Tighter cooperation between fleet operations and IT departments is needed if carriers are going to successfully use new telematics systems, said Marc Mitchell, transportation practice director for Enterprise Information Solutions.
Speaking to a recent conference on wireless technology for trucking, Mitchell said that the conventional business practice of determining business requirements first and then finding technology to serve them won't work in this new area. “In the area of telematics and on-board computing, as they are applied to transportation, the need for a much tighter blending of business and technical considerations is paramount,” he said.
He said while available technology should guide any attempted level of automation, the costs of that technology must be evaluated on its impact to overall efficiency.
“Telematics has the potential to change the way on-board computing works,” Mitchell said. Used properly, he added, it “changes the dynamics of the operation by combining technical knowledge with business expertise.”
