LAS VEGAS. In a joint press conference held during the Truckload Carrier’s Association annual convention, Xtra Lease and Qualcomm, Inc. announced a new collaboration between the two companies centered on the addition of a customized version of Qualcomm’s T2 Untethered TrailerTRACS asset management system for Xtra Lease trailers.
Teams from both organizations have been working since last summer to put the program together, according to Stephen Zaborowski, sr. vp of Xtra Lease. To date, Xtra Lease has installed Qualcomm units on about 25% of its dry van fleet and plans call for completing installation on most of the company’s dry van trailers (some 75%) by this August.
“Xtra Lease customers will receive expanded tracking coverage into Mexico, in addition to comprehensive coverage in the U.S. and Canada,” Zaborowski said. Xtra Lease was a pioneer in the use of trailer tracking, introducing it to customers in 2000. Since then, it has offered trailer tracking as a free service on dry van rentals and plans to continue that policy with the T2-equipped dry van rental units.
Both Qualcomm and Xtra Lease T2 customers will also see a new jointly developed web-based user interface. The new interface was designed to improve Xtra Lease customers’ ability to manage their fleets through trailer tracking, but Qualcomm web-based T2 users will also have access to the new features and functionality.
“The new user interface enhancements will generate greater opportunities for fleets to make timely decisions in managing their trailer assets,” observed Norm Ellis, vp & gm for transportation and logistics for Qualcomm Wireless Business Solutions. “It provides trailer location information along with critical status information about trailer utilization, plus the state of the tracking unit. It is truly breakthrough technology.”
From the “dashboard” or home page of the new user interface, customers have virtually instant access to information about their trailer fleet(s), including information about utilization levels and, perhaps even more importantly, dormant trailers that have been sitting idle for extended periods. Users can also locate a trailer by ID and view a history of each trailer’s stops. The system is even designed to show which trailers are currently connected to tractors and which are not.
“It is the combination of being able to see that dormancy data and also where you have low utilization that is really valuable,” noted Zaborowski. That information allows you to make better strategic decisions about where and how you deploy your equipment, he said.
A second release of enhancements to the system is scheduled to be available later this year for Xtra Lease’s long-term lease customers. They are intended to provide advanced reporting, virtual boundary alerts (“geo-fencing”), home page dashboard customization and more.
“We are honored to be a partner with Xtra Lease,” offered Norm Ellis. “We believe the partnership itself is even more important to Qualcomm than the new business it brings with it. Xtra Lease has been so open, so willing to share. It is the best collaboration I’ve ever seen-- and that’s when you get great products.”
