As technology is ever-expanding, so is fleet management technology, fleet telematics, driver training resources, and asset tracking. It may seem that fleet management has become less about managing a fleet and more about managing technology systems. However, with the right resources and the right solutions platform, fleet managers can ensure technology is helping fleet operations, not making operations more complicated.
Recently, Modern WorkTruck Solutions chatted with Amit Jain, who serves as the founder and chief operating officer at Roadz, a fleet-tech company that works to connect fleet managers to fleet management technology providers. Jain shares more about Roadz and how it benefits fleets.
MWS: WHAT IS ROADZ, AND WHY SHOULD OUR READERS KEEP THE COMPANY ON THEIR RADAR?
JAIN: Roadz is a Silicon Valley-based fleet-tech company that is transforming the fragmented and siloed commercial fleet industry segment into an open and integrated ecosystem. In a three-pronged approach, Roadz connects the data, the commerce, and the user experience for fleet operators. Roadz white-labels its platform to larger fleet management solution providers such as telematics companies, commercial auto insurance carriers, tier-1 automotive suppliers, fuel providers, and others.
Fleet operators can leverage these Roadz-powered, simple, and intuitive marketplaces to discover, compare, and purchase curated fleet management solutions across multiple categories at competitive pricing. This not only allows them to save time and money but also select the “right” solution that best fits their needs. Moreover, Roadz pre-integrates the data for many solutions, so this allows fleets to view information across many solutions holistically and thus make better business decisions. In the near future, Roadz will also offer a unified workspace that will allow the fleets to view their data from many solutions in a single pane of glass.
MWS: MOST OF US ARE FAMILIAR WITH FLEET MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. HOW IS ROADZ DIFFERENT?
JAIN: Unlike the majority of the fleet management systems, Roadz provides a marketplace platform that can be white-labeled and offered as a “one-stop shop” of best-in-breed fleet management solutions across dozens of categories such as telematics, cameras, driver training, fleet maintenance, and others. Our goal is to connect a fragmented fleet management ecosystem.
For instance, we recently launched Fleetstore.com, a Bosch Initiative. Fleets of any size or vehicle mix can find the “right” solution across multiple categories and save time and money in the process. The “smart recommender” feature available on Fleetstore.com allows fleet stakeholders to answer four simple questions and receive recommendations on solutions that can best solve the problem. A big benefit for smaller fleets that cannot negotiate volume-based discounts is that they also receive competitive pricing from these trusted solution providers. In summary, we have solved the problem of discoverability of fleet management solutions for fleet operators so they can leverage such solutions to lower operating costs and improve productivity, safety, and regulatory compliance.
MWS: WHAT IS A “SMART FLEET ECOSYSTEM,” AND HOW CAN ROADZ HELP FLEETS DEVELOP ONE OF THEIR OWN?
JAIN: A smart fleet ecosystem is a digital platform that brings together best-in-breed fleet management solutions across dozens of categories and connects the siloed data from these solutions, so fleet operators can make holistic decisions based on the combined data. Fleets can leverage one of the Roadz-powered marketplaces like Fleetstore.com to develop one of their own smart fleet ecosystems.
MWS: ROADZ OFFERS SO MUCH FOR FLEETS. HOW CAN A FLEET MANAGER AND OPERATOR ENSURE THEY MAKE THE MOST OF ROADZ WITHOUT GETTING OVERWHELMED?
JAIN: To maximize what fleet managers and operators can get out of Roadz-powered marketplaces, the first thing they need to do is prioritize the business problem they are trying to solve. Once they do that, they should visit one of the Roadz-powered marketplaces such as Fleetstore.com and use the “smart recommender” feature. Over time, as they buy more solutions from the marketplace, they will start realizing the benefit of integrated data across solutions to drive optimal business decisions.
For instance, if they buy a camera or telematics solution, they will receive insight into the driver behavior. In the future, they may want to purchase a driver training solution. If they purchase a training solution outside the Roadz environment, the systems will not communicate with each other. However, if purchased via Roadz-powered marketplaces, the data will be connected. Imagine the power of issuing driving training modules based on individual driver behavior rather than just picking random training modules. The impact on safety and compliance will be exponentially higher if the training is based on the specific driver behavior that needs to be addressed.
MWS: WHO BEST BENEFITS FROM ROADZ?
JAIN: As there are multiple benefits with ROADZ, multiple parties also benefit from the Roadz platform. It’s a win-win for both the fleet owner/operators and the fleet service providers. As for fleet companies, they struggle with the discoverability issue. When they look for a solution, typically they will Google it. Most people rarely go beyond the first few pages of search results. However, since most solution providers don’t address the need of every fleet size or vehicle type or even industry vertical, it is likely that the fleet can make a sub-optimal decision in choosing a solution provider.
On the flip side, many innovative solution providers don’t have the resources to reach out to all the fleets they can help. So, with Roadz being the connective tissue, we solve the problem for both parties. We match the “right” solution provider with the fleet looking to address a specific business challenge. Our process of curation of fleet management solutions prevents both parties from wasting their time and resources.
MWS: ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS?
JAIN: Fleet managers are busy and need to be able to focus on making their fleets safer, compliant, and more efficient. There are many fleet tech solutions that can help them achieve these goals. Finding the “right” solution or solutions that are integrated at the “right” price in a rapidly evolving ecosystem can be challenging. The founders at Roadz, with over 80 combined years of experience in the fleet management ecosystem, have tried to address this challenge. Leveraging one of the Roadz-powered marketplaces like Fleetstore.com, a Bosch Initiative, provides a “one-stop shop” and, along with Roadz’s unified workspace initiative, a “single-pane-of-glass” experience for fleet, safety, and operations managers.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Amit Jain serves as the founder and chief operating officer at Roadz, a Silicon Valley-based fleet-tech company. Prior to Roadz, Jain was the founder and CEO at Becansoft, an IoT startup that developed a car-sharing app targeting the mobility needs of kids, elderly, and the disabled. For seven years, Jain was the chief architect of Verizon’s IoT verticals’ strategy that included telematics, transportation, and smart city segments. In that capacity, he led the acquisitions of companies such as Fleetmatics, Networkfleet, and Telogis resulting in the creation of Verizon Connect. Later in his tenure at Verizon, he joined the executive leadership team at Verizon Connect as the head of strategy, business development, market intelligence, and big data.
Prior to joining Verizon, Jain was a product leader at General Electric, where his team developed an award-winning fleet management solution, and a research director at AberdeenGroup, a market research firm where Jain led the M2M/IoT research practice. Find out more, visit www.roadz.com.
