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Logistics Business Magazine, September 2025

Posted on by Will Priestman

The September 2025 issue of Logistics Business magazine is packed with insights into the technologies, strategies and solutions reshaping global supply chains. A strong focus is placed on artificial intelligence and automation, with Samsara showcasing its latest driver safety and fleet optimisation tech from the Beyond event in San Diego. Further AI coverage includes interviews with Coupa’s international head and Transporeon, both exploring how data-driven platforms are transforming spend management and freight visibility.

Supply chain strategy takes centre stage in an exclusive interview with Siemens’ Alexander Tschentscher, who advocates a shift from reactive resilience to strategic robustness. Meanwhile, Ewals Cargo Care shares how its “warehouse on wheels” model and modal shift approach are reducing emissions while expanding operations across Europe. Port innovation is also in the spotlight as PEMA President Achim Dries outlines how ports and terminals are digitising, automating, and gradually weaning off diesel in favour of electrification and smart power management.

Inside the warehouse, automation continues to surge. Hyster discusses its big-truck innovations at TOC Europe, and a new automated distribution centre in Coventry demonstrates what’s possible in modern DC design. Case studies from CLAAS, Axfood, and others show how internal logistics and fulfilment strategies are evolving to meet increasingly complex demands.

Sustainability is another dominant theme throughout this edition. The magazine looks at how plastic pallets, automated packaging and green fuels—such as HVO used by DHL’s Formula 1 fleet—are cutting carbon without compromising performance. E-commerce brands like Bathroom Mountain and major supply chain software providers such as Soloplan and IFS also feature prominently, revealing how automation, AI and smart planning tools are supporting faster, leaner, and more resilient operations.

From warehouse doors to multimodal transport, and from predictive software to people-centric AI, this issue offers a comprehensive and engaging snapshot of the forces shaping logistics in 2025.

Road Accident Costs Cut 40% by Fleet

Posted on by David Priestman

Vp Brandon Hire Station, a British tool and equipment hire specialist, has reduced accident-related costs by 40%, saving £192,000 annually, after adopting AI-powered solutions from Samsara, the pioneer of the Connected Operations® Platform.

Before using Samsara, the company – which operates a 500-vehicle fleet across 125 UK locations – was rapidly scaling, but struggling to build on existing safety initiatives. A lack of visibility, insight and operational structure made it difficult to manage day-to-day activity and maintain consistent safety standards.

By implementing Samsara’s platform, Vp Brandon Hire now benefits from real-time fleet data. AI dash cams and GPS tracking provide accurate insights into driver behaviour, enabling immediate coaching, targeted interventions, and structured reporting.

Since deployment, Vp Brandon Hire Station has achieved:

• £192k saved annually in accident costs — a 40% year-over-year reduction
• 93% reduction in mobile phone use while driving
• 88% decrease in speeding incidents
• 63% reduction in harsh driving events
• 10-point improvement in average driver safety score (from 83 to 93) within 8 months
• 92 drivers now achieve perfect 100 safety scores, with 404 scoring 95 or above out of 630

Antony Draper, Director of HSEQ at Vp Brandon Hire Station, said: “The perception was that we didn’t have a problem, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Safety is now a competitive advantage. Our month-end reports include health, safety, environment, quality, audit, and road risk data, largely driven by Samsara’s safety scores. It’s not just a management tool, but a set of KPIs for the entire business.”

Vp Brandon Hire Station has implemented Samsara data into daily operations, using safety scores to monitor performance and raise standards across the fleet. “Samsara highlights inefficiencies, priorities, and areas of focus,” Draper added. “It’s transformed our approach to safety. When you have trusted data, you can make better decisions.”

“Vp Brandon Hire Station shows how real-time insights can drive measurable safety and efficiency gains,” said Philip van der Wilt, SVP and GM EMEA at Samsara. By embedding employee safety into business performance, they’ve built a smarter, more resilient data-led operation.”

Vp Brandon Hire Station is expanding its partnership with Samsara, with plans to roll out the Driver App for virtual coaching and implement Connected Forms for digital vehicle inspections. Its success has also influenced its wider group, with Vp MEP Hire introducing Samsara, and two sister companies also exploring the platform.

