ZF has acquired Bestmile’s technology, in what the German supplier says is a “significant step” towards launching the commercial vehicle industry’s first Mobility Orchestration Platform.
Using ZF’s Next Generation Mobility strategy, the platform will help operators to realise ambitions for Transportation as a Service (TaaS) and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) for all types of mobility applications and vehicles.
Leveraging increasing transportation digitalisation and vehicle automation, ZF’s Orchestration platform will provide real-time coordination and management of goods and people movement on a large scale.
“Today, the transportation eco-system is rapidly changing, with OEMs and fleet operators facing numerous challenges; from competitive pressures to regulatory changes, as they increasingly digitalise and adopt autonomous, connected and electric mobility technologies,” said SVP Product Engineering with ZF’s Commercial Vehicle Control Systems division, Christian Brenneke.
“This pace and diversity of applications has fragmented the transportation industry, creating digital silos, greater complexity and operational inefficiency for fleet management.
“By incorporating Bestmile’s technology into our Next Generation Mobility strategy, ZF will provide an Orchestration Platform that optimises the information feeds, complex operational processes and stringent controls required to build and support connected transportation ecosystems.
“Based on this platform, ZF will open a gateway to enable higher levels of automation and connectivity between diverse mobility and transportation system providers and stakeholders, including cargo, shipping and commercial transportation supply chains. The platform also supports on-demand mobility providers by orchestrating every vehicle in a fleet in real time.”
Building on its experience in heavy duty commercial vehicles’ systems, onboard intelligent trailer technology and Fleet Management Solutions, ZF will leverage Bestmile’s capabilities to take vehicle connectivity-based solutions.
Developments will introduce a fully automatic, KPI-based planning, routing, scheduling and dispatching solution based on connectivity between onboard technology, fleet optimisation and artificial intelligence.
The supplier maintains the platform will help fleets improve their operational efficiency, sustainability, safety and cargo security. The platform will also ultimately help facilitate fully autonomous mobility and cargo transportation within automated, multi-platform supply chains and logistics networks.
“Our focus has always been to offer fleet operators a one-stop solution for orchestration technology to enable the smart, shared, electric, and autonomous mobility of the future already, today,” added former Bestmile CTO, Marco Laumanns.
With ZF’s innovation and strong technology leadership across the full range of transportation platforms and fleet management solutions, we gain additional thrust towards achieving this vision.”
As well as Bestmile’s orchestration platform, customers will now also gain access to ZF’s Aftermarket solutions and fleet service network, including roadside assistance, workshops and distribution partners.
https://press.zf.com/press/en/releases/release_32320.html