Rand McNally extends DriverConnect platform with new last-mile solution

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky. Already offering a robust telematics solution for large enterprise fleets, Rand McNally is expanding its DriverConnect platform with an offering for local fleets, including last-mile operations and service fleets.

The announcement was made on March 28, 2019, at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky.

“We’ve really been focused on the long-haul market throughout our history,” Ravi Kodavarti, director of product management, told FreightWaves. “But, if you look at the overall supply chain and logistics, it goes across the whole [spectrum].”

The DriverConnect for local fleets will provide an “end-to-end fleet management” solution that customers can utilize through a subscription-based service with fees based on the functionality chosen. For fleets that might handle long-haul down to final delivery at the customer’s home, the solution can provide visibility into the shipment through the entire process. For those focused only on final mile services, they can choose the functionality that fits their operation, Kodavarti said.

“If we give you this visibility, maybe you can do another job so maybe instead of four jobs, a driver can do five,” he said.

DriverConnect for local fleets allows managers to monitor vehicles in near real time from their desktop computer, or from a tablet or phone. The reporting capabilities can help fleets manage fuel spend and safety reporting, Rand McNally said, and managers can create geofences so customers can be notified of an impending delivery with more accuracy.

Additional features include idle time reporting, speed and excessive accelerations and decelerations, and access to data that can help improve driver training.  

“Today, by expanding our proprietary DriverConnect platform to include local fleets, we can offer end-to-end logistics support all from a single platform,” said Stephen Fletcher, CEO of RandMcNally. “From a truck picking up cargo at a port of entry, to movement across the country, to delivery from a distribution center to a store, vehicles and assets can all be monitored and optimized through our DriverConnect system.”

The system is available through Rand McNally’s DC100 device, a plug-and-play cellular-connected device that plugs into a vehicle’s OBDII port. In addition to viewing the location of vans, trucks, and other vehicles, the platform offers an array of data such as the length of time drivers have stayed at a job site, downtime and engine idling, fuel consumption, and more.

Kodavarti explained that the reporting mechanisms leverage Rand McNally’s extensive navigation system to help fleets effectively identify fuel-consuming driver habits, such as speeding. The flexibility allows each fleet to set its own thresholds for reporting, giving users the opportunity to customize to their own operations.

The system monitors vehicle location every 30 seconds, but Kodavarti noted it has the capability to eventually record location down to the second.

The solution is in testing with fleets now and will be available soon.