Omnitracs is acquiring the video-based safety and fleet intelligence company SmartDrive, which would combine two transportation technology leaders to create an industry-first, end-to-end platform designed to optimize safety, driver productivity, routing, dispatch and compliance.
The new combined company will, for the first time, unite driving context with operational insight across hundreds of billions of data points to transform the experience for the driver, back office, and customer service alike. Omnitracs, which offers SaaS-based fleet management and data analytics solutions in transportation technology, announced the deal on Sept. 9.
The company touted the potential of the two organizations bringing their technological advancements — such as pervasive connectivity, advanced hardware, and the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) — together to unlock value and improve efficiency across all aspects of the $60 billion transportation technology industry.
Omnitracs CEO Ray Greer said he has long admired SmartDrive’s customer-centric approach to technology innovation. “By integrating SmartDrive’s unparalleled transportation intelligence platform, video safety hardware and risk analysis service offering with the Omnitracs One platform, we can deliver a converged solution built on AI and ML that redefines the future of commercial transportation today,” Greer said. “Real-time risk mitigation, streamlined data flows from the cab and vehicle sensors to dispatch and the back office, and a superior driver experience will be brought together to improve safety, efficiency and operational excellence.”
Both Omnitracs and SmartDrive built their businesses around providing enterprise-grade, flexible and adaptive solutions to help fleets anticipate and address their distinct operating requirements, which the companies said would meld together well.
“We couldn’t be more excited about joining forces with Omnitracs and look forward to realizing and advancing the promise of convergence to the benefit of our shared customers,” said Steve Mitgang, the SmartDrive CEO. “In Omnitracs, we have a like-minded company, seeing the power of data for innovation and solving material fleet and transportation industry challenges.”
Recent transportation technology advancements have resulted in a proliferation of devices and sensors, the need for multiple cellular connections, siloed data streams that create redundancies, and other inefficiencies that stem from disparate onboard and back-office systems, all of which complicated the DX.
SmartDrive’s video-based safety program integrated with Omnitracs’ driver workflow and transportation intelligence services present an opportunity to streamline and enhance DX, according to the Sept. 9 announcement. The combined company plans to offer intelligent DX with the right in-cab and back-office decision making, alerting, and driver coaching — a virtual co-pilot focused on safety, fuel efficiency, and operational and financial gains for fleets.
“We’ve had great partnerships with both Omnitracs and SmartDrive over the years. We are excited to see these two companies come together,” said Chad England, CEO of C.R. England Inc. “We are confident that the integration of offerings will create efficiencies for C.R. England. We congratulate both Omnitracs and SmartDrive on their new relationship and look forward to the future.”
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval. San Diego-based SmartDrive has been listed on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500, which includes the fastest growing tech companies, for six straight years. The company has recorded nearly 25 billion miles worth of commercial vehicle video that includes more than 300 million analyzed risky-driving events. Omnitracs, which has been developing transportation technologies for 35 years, has more than 14,000 customers, which it helps manage more than 1 million assets in over 70 countries.
