The Fleet of the Future
BlackBerry Limited (BB.T) announced today that the Company’s BlackBerry Radar has been integrated within the ISAAC Open Platform to provide fleet managers will an aggregate view of current tractor and trailer operations in a single console. This is intended to enable fleet managers to better manage and automate their dispatch operations, driver messaging, and hours of service compliance.
“ISAAC has a strong footprint in the Canadian market and our combined offering for transportation and logistics businesses will allow joint customers to have better coordination between their drivers, trucks, and trailers to unlock excess shipping capacity,” said Christopher Plaat, SVP and GM of BlackBerry Radar, BlackBerry.
As fun as talking about Canada’s convoy protest sounds, I would rather not piss in my own cornflakes. Instead, let’s talk about what BlackBerry’s latest news means for trucking companies looking to improve asset utilization and fleet visibility. As previously mentioned, BlackBerry Radar will be implemented within the ISAAC Open Platform. This will deliver more value in a comprehensive fleet management solution for commercial fleets.
BlackBerry Radar
As the name suggests, BlackBerry Radar is an asset tracking solution for tracking trailers, intermodal containers, chassis, equipment, and railcars, to name just a few. With valuable information on the line, BlackBerry ensures that all data is secured with BlackBerry encryption and authentication services. In fact, BlackBerry Radar devices are powered by BlackBerry QNX, the Company’s OS for embedded systems.
I have written about BlackBerry quite a few times and I still don’t know how to summarize BlackBerry QNX without having an aneurysm. Given how broad BlackBerry QNX is, this is hardly an overstatement. Put simply, BlackBerry QNX is a trusted supplier of commercial operating systems, development tools, support, and services for embedded systems.
Having achieved integration into more than 195 million vehicles, BlackBerry QNX has made quite a name for itself. Recently, on December 15, 2021, BlackBerry announced that it had entered into a multi-year agreement with BMW Group. In collaboration with BMW Group, BlackBerry will license BlackBerry QNX to support the development of new SAE Level 2/2+ driving automation functions. For more details, check out this article!
Referring back to BlackBerry’s asset tracking solution, BlackBerry Radar GPS devices are rugged, low maintenance, and are equipped with batteries that can last as much as five years. That’s longer than most relationships. Furthermore, BlackBerry Radar offers analytics, insights, and an easy-to-use portal where fleet managers can access dashboards, reports, and tools. BlackBerry Radar’s intended benefits can be seen in the graphic above.
ISAAC Open Platform
Now that we know what BlackBerry Radar is, let’s move on to the ISAAC Open Platform developed by ISAAC Instruments. For context, ISAAC Instruments partners with North American fleets to offer turnkey fleet management technology for streamlining operations and enhancing safety. The company’s all-in-one solution, ISAAC Open Platform, supports seamless integration into existing systems.
That being said, ISAAC has established itself with a large number of carriers, including some of the largest carriers in the Canadian Top 100. With this in mind, ISAAC’S Open Platform ecosystem offers a variety of services and solutions, including:
- Driver-Centric Solutions
- Paperless Driver Workflows
- ELD & Compliance Solutions
- Fleet Safety & Risk Management
- Fleet Management Devices
In particular, ISAAC’s electronic logging device (ELD) and fleet management telematics solutions, which are utilized by more than 40% of the largest carriers in Canada, help fleets monitor and optimize vehicle efficiencies. This includes fuel consumption, engine data, driver productivity, and hours-of-service compliance.
“We welcome BlackBerry Radar as an additional option to our rapidly growing Open Platform, which enables fleets to improve the driver experience as they see fit. Our goal is always to assist fleet clients like Titanium as they choose the best applications for their entire operations,” said Jacques DeLarochelliere, President, CEO, and Co-Founder of ISAAC.
Paired with BlackBerry Radar, fleets will now have access to near real-time data on the status of their trailers, chassis, or containers. In addition to location visibility and history, BlackBerry Radar also provides a range of sensor data such as route mileage, temperature, humidity, door status, and cargo load state, all within a single user interface in the ISAAC Open Platform.
Titanium Transportation Group Inc.
- $121.12M Market Capitalization
Titanium Transportation Group Inc. (TTR.V) is a leading North American transportation company with asset-based trucking operations and logistics brokerages servicing Canada and the United States (US). Why am I mentioning this? Well, Titanium has offered its entire fleet of trailers and commercial vehicles for the integration of this new solution, making the company the first customer to roll out the joint solution between BlackBerry and Isaac Instruments.
“This integration brings together two of our most important technology partners with a combined view to drive operational efficiencies across our fleet. We’re confident that we’ll see significant business benefits in the weeks and months ahead,” said Ted Daniel, Founder and CEO of Titanium Transportation Group.
Titanium has approximately 800 power units, 3,000 trailers, 1,100 employees, and numerous independent owner-operators. Furthermore, the company provides truckload, dedicated, and cross-border trucking services, logistics, warehousing, and distribution to over 1,000 customers. It is worth noting that on February 5, 2021, Titanium completed the acquisition of International Truckload Services Group (ITS).
Of the Company’s completed 12 transactions since 2011, this represents Titanium’s largest acquisition since its founding. Keep in mind, ITS is Canada’s 22nd largest carrier, according to Today’s Trucking Top 100. ITS generates roughly $80 million in annualized revenue and operates over 330 power units, 1,600 trailers, and is led by a team of 470 employees and owner-operators.
Having now integrated the joint solution of BlackBerry and ISAAC Instruments, I guess you could say Titanium really is the fleet of the future. Ultimately, three distinguished companies have come together to achieve something pretty incredible. However, to play the devil’s advocate, wouldn’t this put fleet drivers under more surveillance than a Chinese citizen?
Even if that is the case, BlackBerry Radar has been shown to shave off time. According to Curt Reitz, President of Contract Transport Services (CTS), BlackBerry Radar has saved CTS drivers 35-40 minutes a day on average, shortening a driver’s workweek from 65-70 hours to 55-60 hours. Paired with ISAAC’s Open Platform ecosystem, I would imagine these numbers are even lower.
Either way, Titanium has made a significant commitment by offering its entire fleet. This demonstrates the company’s confidence that it will see returns on its investment in the near future. That being said, Titanium may be worth keeping an eye on. As for BlackBerry, the Company’s recent stock performance leaves much to be desired, however, this can largely be attributed to an analyst price cut and a market shift away from software stocks.
BlackBerry’s share price opened at $7.99, up from a previous close of $7.96. The Company’s shares were down -4.27% and were trading at $7.61 as of 12:31 PM EST.
