Daimler: connectivity is key

Speaking in Stuttgart ahead of the upcoming Transport Logistic 2015 trade show, to be held in Munich, Germany, over May 5 to 18, the Daimler Board of Management member responsible for trucks and buses, Dr Wolfgang Bernhard (pictured), has highlighted the importance of the connected truck and the role it will play in reshaping the future of road freight.

Dr Bernhard said that while the era of vehicle connectivity was only just beginning, the logistics sector stood to gain significant benefits as the technology progressed.

"Connectivity and the resulting data can be used to create huge amounts of added value for everyone involved [in road freight] as well as for society as a whole," he said.

While Daimler already offers a number of telematics services such as FleetBoard (in Europe and Australia) and Detroit Connect (in North America), Dr Bernhard said the group was readying itself for a major offensive in truck connectivity services, and was forming partnerships with technology specialists to remain at the leading edge of such developments.

While its existing telematics offerings provide a solid foundation, Dr Bernhard said Daimler's Future Truck 2025 – an autonomous and connected truck revealed in 2014 – had overcome many technological hurdles in the area of digital connectivity.

"We demonstrated [with the Future Truck 2025] that all of the vehicle systems can be networked and that the truck can also be connected to its environment, including the dispatchers, the customers, and the traffic control centres," he said.

"The Future Truck 2025 showed that we are thinking about much more than just the hardware and that we regard our products as parts of an overall system. Our mission is to remain the leader in connectivity. We want to be the first to offer our customers networked systems and the benefits associated with them."

Daimler is already hard at work developing new products to take advantage of these new technologies.

"Specifically, we want to launch a product offensive that will greatly expand our current portfolio," Dr Bernhard said.

"We will introduce in Europe some of the applications that we are already offering in the United States, and vice versa. However, we will also develop completely new services. We have a very precise road map for this product offensive, and we will announce new developments one after another."

The executive said partnering with leading technology experts was crucial to Daimler's success.

"Ultimately, all of the applications and systems will have to interact within a shared network," he said.

"That's why I'm convinced that this game can only be won by companies that jointly create such a network in cooperation with all of their partners from the very beginning."

Dr Bernhard said this rapidly evolving field would play a key role in reshaping the face of the road freight industry, and logistics in general.

"There is no alternative to such investments," he said.

"Truck connectivity is absolutely essential for continued success in the logistics business. However, it's also clear that the competition for the best system will be very intense, because all of the suppliers will be fighting hard to get a piece of the pie.

"Moreover, customers only pay for services that benefit them financially. We are well aware that there is no difference between this area and the regular vehicle sales business."