Expanding into the ELD Solutions Market: A GPS Provider’s Success Story

In December 2017, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) “ELD mandate” went into effect, modernizing the transportation industry while also creating new challenges for fleet operators and drivers. The law requires commercial drivers to use Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) to prepare Hours of Service (HOS) and Records of Duty Status (RODS) reports. These new reporting requirements replaced legacy paper logs with fleet IoT solutions, like electronic logging, to improve accuracy. The ELD mandate also focused on improving driver safety by ensuring that drivers are not on the road for excessive hours – a practice that often leads to unsafe driving and increased accidents.

The mandate created new business opportunities for GPS providers, but it also delivered extensive solutions requirements.

Challenges of Entering the Growing Fleet IoT Solutions Market

A leading global provider of GPS asset tracking and monitoring solutions had already launched successful location-based and fleet IoT products and services to help customers with worker safety, communications, data collection, and reporting in the oil, gas, and natural energy industries. This new ELD mandate sparked their interest in replicating its success in new, adjacent markets. This lead to their strategic decision to expand into the commercial fleet space to provide ELD-compliant solutions.

Following the launch of a tablet-based application to track fleet Hours Of Service (HOS), the organization realized that, despite its competency in application development, it did not have the internal experience or resources to deliver a comprehensive ELD solution. It needed an experienced IoT partner to help procure, manage, and integrate additional, critical components such as network connectivity, devices, and professional services. The company sought a partner that could deliver guidance and expertise to accelerate speed-to-market and deploy a robust solution to ensure end-user compliance with all U.S. and Canadian requirements.

The company partnered with KORE to gain proven expertise and guidance across a number of requirements.

Partnering for a Comprehensive Solution

The organization initially considered KORE as a connectivity and carrier management partner, based on our global reputation as a leading independent, neutral provider of cellular network services. However, they soon learned that we offer much more, including the end-to-end IoT capabilities to help them build the custom ELD solutions they needed.

The team at KORE helped deliver a turn-key solution pre-loaded with the company’s HOS application that could be fully customized to end-user specifications. The solution included several device options from Samsung, Apple, and TomTom to satisfy customer needs for industrial-strength, ruggedized Android and iOS tablets and secure, managed cellular network coverage across North America, with more than a dozen additional cellular carrier options if the business needs to expand globally.

We also provided a suite of customizable, value-added services for smooth, efficient ELD customer deployments. This included customized kitted hardware and software bundles for easy assembly and implementation, Mobile Device Management (MDM) capabilities to secure and seamlessly manage mobile devices and return merchandise authorization (RMA) management for reclaiming damaged or decommissioned tablets. KORE also equipped the company with extensive sales enablement services, including collateral materials and cross-departmental sales support.

Rapid ROI through Reduced Time-to-Market

Through our partnership, the organization was able to rapidly enter the commercial fleet space with a comprehensive ELD solution, expanding its asset tracking and monitoring portfolio. KORE delivered a full suite of integrated fleet IoT products and services that reduced the complexity of managing multiple IoT partnerships. And by pre-integrating all solution components, KORE enabled the solution provider to delight its customers with an immediate plug-and-play experience.

To learn more about this asset tracking and monitoring provider’s successful expansion to the ELD solutions market, download the full case study: Penetrating New Markets with Comprehensive ELD Solutions. To answer specific challenges pertaining to IoT fleet management solutions, contact a KORE trusted advisor.