High tech is permeating the trucking industry, which is now entering the electronics and information age. The trucks of today are becoming increasingly sophisticated with technical innovations occurring in many areas.
Electronic engines, electronic service tools, onboard computers, real time communication utilities and computerized operations represent a few key technical solutions that are finding increasing penetration in the market. These technical solutions complement and/or compete with one another as they strive to meet the needs of the trucking fleets. The extent to which they complement and/or compete with one another is not readily or widely understood. It will take skill and knowledge on the part of the customer and the supplier to know the difference.
A quick glance at these solutions makes one simple fact clear: electronics is the technology that is common to all these solutions and is capable of weaving them together. Its ability to function as a common denominator has put electronics in a unique position. It has become the only technology that is forcing the trucking industry to change the way it does business.
In this paper, the confusing aspect of how these electronic solutions interact is studied. The analysis is posed in the form of an electronics jigsaw puzzle which, when put together, matches solutions to needs. It outlines the techniques that the trucking industry can follow to find the 100-percent solution to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of trucking fleets.