Alongside persistent challenges like labor shortages, high fuel costs and surging insurance premiums, the transportation industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation in how information is collected, analyzed and used. 

In order to compete in today's increasingly competitive marketplace, fleets have to survive on thin profit margins. Fleet automation has arrived just in time to help fleets make the most of every dollar, optimizing operations, organizational structures and big-picture strategies to maximize revenue. Automation simply makes fleets smarter, faster and more competitive by removing basic managerial and administrative tasks from a team's to-do list. 

The next era in fleet management is fleet automation, allowing companies to:

1. Automate data collection.

2. Automate data analysis.

3. Automate management tasks.

4. Automate the processes that optimize entire organizations.

After collecting every second of data from assets, vehicles, employees, jobs and worksites, AI can understand the next appropriate action to take. With the integration of telematics and Internet of Things devices, truck cabs, trailers, shipping containers, chassis and pallets transcend their functional use and become data aggregators. 

Fleet automation makes the analysis and interpretation of data automatic, so fleets can get the full benefit of IoT that wasn't available before. In the past, both harnessing and taking action on data required human intervention and coaching, but with fleet automation, companies can aggregate data from their assets, synthesize that information and then use artificial intelligence to make the data actionable without the need of human intervention. 

But not only do fleet automation and automated coaching help weed out problematic driving behaviors like speeding or idling, they also shine a light on drivers who are doing their jobs effectively. With the assistance of an ELD voice assistant, drivers can easily stay compliant with hours-of-service regulations.  

"If everything is streamlined and automated, your insurance costs will go down because your accidents will go down," said Mitzel. "Your fuel costs will go down because you won't have as much idling time or people driving recklessly trying to make their deliveries. So as costs go down, efficiency will go up."

"We've reached the point where automation touches every job, every employee, every order, every department," said Mitzel. "But this breakthrough means that automation technologies are going to develop with exponential speed. FleetUp is building the foundation to help customers harness fleet automation, which will make their operations more productive, efficient and competitive."

To learn more about automating your fleet, click here.