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Samsara Unveils Major Safety and AI Upgrades

Posted on by David Priestman

Samsara has just launched more than a dozen new safety and AI-powered tools designed to make physical operations safer, smarter, and more efficient than ever before. Launched at its annual Beyond conference in San Diego, David Priestman reports.

Fuelled by Samsara’s open platform, these first-of-their-kind solutions empower organisations to operate smarter and fundamentally alter the industry’s approach to the safety of frontline teams. These new solutions include AI-powered safety tools, a new connected wearable, advanced routing and navigation capabilities and enhanced maintenance tools.

“We’ve entered the age of intelligence, and AI is helping our customers operate smarter,” said Sanjit Biswas, CEO and co-founder of Samsara. “We’re partnering with our customers to build products that help them run safer, more efficient operations and protect frontline workers while saving millions of dollars.”Samsara has invested more than $1bn in research and development to date. By leveraging its more than 14 trillion data points, the company is continuing its innovation leadership with the launch of several new products and enhancements.

Reward drivers, spot risks and prevent incidents in real time

Driving ranks among the top 10 most dangerous jobs. Over the past decade, there has been a 49% increase in fatal crashes, coupled with a 40% increase in associated insurance premiums in the USA. Samsara offers advanced technology to help detect risky driving events, such as phone use or speeding; now, several new AI-fuelled features have been added to improve fleet safety and reward safe driving:

● AI Multi-Cam: Drivers can now add up to four additional HD cameras, providing a 360-degree view to reduce blind spots, all accessible via an in-cab monitor. In addition, the AI Multi-Cam actively notifies drivers in real time of hazards, such as pedestrians and cyclists. Whether using a Samsara camera or a third-party device, administrators can retrieve historic video footage and corresponding audio to help quickly resolve incidents.

● Weather Intelligence: Administrators can now overlay real-time weather data pulled from the National Weather Service onto the existing dashboards to view and alert workers of imminent threats such as fire risks, heavy rain and more.

● Safety Coaching for Lean Teams: A new set of customisable features helps administrators with lean safety teams to scale driver coaching and recognition with AI and automation. AI analyses hundreds of risky driving events – considering factors such as severity, frequency, road conditions and total drive time – and automatically sends low-risk behaviours to drivers for self-coaching and escalates higher-risk events to managers. Furthermore, AI provides insight into big-picture behavioural trends across drivers and trips, so managers can coach based on driving patterns rather than just isolated incidents.

● Revamped Driver App: As the No. 1 driver app in both major app stores, the Samsara app now includes TikTok-style training videos to boost engagement and end-of-day reviews to help with driver coaching. Designed to act as a companion for drivers throughout the day, the app now offers new gamification features and recognition tools to reinforce positive, safe behaviour. For example, administrators can send gift cards that can be redeemed at popular dining, entertainment and shopping locations directly through the app.


“Getting drivers home safe is one of our primary goals at Samsara, a priority we share with every one of our more than 10,000 customers,” said Johan Land, SVP of Product and Engineering at Samsara. “Thanks to rapid advancements in AI technology, we’ve been able to build new products that are now empowering drivers to make better decisions on the road and equipping safety teams with the tools for faster, more effective feedback. AI is increasingly becoming a powerful ally in protecting drivers, and Samsara is at the forefront of this trend.”

Worker Safety Beyond the Vehicle: New wearable joins the fleet

The need to keep frontline teams safe extends beyond the vehicle to both local jobsites and remote locations. To help protect frontline workers outside of the vehicle, Samsara is introducing the Samsara Wearable. The new connected device is powered by the Samsara network of millions of devices and enables quick response and protection in any environment. With the addition of the wearable, organisations now have access to a holistic safety offering that can help predict risk, reduce accidents and alert administrators to urgent needs of their frontline workers. The new Samsara Wearable offers several benefits, including:

