WITH SO MANY PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET IN 2014, WHAT SYSTEM SHOULD A COMPANY CHOOSE?
When Pivot Technology Resources first started back in 2008, the main product options on the secondary market were basically the Qualcomm OmniTRACS, GeoLogic MobileMAX2, and the PeopleNet G3 systems. My, how things have changed over the last few years. Some quality products have actually come and gone within this minimal time span, with many early adopters paying the price. With our extensive database of contacts, we have seen hundreds, even thousands of trucks installed with products that ultimately didn't fit with the needs of the company. The decision to move to the newer equipment just to get out of the same old system was a bit hasty. The industry needed newer features and benefits that were never available and always seemed to be "on the roadmap". Finally, manufacturers came to the market with all of the requests that they gathered over the years and came up with a handful of "innovative" systems. A few of these systems include the Qualcomm MCP100 (Satellite and Terrestrial) and the PeopleNet BLU units. These systems, although a perfect fit for certain fleets, were under powered, full of bugs, and not what the masses could adopt for a long term mobile communications solution. Shrugging off older empty promises of amazing new benefits and a fruitful return, transportation companies scrambled for alternative solutions that actually performed well, added more value to the life of the driver, had rich features and many flexible options of which to take advantage. Companies spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on retrofitting their vehicles so that the correct systems were being utilized. So, the influx of the newer generation of equipment onto the secondary market begun...and the availability of the underpowered, greatest systems ever were prevalent.
Over the past two years, the secondary market was very integrated into these systems and continue to move them on a monthly level to fleets large and small. These systems are still a great fit for companies that may simply want electronic on-board logs (EOBR) and compliant with newer regulations. However, running multiple applications would tend to bog them down and cause some problems. So, limiting the activity of multiple applications and focusing only on the applications a company really uses can result in huge savings for a company investing in these products.
Just recently, the newest products have become available simply from the basic growing pains of the transportation industry. Fleets buying other fleets, fleets closing their doors, fleets unhappy with their service provider...regardless the reason, the equipment is available. The Qualcomm MCP110, Qualcomm MCP200, and even the Qualcomm MCP50 have been flying through the doors of Pivot Technology Resources over the past few months and customers are severely surprised! Some equipment even has the factory warranty and come new in the box! The PeopleNet BLU, PeopleNet BLU.2 (507 and 307 series), and even PeopleNet Rugged PC Tablets have been available as customers transition to the new PeopleNet BLU2 PD4.
Any of these products, although not rigorously pitched by their manufacturers much any more, could be a great fit if you ask the correct questions and relate the answers to your specific operations. Do you want to scan, print, or add extra plug and play devices? Do you need navigation? What mapping is required? Is integration to your back office software important? Ask the questions that ultimately lead your operations to correct path. For answers to many of these questions, contact Pivot Technology Resources at www.pivotresources.com - 800 679 0177 or info@pivottr.com.
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