processing data from individual companies With Verizon Connects ability to store and process data at a much larger scale today we can now build machine learning and artificial intelligence AI tools that become more effective with greater scale What was once basic dots ona map reporting has progressed to become near real time business analytics As predictive and prescriptive software continue to advance the promise of further innovation is both inevitable and significant Every company looks for opportunities to improve efficiency safety and the bottom line but we are seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of what big data will ultimately deliver Since its inception improvements in both technology and techniques have regularly brought innovation to the field of big data analytics Taking recent developments into account we can expect this trend not merely to continue but to accelerate Q Are there other implications to these advances we havent discussed A One of the things were most proud of at Verizon Connect is the potential our current and future technologies have for massive societal impact In 2017 alone we fielded more than 122000 customer distress calls and dispatched emergency services more than 20000 times We regularly help customers maintain cold chain integrity in order to ensure fresh fish and other perishable items make it from ocean or farm into restaurant refrigerators safely In law enforcement more officers lose their lives in vehicular crashes than by any other means With the goal of saving officers lives the Snohomish County Sheriff s office in Washington installed our software to help them identify and eliminate dangerous driving practices including speeding hard braking harsh acceleration and not wearing seat belts A year after they introduced their comprehensive driver safety program of which Verizon Connect was a component they had zero significant injuries down from 11 the year prior Q How would you describe your core daily responsibility to your fleet customers A Every day we help our customers identify key insights that enable them to route their vehicles and drivers more efficiently and safely vehicle diagnostics that help them reduce fuel and maintenance costs and opportunities to reward their best drivers We also built driver centric apps from the ground up with user friendly and simple ways to track hours of service so drivers can focus on whats important servicing their own customers and getting home safely Q What key pain points are you identifying and helping solve among your trucking fleet customers A Verizon Connect is helping our trucking and delivery customers solve issues ranging from compliance and safety to routing and productivity Our ELD solutions are helping fleets tackle the new electronic mandate for duty records while our safety reporting and scorecards are helping operators understand where they have risk to mitigate in their driver pool We also have solutions in the portfolio that can manage daily forms and workflow such as vehicle inspections and commercial grade navigation Q What changes or benefits can current commercial fleet customers expect to experience in light of your acquisitions and rebrand A The launch of Verizon Connect represents the completed integration of three best in class companies into a single operating unit that can put the right solutions in the hands and vehicles of our customers Under one company new and existing customers will have easier access to broader solution options Also customers will certainly see clear benefits with the scale reach and reliability of Verizon and its network Q Are there any unique or new solutions related specifically to trucking A Weve made significant focused investments to benefit commercial fleet customers An example would be our partnership with Verizon Wireless to offer a bundled ELD package including tablets data plans and accessories all at an attractive and affordable price point We expect to demonstrate the power of our broader portfolio and of course our unmatched position as part of Verizon to differentiate ourselves and create unique value for customers Fleet managers benefit from real time alerts for diagnostic trouble codes and incidents of unsafe driving behavior or excessive idling APRIL 2018 HDT 35 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM