Expansion of global fleet management solutions business to India
WABCO Holdings Inc. has announced that it is expanding its global fleet management solutions (FMS) business to India by acquiring AssetTrackr, an innovative FMS provider based in Bangalore, India. The company has signed an agreement to purchase 100% of AssetTrackr’s shares. The transaction is now subject to customary conditions precedent and expected to close by the fourth quarter 2017.
Founded in 2013, AssetTrackr is a dynamic start-up company that helps commercial vehicle fleets track, analyze and optimize its transportation resources and assets in real time. AssetTrackr utilizes advanced, cloud-based fleet management software and telematics hardware, which enables fleet operators to connect vehicles, drivers, and cargo and to monitor relevant data. AssetTrackr systems capture vehicle departure and arrival times, detect unauthorized stoppages or route deviations, optimize delivery routes, minimize delays, and monitor driving behaviour. By doing so they help improve the operational efficiency and safety of commercial vehicle fleets.
WABCO’s FMS solutions are further enhanced through the rich data stream coming from WABCO’s on-board vehicle control systems for trucks, buses, trailers, and off-highway vehicles, which include advanced braking, stability control, door-lock, and tire monitoring technologies. WABCO will link AssetTrackr’s local market and systems expertise with its own leading telematics solutions.
Blending together complementary systems and domain expertise from both companies, WABCO will combine its Vehicle Tracking System (VTS), a dedicated fleet management solution for India launched in September 2015, with AssetTrackr’s innovative portfolio. This will create products for India’s commercial vehicle OEMs and fleet operators based on the industry’s most comprehensive telematics capabilities. WABCO, thereby, will continue to leverage this rich pool of entrepreneurial talent, digital expertise and local development capability to advance the growth of its fleet management solutions business in India and across other markets worldwide.
“WABCO is committed to making its market leading fleet management solutions available to commercial vehicle operators globally. With the acquisition of AssetTrackr, we can leverage the superb combination of WABCO’s commercial vehicle systems expertise and industry-leading safety and efficiency technologies with AssetTrackr’s deep, local-market capabilities to serve customers in India. Today less than 2% of India’s commercial vehicles have telematics capabilities, presenting a huge opportunity that WABCO and AssetTrackr will be well placed to fulfil. The integration of comprehensive real-time data gathered from WABCO’s advanced on-board systems with AssetTrackr’s innovative asset tracking, analytics and optimization services will help fleet operators to drive operational efficiency and vehicle safety in India and in other rapidly developing markets worldwide” said Jacques Esculier, WABCO Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“We are excited to welcome AssetTrackr to the WABCO family. With the acquisition of AssetTrackr, WABCO will build on its 55-year history in India, serving all leading OEMs and adding further capability to empower fleets through increasing digitalization of vehicles. WABCO’s ambition is to offer unrivalled solutions that advance the safety, efficiency and connectivity of commercial vehicles in India. Advanced fleet management solutions are rapidly becoming an integral part of fleets’ business strategies as they seek to leverage the full benefits of the Internet of Things within the transportation industry” says Mr. P. Kaniappan, Managing Director, WABCO INDIA.
“We are thrilled to join WABCO, a global leader in the commercial vehicle industry. WABCO and AssetTrackr are recognized as innovators and pioneers of breakthrough technologies and services that enable safer and more efficient commercial vehicles on India’s roads,” said Mr. Ashok Yerneni, AssetTrackr Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Both companies have established reputations for serving the industry’s leading players in their respective market sectors. Together we will take fleet management solutions to new heights.”
WABCO plans to combine AssetTrackr’s operations with its existing Digital Services business, which manages WABCO’s global portfolio of data-driven services and technologies, including its industry-leading fleet management solutions. In addition, WABCO will leverage its world-class supply chain, business support infrastructure, development capabilities, and expansive customer service network to accelerate AssetTrackr’s growth in India and globally.
In recent years WABCO has significantly grown its FMS business worldwide. In February 2014, the company acquired Transics International, a market leader in Europe of fleet management solutions. Transics provides fleet management solutions that help commercial vehicle fleet operators manage their trucks, trailers, cargo, orders and drivers in real-time. Transics currently serves more than 1,400 road transport and logistics companies across Europe, connecting approximately 115,000 vehicles.
Recently, WABCO also announced an agreement to form a joint venture with G7, a technology leader in China’s fleet logistic industry with a base of over 400,000 connected vehicles. This move consolidates a plan to develop and sell advanced fleet management solutions for trucks and trailers in China.