Ridecell, a provider of digital fleet solutions, has unveiled the Ridecell Fleet Transformation Cloud, an AI-based digital data manger that responds to various fleet management solutions data and automates responses to that data. By helping fleets automate manual tasks, Ridecell hopes to stave off data overload for managers.
“Most of the tasks of managing a fleet, from procurement, upfitting, delivery and eventually remarketing involve rather straightforward, repetitive tasks that still require considerable manual labor to complete,” said a Ridecell representative. “Automation of routine tasks, such as a windshield replacement or moving a vehicle from the upfitter to the yard, can speed up the execution of the work, and relieve the drudgery of the tasks, letting the fleet and business owners focus on what matters most.”
To do this, the Ridecell Fleet Transformation Cloud is based upon four core platform pillars: intelligent automation, keyless vehicle control, flexible systems integration and AI/ML insights. The intelligent automation allows fleet managers to customize data triggers for scheduling maintenance and work orders based on vehicle reports, other integrated fleet management systems, driver reports, and vendor data.
Read more: Four ways for fleet managers to avoid data overloadMeanwhile, Fleet Transformation Cloud’s keyless vehicle control allows fleet managers to assign drivers and technicians specific vehicles when needed, which would also grant managers the ability to remotely unlock and disable vehicles if an unauthorized driver is in the cab.
Finally, the Fleet Transformation Cloud can integrate updates from various systems and provide recommend automated actions for the incoming data. This includes a set of packaged components and developer tools to connect vehicles, suppliers, and IT systems, providing the ability to see and act upon insights from the collective data captured from OEMs, aggregators, and aftermarket telematics used in the oversight of fleet operations. Additionally, the Fleet Transformation Cloud includes APIs to integrate with existing apps, IT system, and partner products.
As a result of these features, the company stated that in pilot tests, the benefits of their automated platform were three-fold. For rental fleets, vehicle exchanges could now be done fully via app, while fleets that focus on leasing vehicles could use the Fleet Transformation Cloud for vehicle lifecycle management, decreasing the total time a vehicle spends waiting for different tasks to be completed before being sent to the customer. Finally, the keyless aspect of the Fleet Transformation Cloud is particularly appealing to delivery fleets, adding to security and efficiency by removing physical keys from circulation.
However, Ridecell stated that their new platform won’t just benefit fleets, but maintenance teams as well.
“In the case of a maintenance issue, timing is everything,” said a Ridecell representative. “With fleet automation, the health of the vehicle can be checked before it hits the road. In the instance where a check engine light is triggered, the power of automation can automatically decipher what the malfunction indicator means and schedule the repair immediately. By using digital keys, drivers experience no downtime as they are automatically issued a digital key to a replacement vehicle for them to be on their way.”
The benefits revolving around simple automation, telematics, and in-house fleet management systems could be deployed as a pilot in a matter of weeks, the company claimed. And in the case of stolen vehicles with Ridecell’s Fleet Transformation Cloud installed, the company said that vehicle recovery could be shortened from three weeks to “mere hours.”