● More than one year of battery life: The Samsara network replaces the need for cellular connectivity, equipping the Samsara Wearable with a battery life of more than one year. This charge life far surpasses the industry standard of 24 hours, providing reliable access to everywhere customers operate.
● One-click protection: With one click, workers can connect to emergency services, who can immediately pinpoint their precise location and access a real-time audio recording of the situation. The small, lightweight device is easy to use and gives workers an added layer of protection in the field.
● Fall detection: The Samsara Wearable can automatically detect and respond to falls in situations such as slips on icy pavements and falls from heights such as scaffolding, cranes or trailers.
● Proactive threat alerts: In the case of severe weather or wildfires, fleet managers can proactively check in on workers and alert them of the unsafe conditions via push notifications to the device.
● One platform: Samsara connects driver and worker safety in one system, allowing for faster response times and visibility across the entire fleet.

Smarter, Easier Routing

Historically, commercial fleets have relied on a patchwork of incomplete maps and manual processes to plan routes and guide drivers. These legacy maps are updated as infrequently as every one to five years, leading to inefficient routes, missed delivery windows and increased driver stress. Samsara’s new Route Planning and Commercial Navigation products offer a modern, integrated alternative that helps fleets cut costs, stay compliant and deliver more reliably.

● Route Planning: Building on existing routing capabilities, Samsara now integrates directly with fleet operators’ sales systems to pinpoint the most efficient routes and delivery schedules for customers’ fleets. These advanced routing capabilities consider variables such as vehicle limitations, compliance requirements for drivers, customer delivery windows, as well as traffic and weather patterns, to stay within promised delivery windows and avoid unnecessary fuel usage. Early Samsara data suggests a 15% reduction in the number of vehicles required for deliveries and a reduction of manual back-office routing time, turning routing into a competitive advantage.

● Commercial Navigation: Samsara can now overlay fleet-specific restrictions such as weight, height and hazmat directly onto standard digital maps to provide more accurate turn-by-turn directions. By combining this insight with information such as hours of service within the Samsara Driver App, drivers can access everything they need in a single location to remain compliant and on time.

“Samsara has made a significant impact on our operations, saving $7.75 million annually across our three fleets by helping us optimise planned versus actuals route improvements,“ said Andy Yearout, VP of Transportation & Logistics at Mohawk Industries. “With the new Route Planning capability, we expect to see a reduction in daily route planning time from hours to minutes.”

Asset Maintenance and Visibility

Vehicle maintenance violations comprise 60% of all US Department of Transportation offences, resulting in substantial financial penalties and costly vehicle downtime. To help minimise these disruptions, Samsara has introduced several new preventative maintenance features, including Vehicle Inspection, Fault Code Intelligence, Automated Work Orders and Level Monitoring.

● Vehicle Inspection: Now, drivers can simplify the vehicle inspection process by automatically converting inspection notes from voice to text. In turn, managers can ensure that reports are properly completed by viewing drivers’ walkaround paths, the duration of the inspection and quality of the report photos. To help maintain compliance, the platform triggers real-time alerts for missing vehicle inspections, monitors FMCSA data, reviews inspection result and violations and audits driver behaviour. This AI-powered functionality works in low-connectivity and loud environments and results in faster inspections and streamlined repairs and maintenance.
● Fault Code Intelligence and Automated Work Orders: This optimisation extends to the back office, where fleet administrators can view the Vehicle Inspections in a unified dashboard. Fault code intelligence automatically deciphers the codes and uses AI to create maintenance work orders. In addition, Samsara now offers AI invoice scanning to help quickly upload external vendor invoices into the platform, reducing administrative time and errors associated with manual entries.
● Level Monitoring: With level monitoring, organisations have near real-time visibility into levels across a wide range of tank types. This insight enables improved tank utilisation and the ability to optimise inventory.

“Physical operations organisations are at the forefront of adopting AI because it saves lives. It also drives a more efficient use of labour, fuel and energy savings, and higher utilisation of capital assets,” said Kiren Sekar, Chief Product Officer, Samsara. “With the rollout of Samsara’s new AI-powered solutions, we are giving physical operations leaders a real partner on both safety and efficiency.”

HappyRobot Integration

Continuing its commitment to bring cutting-edge AI to its customers, Samsara today announced a new partnership with HappyRobot, a pioneer in AI-powered voice solutions for the logistics sector. Samsara Ventures also announced an investment in HappyRobot to reflect our belief in its vision and the transformative potential of agentic AI.

