1. Background
A telematics device fitted in a vehicle collects and sends data to the telematics server towards further processing for reports, alerts and location data. In the past, the telematics device is typically a retro-fitment(also known as Aftermarket) in the vehicle either by the dealer or service center based on customer preferences and hence has focused on traditional fleet management features such as location history, route optimization, travel summary and fuel reports. However, in recent years, the vehicle OEMs are increasingly starting to fit telematics devices as production line fitment and this trend is only expected to increase due given the demand for connected vehicles and shared mobility use cases. Also, some countries in the world have started to impose regulatory requirements that require telematics devices for certain category of vehicles to meet the safety and efficiency guidelines and this has prompted vehicle OEM’s to offer these as factory fitment. The OEMs are also keen to collect vehicle data under different terrain, weather and driver behavior conditions for their ongoing product enhancements and diagnostics.
2. GPS Tracking Providers & Fleet Management Solutions
The solutions in offer today are mostly focused on the needs of fleet owners by collecting vehicle location and some in cases, the engine data for further processing to generate reports, alerts and display of the location on maps. Whereas, when such telematics devices are taken up for OEM line fitment, depending on the production capabilities of an OEM, each day may witness fitment of telematics devices in hundreds to few thousands of vehicles. To handle this scale and complexity, the solution, in addition to functional features focused on fleet owners, needs to offer operational features to various stakeholders to seamlessly launch and overtime service the telematics solution. The GPS or FMS providers typically cater to the retrofit industry where a small percentage of vehicles subscribe to telematics services. This system will not scale from the process requirements needed for massive operational functions for millions of vehicles in an OEM factory fitment scenario.
Figure 1: Key Steps in Line Fitment of a Telematics Device by Vehicle OEMs
3. Key Stakeholders & Distributed Collaboration in OEM environment
The process to support the OEM scale to roll out thousands of connected vehicle activations each day across the country requires an robust and efficient software solution. It needs to involve multiple stakeholders for seamless onboarding experience for end users & fleet owners. In the case of OEM line fitment, the various key stakeholders in a telematics ecosystem are a) telematics device manufacturer b) SIM provider c) Telematics Service Provider (TSP) d) OEM manufacturer e) Automotive Dealer f) Authorized Service Centers (ASC’s). In some cases, one of the stakeholders may double up as another. For example, the OEM may also be a TSP, or the device manufacturer may also provide telematics server etc. However, even if the stakeholders overlap the respective functions of SIM and device management and end of line testing activities might still be performed in a distributed way and requires strong collaboration for seamless rollout and best customer experience at the time of provisioning the telematics services.
4. Telematics Platform for Production Line Fitment
The Nesh LIVE platform provides a way for various stakeholders to collaborate in real-time with the telematics system where the SIM provider with selective access can upload SIM’s and provides a way to activate or pause using web services. The device manufacturers then upload their respective device information with necessary SIMs being used in them. The device’s end of line testing both at device level and system level are captured to make sure the device has sent its key parameters to the telematics server before it is prepared for line fitment.
In the OEM line, once the device is fitted in the vehicle, the VIN number is captured and sent to the telematics server to create or update the vehicle information. When the dealer makes a sale to the customer, an account is created for the customer and the vehicle is moved to the customer account with the chosen telematics plan. While the customer can view only their vehicles, the dealers or any service agency can view select vehicles in their region or area of responsibility while the OEM retains the entire view of vehicles across all dealers and customers.
5. Support for efficient SIM Management
The figure below shows the SIM management phases right from the line fitment process to onboarding a new customer with connectivity services. The SIM’s either embedded or physical, will need to be proactively managed to ensure the data costs are minimal and do not add up over time.
Figure 2: Management of SIM in a Line Fitted Telematics Device
6. Decision to Build vs Subscribe to SaaS or Hosted Solution
In summary, OEM line fitment of telematics devices requires a team with deep expertise of the production line process with skills to build highly scalable software with multiple integration points with OEM’s existing systems to ensure this critical function is fully automated and is seamless to onboard a few hundred vehicles & new customers every minute. It might be an expensive affair both from a budget perspective to launch the initial version but also from a testing perspective in real-time production line scenarios. If you lead the connectivity function in an OEM or plan to launch an Electric Vehicle (EV) in the market, please evaluate the option of using a readily available, proven & robust solution like Nesh LIVE in a secure SaaS or dedicated hosting model. It will help you to seamlessly address your line fitment while meeting your connectivity requirements from an end-user point of view.
Please write to venkat.nathan@nesh.live and we look forward to the interactions.
