Every modern heavy vehicle generates a substantial amount of information. This includes location, working time, fuel or energy consumption, speed, braking and acceleration patterns, component loads and technical condition. Tachograph records, assignment details, service schedules and driver activity add further layers of information.
Data alone will not lower costs, schedule a service visit or improve driving performance. It becomes valuable when it is organised, available at the right time and presented in a form that supports a clear action.
In my view, this is the most important change digitalisation is bringing to transport management. Operators are moving away from simply reacting to events and towards running their businesses in a more informed and predictable way.
Less guesswork, more predictability
Until recently, many fleet decisions were based largely on experience, phone calls and reports prepared at set intervals. Experience remains essential, but it can now be supported by current, objective information.
A fleet manager can see more than a vehicle’s current location. They can review its route, driving time, fuel level and usage patterns, identify negative trends earlier and compare the performance of individual vehicles. This makes it easier to determine whether an issue is isolated or affects a wider part of the fleet.
The right data can answer practical questions: why are vehicles performing differently despite carrying out similar work? Where are unnecessary delays occurring? Which routes generate the highest costs? Are available vehicles and other resources being used efficiently?
Scania’s digital services include monitoring key vehicle parameters, evaluating drivers, tracking fleet locations, planning servicing, generating reports and managing tachograph data. These tools are available in one digital environment through the My Scania portal. The Scania ecosystem currently covers more than 750,000 vehicles equipped with telematics and more than 100,000 customers worldwide. The company has been developing telematics solutions for 20 years.
Availability starts before the workshop visit
An unplanned vehicle stoppage is one of the most costly situations in road transport. The cost of a breakdown goes well beyond the repair itself. It can delay a delivery, require a replacement vehicle, disrupt driver schedules and potentially mean losing another assignment.
Technical data supports service planning based on how a vehicle is actually used. Operating intensity, working conditions and the type of work can vary significantly between long-haul transport, urban distribution and construction. As a result, two vehicles with similar mileage may not need exactly the same maintenance approach.
Using operational data makes it possible to match servicing more closely to a vehicle’s actual needs. Several tasks can also be combined into one workshop visit, reducing the time a vehicle is unavailable and not generating revenue. Scania’s solutions support service and repair planning based on a vehicle’s actual requirements, while remote diagnostics and software updates can simplify day-to-day operations.
Digitalisation therefore turns servicing from a response to a failure into part of a deliberate availability strategy. It cannot predict every breakdown, but it can reveal warning signs much earlier — signals that might have remained invisible just a few years ago.
Driving style affects business performance
The driver remains one of the most important sources of efficiency. Even the most advanced vehicle cannot deliver its full potential if it is not operated effectively.
Data can be used to assess anticipatory driving, idling, cruise control use, speeding, braking and acceleration. What matters, however, is how a company applies that knowledge.
Telematics should not be treated simply as a tool for monitoring employees. Its greatest value lies in showing where a driver could benefit from specific support. A performance result should prompt a conversation, training or coaching, rather than be treated as an end in itself.
Scania Driver Evaluation analyses driving performance in the context of the vehicle specification, market and type of operation. Drivers receive their results and recommendations in the ProDriver app, while fleet managers can view a broader picture in My Scania. According to Scania data, driving style can affect fuel consumption by around 15% in a vehicle with an internal combustion engine and energy consumption by as much as 20% in an electric vehicle.
Drivers are also a crucial source of insight into the fleet’s daily operation. Effective digitalisation should therefore include their perspective. Apps that support vehicle checks, fault reporting, working-time monitoring and access to planned service information can also improve communication between the driver and the office.
One connected fleet instead of multiple separate systems
Digitalisation has created another challenge for many companies: the growing number of platforms in use. One system may track vehicles, another may handle tachograph data, a third may manage assignments and a fourth may be used for service planning.
The problem becomes even more visible when a fleet includes different makes and vehicle types. The data exists, but it is spread across separate environments. Transport managers then have to combine information manually or move between several applications to understand what is happening.
Integration is therefore becoming a key direction for digital service development. Scania Complete Fleet allows vehicles from different manufacturers and trailers to be connected to the My Scania digital environment, often without installing additional hardware. Data Access, meanwhile, enables Scania vehicle data to be shared with external fleet-management systems through APIs and the rFMS standard.
The goal is not to require a carrier to place every process with one manufacturer. It is to create a consistent flow of information and allow the company to work with the solution that best fits its organisation.
For an operator, the important view is the entire business — not just one vehicle. The tractor, trailer, driver and assignment form a single transport process. Connecting these elements makes it possible to identify where costs are actually generated and where there is room for improvement.
AI needs quality data
Artificial intelligence is one of the most widely discussed topics in transport. Its real potential should nevertheless be separated from the expectation that technology will automatically solve every business problem.
Not every analytical tool uses artificial intelligence, and not every company needs advanced AI models immediately. In many cases, the biggest improvement will come from organising basic data, connecting systems and consistently using the information already available.
Once that foundation is in place, AI can analyse a large number of variables, identify relationships, model different scenarios and support planning. People remain responsible for the business objective and the final decision, while technology helps them assess more options in less time.
A project carried out by LOTS Group, a Scania company, together with VELUX illustrates this approach. Its AI-based logistics platform, Pathfinder, was used to analyse actual routes, transport data, available charging infrastructure and operational requirements. Based on that analysis, a 1,250-kilometre round trip was selected as the starting point for electric transport operations.
This example also shows why data is particularly important in electric transport. In addition to travel time and cargo, operators must consider range, energy consumption, charger availability, charging time, temperature and the impact of individual conditions on the assignment. AI can help analyse these relationships, but its effectiveness will always depend on the quality of the input data.
From reporting to action
One of the biggest mistakes is collecting data without deciding how it will be used. A dashboard packed with dozens of indicators will not improve company performance if nobody acts on what it shows.
Digitalisation should therefore begin with business questions. Is the priority to reduce fuel consumption, improve vehicle availability, cut empty running, plan driver work more effectively or prepare the fleet for electrification?
The next step is to select a small number of measures, assign responsibility and review the results regularly. If the data points to a driving-style issue, the response may be training or coaching. Repeated downtime calls for an analysis of schedules and work organisation. Rising fuel or energy consumption requires the underlying cause to be identified.
Data does not replace management. It makes management less dependent on intuition and more firmly grounded in facts.
Technology that delivers practical value
Digitalisation is not an objective in its own right. Carriers do not need more charts for their own sake. They need greater predictability, tighter cost control and confidence that a vehicle will complete its planned assignment.
The most useful solutions are those that make everyday work easier: warning about risks, simplifying administration, enabling earlier service planning, supporting drivers and helping companies use their vehicles more effectively.
This is when data becomes a competitive advantage. Not because a company knows more than everyone else, but because it can spot problems sooner, prepare better decisions and turn those decisions into action more effectively.
In transport, where profitability often depends on the combined effect of many small factors, the cumulative impact of those decisions can be substantial. Lower fuel or energy consumption can also reduce emissions. Economic efficiency and more sustainable transport are not opposing goals; in many cases, they come from using the same data well.