HappyRobot offers truly human-like agentic AI to automate communications via phone, email and text to boost efficiency and improve customer satisfaction. Organisations can use agents to automatically call drivers or customers to notify them of shift details or order status, to navigate phone trees, negotiate contracts with freight brokers and even for screening, hiring and onboarding.

HappyRobot users are automating more than 20 million conversations annually, reducing call times by half and cutting operational costs by a third. Existing Samsara customers like Werner are seeing tremendous value from HappyRobot’s technology.

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Samsara Reports Q1 Financial Results

Posted on by David Priestman

Samsara, the pioneer of the ‘Connected Operations Platform’, has announced its Q1 FY26 financial results, reporting $366.9 million in revenue, representing 32% year-over-year growth. This quarter reflects Samsara’s momentum and success in delivering innovation and a proven ROI for its customers, concluding the quarter with $1.54 billion in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). The company also furthered its success in empowering frontline workers and transforming physical operations, having expanded its $100k+ customer count by 154, an increase of 35% year-over-year.

Sanjit Biswas, CEO and Co-Founder at Samsara, comments: “We’re also broadening our integration with OEM telematics. We established an integration with Mobilisights, the data-as-a-service division of Stellantis. Stellantis is one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers that covers brands including Alfa Romeo, Citroen, DS Automobiles, FIAT, Jeep, Opel, Peugeot, and Vauxhall. We expect that the integration will enable over 14 million vehicles to connect directly to Samsara’s Connected Operations Platform without the need for additional hardware.”

Sanjit Biswas, CEO

“We delivered a strong first quarter of the new fiscal year with Q1 revenue of $366.9 million, growing 32% year-over-year in constant currency,” added Biswas. “In today’s uncertain macro environment, we are partnering with our customers to help them get more out of their labour, resources, and assets. Our AI-powered platform delivers a clear and fast ROI for our customers and improves the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of their operations.”

“Samsara’s Q1 performance reflects the growing demand for our AI platform and its critical role in strengthening operations,” said Amit Vyas, Chief Revenue Officer at Samsara. “It’s rewarding to see our technology not only making a significant difference in reducing costs for our customers, but also how much frontline workers love and value it. We are energized by this moment and remain focused on delivering innovative solutions to the world of physical operations.”

Solving Critical Challenges with an AI-Powered Platform

Samsara’s platform is essential for organizations looking to reduce costs through enhanced safety cultures and improved efficiency. Its AI-powered platform directly addresses complex, widespread challenges felt by customers, including high safety risks and drains on productivity caused by poor visibility and asset downtime. The company continues to strengthen its platform with key innovations that improve operations:

Advanced AI Safety Features: New Intelligent Safety Inbox and AI-powered Insights for smarter risk identification and coaching, along with enhanced positive recognition tools (Streaks & Milestones, Personalized Kudos, Shared Visibility) deliver improved safety outcomes and boost employee engagement.

AI-Powered Maintenance: Fueled by Samsara’s massive data set, capabilities such as fault code insights, real-time vehicle diagnostics, pre-populated work orders, paperless Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports (DVIRs), and customizable maintenance alerts support improved uptime and longer asset lifetimes.

Expanded OEM Integrations: Partnerships with Hyundai Translead, Stellantis (Mobilisights), and Rivian streamline fleet management by bringing vehicle data directly into Samsara’s platform.

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AI-powered Transport Operations Platform Upgraded

Posted on by David Priestman

In response to today’s high demand for resilience in the world of physical operations, Samsara Inc., pioneer of the Connected Operations® Platform, announced its new Upgrade for Smarter Operations programme across the UK and Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg markets. The programme is designed to make it easy for organisations that rely on systems with inadequate capabilities and customer support to upgrade to Samsara’s advanced and comprehensive AI-powered platform. Eligible companies to upgrade include organisations like Lightfoot, Microlise, Webfleet, Trakm8, Lytx, Geotab, Verizon Connect, VisionTrak, and Masternaught among others.

