GRAPEVINE, TX. Thanks to a new relationship with Pana-Pacific, fleets of all sizes will have ready access to Qualcomm’s Mobile Computing Platform products (MCP) and fleet management solutions through commercial truck dealerships across the country.
Qualcomm announced that the two companies had inked a distribution agreement that allows Pana-Pacific to market and resell Qualcomm’s solutions to the transportation and logistics market. The news was released on Monday at the American Trucking Assns. (ATA) Annual Management Conference & Exhibition.
A highlight of the agreement is the inclusion of the MCP50, a new lower priced entry in the MCP family. “This is a great partnership with wonderful people,” Norm Ellis, vice president of sales, services and marketing for Qualcomm Enterprise Services, told Fleet Owner. “It will give us the opportunity to interact with some 2,500 truck dealerships across the country, making it easier for fleets of all sizes to have access to Qualcomm’s solutions.”
Qualcomm also maintains 28 service centers of its own across the county.
Ellis noted that he is especially enthusiastic about making the MCP50 more accessible to very small fleets and owner-operators. “We have been working on this for about two years,” he said. “The new agreement gives us a way to expose small fleets and owner-operators to the MCP50, which we believe [is well- suited to smaller operations].”
According to Ellis, about 75% of their current customers have 100 or fewer power units.
The MCP50 delivers Qualcomm’s safety and compliance applications, along with individually selected flexible and competitive pricing plans, to create solutions tailored to the specific requirements of each transportation enterprise. The MCP50 will ship in early 2012 with a suggested retail price of $799.
“Qualcomm is an ideal collaborator for us, with their proven reputation for quality products and service, complementing Pana-Pacific’s dedication to providing our commercial customers with the highest quality components in the industry,” said John Trenberth, president of Pana-Pacific. “And the MCP50 is the perfect product for us to work together on, as it delivers Qualcomm’s recognized technological leadership at an unprecedented price point.”
Qualcomm also took advantage of the ATA conference to unveil the re-launch of the Qualcomm Enterprise Services public website and new customer portal, which will be available with the commercial release of the MCP50 in early 2012.
The redesigned public site is intended to give fleets exploring Qualcomm’s product and service offerings easy-to-use tools to quantify the costs and benefits each Qualcomm solution can provide in meeting a fleet’s unique needs. It also includes a Safety Knowledge Center, an in-depth education resource for fleets which provides information on electronic onboard recording systems, compliance and safety matters.
According to Ellis, the new customer portal will provide enhancements to customer’s operational transactions with increased system performance, as well as allow users to take advantage of greatly expanded self-service options and remain up-to-date on all relevant Qualcomm news and product updates.
“Our customers want to invest in technology. They want to enhance safety and make their drivers happy,” Ellis told Fleet Owner. “The recession made that tougher to do for many, but we had a record year in 2010 and another record year in 2011, which just ended for us.”
Ellis also gave Fleet Owner a preview of another new product scheduled to be introduced next summer. It is a mobile compliance application designed to run on tablets and smartphones. The new application, now in testing, is designed to provide electronic driver logging, automated vehicle inspection reporting and hours of service (HOS) status reports. It will connect via Bluetooth to a black box tethered to the vehicle for EOBR compliance.
