Omnitracs, Trimble integrating systems

Omnitracs and Trimble, two companies that compete in the electronic logging device (ELD) market, have agreed to integrate their respective transportation platforms.

Under the recently announced agreement between the two companies, all of the offerings of Omnitracs One and Trimble TMW.Suite will be available on both systems.

In a joint email written in response to several questions submitted by FreightWaves, Mick Milnarck, the VP of product for Omnitracs, and Brad Young, director of alliances at Trimble, said that Omnitracs “has worked with Trimble in the past to deliver TMS integrations for its enterprise services and XRS customer base.” But they added that “the news here is definitely that TMW.Suite now integrates with Omnitracs One.”

As far as that ELD competition, the two executives said in their email, “Omnitracs and Trimble have maintained a friendly competitor relationship for many years while striving to deliver the best experience for our shared customer bases.”

The integration goals inherent in such an alliance are evident in similar deals that both Omnitracs and Trimble have with other providers. “Trimble recognizes the wide range of technology platforms our customers utilize. To support these choices, Trimble maintains integrations with several dozen other transportation technology providers, including those that provide in-cab solutions,” the joint email said.

And as far as Omnitracs, the statement said it “has built integrations with McLeod Loadmaster, Trimble ICC, Trimble’s TruckMate and many others. One of Omnitracs One’s core tenants is interoperability and this integration with TMW.Suite is another example of our ongoing commitment to this open architecture strategy.”

The companies said the integration furthers a “mutual goal … of advancing the industry through a unified approach to data and technology.”

Putting the two systems together will allow “customers to move fleet data seamlessly across both platforms. Trimble TMW.Suite customers will now be able access the benefits of Omnitracs One within their current suite, using these shared insights and new features to enhance their planning and daily operations. In addition, the integration enables Omnitracs One users to utilize TMW.Suite to reduce empty miles, minimize dispatch errors and enhance driver communication.”

On the Omnitracs website, the Omnitracs One page touts several features of the system, including managing drivers, back offices and customers in one place; quicker response; and better communication between the driver and that back office.

Trimble has recently announced several enhancements to its Trimble.TMS platform, including integration of the offerings of project44 and KeepTruckin.

John Kingston