“We switched technology providers because our previous telematics and cameras were unreliable – the data was poor, and our drivers didn’t trust it, hindering bonus planning. We were close to choosing Microlise, but Samsara’s ability to identify key events and behaviours stood out, offering a path to improve our culture through training,” said Peter Cox, Head of Transport, Clean Linen.

Advantages of the Platform

As the most widely-used and fastest-growing connected operations platform, Samsara is committed to continuous innovation and customer success. In fact, the company holds hundreds of patents and has proven to deliver 8x ROI. This commitment translates into many tangible benefits as organisations that use Samsara’s platform can experience:

• Unrivalled AI Insights and Safety: Samsara’s AI is trained on more than 14 trillion data points, more than any other in its industry. Customers leverage its industry-leading AI to gain actionable insights that improve safety, efficiency, and decision-making across operations.
• Expert Partnership, Dependable Supply Chain, and Unwavering Reliability: Customers can rely on Samsara’s solutions for their mission-critical operations, benefiting from secure, scalable, and flexible technology, 99.99% platform uptime, extensive European coverage ensuring top-tier connectivity, rapid 48-hour hardware shipping, and a limited lifetime hardware warranty, all backed by dedicated 24/7 expert support. From day one, customers work with Samsara’s customer success managers and implementation consultants, who stay with them through every stage of their journey.
• Technology Drivers Love: Improve driver satisfaction and retention with leading safety technology and the industry’s number-one rated driver app, designed to be easy to use and to make administrative work simple for drivers.
• Committed to a sustainable future: Samsara customers globally have collectively saved over 1.3 million metric tons of CO2 emissions through the platform’s features designed for efficient fuel use and reduced emissions.
• Future-Proof Stability: Samsara is a long-term, financially strong partner, growing more than 30% year-over-year, and is continuously innovating for its customers, as evidenced by its more than $1B invested in research and development to date.

Thousands of organisations have switched to Samsara because of these advantages and more. Below are a few of their stories with perspective on Samsara’s differentiated solutions and support:

• “It was only when we started investigating alternatives that we discovered Samsara’s AI-based technology. We soon realised it was the perfect fit for us, providing information we needed in real-time,” commented Olivia Fagan, Compliance Officer, Fagan & Whalley
• “We see Samsara as a strategic partner that not only helps us to achieve our current goals, but also supports our long-term vision of a sustainable and successful company… We particularly appreciate the transparent and predictable cost structure that Samsara offers us. Unlike other providers, we get an all-inclusive solution that impresses with its intuitive, user-friendly platform,” added David Intruglio, Head of National Logistics, Alsco
• “When we studied the market, we realised that Samsara differentiated itself from its competitors with particularly effective, latest-generation solutions. We also appreciated their ability to respond very quickly to our specifications with great precision. For the installation of the first gateway, a Samara technician guided us by videoconference and it took us barely 15 minutes. We installed the subsequent units completely independently and very easily, taking just 5 minutes per vehicle,” said Karim Aït Soumane, Co-Founder, TMA Express
• “The Samsara safety score has been a runaway success. It’s given myself and other drivers something to compete over, I can’t count the number of times we’ve joked about beating each other’s score, it’s a fantastic system,” concluded Eddie Burns, Driver and Driver Manager, Midland Tyre Services

AI Tools for Fleets
“The world of physical operations is the engine of our economy, driving over 40% of global GDP and impacting everyone’s daily life,” said Philip van Der Wilt, EMEA SVP and GM, at Samsara. “The legacy solutions some are relying on simply aren’t built for today’s economic uncertainties and operational complexities, eroding the confidence leaders need. That’s why we’re making it even easier for them to upgrade to the clear advantages Samsara’s platform delivers.”

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Multi-Million Savings Across Fleet Operations

Posted on by David Priestman

UK electricals retailer AO has achieved 16% annual cost savings and reduced road incidents across its 1,000+ fleet of commercial vehicles by implementing advanced AI and fleet management solutions from Samsara, provider of the Connected Operations® Platform.

AO has more than 1,000 commercial vehicles equipped with Samsara’s advanced telematics technology and AI dash cams, with visibility of the entire fleet provided through Samsara’s Connected Operations platform.

