Recently, Trimble Navigation announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the outstanding stock of TMW Systems, a move that not only broadens Trimble’s market capabilities, but also provides expanded industry and global opportunities for TMW Systems.
Trimble applies technology geared toward managing field and mobile workers in businesses and government, with solutions focused on applications requiring position or location, such as: construction, agriculture, field service, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilizing positioning technologies like GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. Wireless technologies are utilized to deliver the solution to the user and to ensure a tight coupling of the field and the back office.
The fit between the two companies is centered on TMW’s transportation management software and asset maintenance solutions platforms, both serving as a central hub for transportation and maintenance operations for fleets. The company’s software capability spans the entire surface transportation lifecycle, delivering visibility, control and decision support for the intricate relationships and complex processes involved in the movement of freight. TMW’s solutions address every aspect of for-hire and not-for-hire, asset and non-asset based operations. Customers include for-hire fleets, brokers, 3PLs and private fleets, along with heavy-duty vehicle service centers. The company’s enterprise software currently integrates with Trimble’s PeopleNet in-cab mobile communications solutions on many fleets; when combined, the technologies will jointly serve more than 3,000 fleets around the world.
According to David Wangler, president and CEO of TMW Systems, “Many of the markets currently served by Trimble are markets that we have thought of entering. With the completion of the Trimble acquisition, we will have the right sales channels to do that. The acquisition gives us access to new channels in which to expand sales of our current and future technologies.
Wangler went on to suggest that the unfolding convergence between private fleets, third-party logistics (3PLs), brokers and for-hire fleets echoes the company’s plans for enhanced 3PL transportation planning, including mode selection and multi-tier network optimization capabilities to meet customer needs. “We are seeing traditional non-asset based 3PLs adding fleets to serve key customers and for-hire asset-based carriers adding 3PL services to diversify their business. Both situations require transportation companies to deploy new technologies to optimally plan customers’ freight and manage their asset operations. We are working with for-hire and private fleets to be the one vendor that meets all of their logistics planning and operational needs,” Wangler said, noting that as fleets add logistics services and expand their modal capabilities, they will need help integrating those operations, which his company is ready to provide.
“We will continue with our current strategy and operate as we have in the past and we will continue to meet the needs of our markets for integration with a broad range of mobile resource management (MRM) providers like Qualcomm and PeopleNet, our new sister company under Trimble ownership.”
