Building Solutions for Fleet Owners

TODAY’S TELEMATICS SOLUTIONS can collect large amounts of data about many different aspects of trucking operations, from routing and required maintenance to truck speeds and driver behavior. MICHELIN Connected Fleet, Powered by NexTraq, wants fleet owners to get the most benefit from that information by using it to improve their operations.

“We partner with fleets to help them solve the biggest pain points they’re facing, pain points like cost control, safety, productivity, vehicle maintenance, cargo security and beyond,” said John Luposello, senior brand & external communications manager.

MICHELIN Connected Fleet can help trucking companies identify the major pain points they’re facing, then use their data to help develop actionable strategies to address those pain points. “Fleet managers today don’t need more data,” said Luposello. “Instead, they need the right partner who can help them identify the important data, and then develop actionable insights from that data.”

The company also helps fleets operate more sustainability, a major focus for fleets today. “Michelin has always believed in a better way forward, and a better way forward is a more sustainable future. The solutions we’ve built at MICHELIN Connected Fleet help our fleet partners find the intersection of sustainability, cost control and productivity in their operations,” said Anderson Abernathy, VP of marketing.

For example, by helping a fleet identify instances of excessive vehicle idling or inefficient driving practices, MICHELIN Connected Fleet can help a fleet manager implement strategies to not only reduce emissions, but also reduce fuel costs and vehicle wear and tear.

MICHELIN Connected Fleet is also embracing the help of AI to increase the effectiveness of their offers. For example, their in-cab camera solution can use AI to help determine if a driver is fatigued, driving without a seatbelt, or is being distracted.

The Michelin platform makes this kind of analysis possible by providing more than 20 different smart reports based on collected data. Those reports can be as simple or as granular as the company desires, so managers can obtain data on one location, several locations or all of them. “We have customer success folks on our team who work hand-in-hand with fleets to help them determine what information they want and what it means,” said Luposello.

MICHELIN Connected Fleet serves two markets. Light commercial fleets (Class 1 through Class 5) include everything from mom and pop operations with five vehicles to 1,000-vehicle utility fleets that handle last mile deliveries. The transportation and logistics market includes over-the-road trucking companies operating Class 6 through Class 8 vehicles. Since the Michelin platform is scalable, it works for companies of any size.

In the transportation and logistics space, MICHELIN Connected Fleet offers fleets solutions for truck management, trailer management, smart cameras, ELD and IFTA compliance tools, and data and performance analytics. Their solutions allow fleet managers to leverage real-time vehicle tracking and driver behavior monitoring, plus vehicle maintenance, safety and compliance tools to bring all of their fleet operations under one platform.

The Connected Fleet platform also offers route optimization that can help trucking companies plot safer journeys. It can alert them if a certain truck would be too big to fit under an overpass, or if it is overweight for certain routes. This capability helps fleets avoid unnecessary downtime associated with rerouting a vehicle.

Connecting with trucking companies through GMTA helps MICHELIN Connected Fleet better understand what data their customers need to be more successful. “Everything we do comes back to customer centricity, and understanding the voice of GMTA members is what helps us build the solutions to bring their drivers and vehicles home safely every night,” said Luposello.

At a Glance

MICHELIN Connected Fleet Powered by NexTraq

Headquarters: Atlanta
History: NexTraq was founded in 2000 as a telematics hardware company. It went through several ownership changes before Michelin purchased it in 2017, making it part of MICHELIN Connected Fleet.
Background: MICHELIN Connected Fleet provides telematics services for fleets in the U.S., Europe, South America, South Africa and Australia. It enables customers to collect data they can use to improve the efficiency and safety of their operations.
Number of employees: 175 in the U.S.
GMTA member: Since 2022
Why GMTA matters: “At MICHELIN Connected Fleet, we build every solution we offer around the voice of our customers. Being a member of GMTA helps us better understand the key pain points that southeastern fleets are facing and build our solutions around those needs.”
Anderson Abernathy, VP of Marketing