Telematics

Welcome Readers !

I am Sheerapthi Ramiya, 2nd Year MBA from Amrita School of Business, coming back with this week's read ! Hope my readers are doing well and I hope you enjoy :) 

For this week, I have come across this term 'Telematics' in supply chain management systems which sounded interesting and surprisingly has enormous applications. 'Tele' is derived from the Greek word for 'far off/at a distance' and informatics is a discipline incorporating a practice in information processing. It simply refers to a method of capturing and processing vehicle and driver data. Telematics is the technology which is used to monitor a wide range of information relating to an individual vehicle or an entire fleet. Telematics, in the recent years, has changed the face of a number of industries and how they work. Companies with huge number of fleets have adopted telematics. Lets see why.

The introduction of GPS tracking and chipping has made it possible to collect and display all the information pertaining to the vehicle, from the location, speed to other data. Telematics gathers a range of data using GPS technology, sensors in ECU units of vehicles to provide fleet operators with the information they need and manage their vehicles. Telematics collects data using a small device. This device stores and transmit different type of information relating to the vehicles performance, condition and usage. This data is then transmitted to a cloud through cellular networks for analysis and report for businesses across the world that integrate telematics systems in their operations. Given below is a visulisation of how Telematics works.

Given below figure of a Telematic device. This device will be connected in the ECU of the vehicle

How is Telematics useful in a supply chain??

Telematics gives supply chain managers access to data, such as timings of routes and exactly how vehicles are driven, to allow them to make intelligent decisions about fleet training, fuel consumption, component failure rates and reasons for breakdown. Telematics also helps track vehicles, trailers, containers, fleet management, navigation, wireless vehicle safety communications, emergency warning systems for vehicles and many more. Given below are the various types of information gathered by Telematics that organizations make use of:

Look at the vast applications that Telematics can give you and your organization. Look at how Telematics has changed the game which gave the rise of many renowned companies in today's world in Amazon, UPS, FedEx and much more. Telematics is what is making car sharing technology possible! The same can also be applied in supply chain management systems which reduces cost and increases efficiency. This is what is made 1 day delivery possible at Amazon.

How is Telematics Technology doing in India?

India is one of the most potential markets for telematics solutions globally. Over the last four years, the country registered increased deployment of telematics solutions especially in commercial vehicle segment. Key application areas of the market include cold chain, courier, pharma, retail and many more. Presently, cold chain sector accounted for highest market share, followed by courier and others. Cold storage freight trailers are deploying telematics solutions to gather time-series data of the temperature inside the cargo container.

The story is different in the case telematic integration of trucks. 80% of the Indian market is small truck owners (1-5 truck fleet) or driver owners. They are generally tied up with larger transporters or brokers and that too more than one at any time to ensure that their vehicle never runs empty for more than a few kilometres. They do not understand the vehicle telematics as a whole yet but put it in their vehicles because the larger transporters mandate them. The biggest issue facing transporters is that all the telematics and tracking solutions require the user to login into the fleet management portal of the manufacturer or the service provider. This creates a big problem as the transporter has hundreds of trucks under their purview from different manufacturers and different telematics providers.

As of January 1, 2019, the central government in India introduced a new AIS 140 Motor Vehicles Order that requires all new public transport vehicles in the country (excluding taxis and rickshaws) to be fitted with location tracking devices and emergency panic buttons. The main purpose of this implementation is to increase safety for travelling passengers.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has endorsed telematics as a way for drivers to save money while staying safe and becoming more aware of their surroundings. Based on driving behaviors, a car with a telematics device installed can save up to 30% on insurance premiums.

The need of the hour is an API to be provided by manufacturers and telematics provider which can be integrated into the fleet management application of the transporter so that they can manage the vehicle and the trip along with documentation through a single portal.

The Windup

Along with the current benefits being offered by the government, such as insurance premiums, residents may be able to receive further incentives in the upcoming future. Companies in India are beginning to realize that with telematics, they will be able to not only track their fleets, but also achieve efficiency and transparency in current processes. With an increase in the use of telematics in the country, India will be making a giant leap towards modernization and hopes to become a Smart City.

This is is the power of using available information to its full potential. Telematics helps to improve reliability, boost customer service, increase efficiency, and enhance the bottom line of the organisation. All these decisions can lead to savings of both time and money.

Hope you all found something to grab away through this read. Valuable comments and feedbacks are encouraged. Thank you! 

If you haven't read my first blog, which is about 'The Beer Game' - A game to experience Bullwhip effect, click the link below :

https://logisticsmatters.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-beer-game.html

- Sheerapthi Ramiya

ASB, Coimbatore