By making Samsara’s platform central to its fleet operation, AO has increased operational efficiency, saving time, reducing costs and making work better for its drivers:

• Driver time has been saved by replacing manual vehicle walkarounds carried out with paper and pen with intuitive digital walkarounds using a Driver App
• Proactive, AI-driven vehicle maintenance has delivered 31% cost savings annually and an 8% reduction in tyre spend, despite completing more miles
• Insurance premiums have reduced by 25% due to reduced accident rates — proven through Samsara’s analytics.

Shaun Carter, Regional Manager at AO, comments: “Samsara is central to our operations—saving us time, helping us keep costs down, and making life easier for our drivers. We’ve got a single source of truth to monitor driver performance, track our fleet of vehicles, and provide training to the drivers that need it most.”

The Samsara technology has had a particularly positive impact on driver performance and attitudes to safer driving. Through Samsara In-Cab Alerts and AI dash cams, drivers are warned about any risky behaviour in real time and data is used to provide targeted coaching to its drivers. The introduction of a Driver Safety Score has driven competition between the drivers to enhance their road performance — raising safety standards across the business.

Carter explains: “The safety score is now a hugely important KPI as it demonstrates the work we’ve done and encourages drivers to compete amongst each other — and by proving that score we receive a discount on insurance premiums too. It’s about much more than cost savings though. Safer drivers means fewer accidents, more reliable deliveries, and, ultimately, happier customers.”

Philip van der Wilt, SVP and GM EMEA at Samsara, comments: “Connecting physical operations can have a transformative impact, as AO is demonstrating through improved efficiency, vehicle performance and road safety. By empowering businesses with full visibility and management of their fleet, Samsara is playing a pivotal role in enhancing the driver experience and the service they deliver to customers.”

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Electronic Brake Performance Monitoring System

Posted on by David Priestman

Samsara Inc. today announced the launch of its Electronic Brake Performance Monitoring System (EBPMS) to help fleet operators meet new guidelines from the UK Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which are coming into effect from April 2025.

Under these guidelines, fleets are expected to carry out four laden brake performance assessments per year – conducted via roller brake tests (RBTs) – costing fleets time and money. However, by using a compliant EBPMS to demonstrate brake performance throughout the year, fleets could potentially reduce the need for multiple physical brake tests.

By continuously monitoring braking data, Samsara’s EBPMS – part of its new Smart Trailer solution – reduces the need for manual testing, helping fleets maintain compliance without unnecessary interruptions to operations.

“The introduction of EBPMS marks a major step forward for fleet safety and operational efficiency,” said David Gal, Vice President of Product and Engineering at Samsara. “Our new system enables proactive maintenance, minimising costly failures and vehicle downtime. By leveraging real-time data from the trailer’s electronic braking systems (EBS) via our Asset Gateway, fleet operators can proactively address braking issues before they become problematic, and could save fleets up to £1,200 per trailer a year.”

According to Fox Brothers – the Lancashire-based business with a fleet of more than 80 lorries specialising in the supply and haulage of aggregates and recycled materials – the new EBPMS system looks set to strengthen their compliance while ensuring their vehicles stay on the road for longer.

“We’re keen to implement Samsara’s new EBPMS solution across our trailer fleet to meet compliance requirements,” said Simon Colderley, Transport Manager, at Fox Brothers. “Rather than taking trailers off the road for manual testing, being able to import performance data directly will make testing much easier – especially since our fleet operates nationwide,” he said.

Lee Wills, Director Conway Bailey Transport Ltd / RR Transport Ltd added, “When the Samsara team promises something, they follow through. Samsara’s EBPMS will provide a one-stop solution for our Trailer compliance needs. The ‘plug and play’ nature of Samara provides simple and fast installation but also a single system for our Trailer information needs, as opposed to a confusing mix of individual systems.”

Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems

The new DVSA guidelines are part of a wider move toward technology-driven fleet management, with Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) also becoming mandatory for new trailers in the EU from July 2024. The UK, while no longer part of the EU, continues to follow many of the same vehicle safety standards, and TPMS adoption is expected to align with these changes.

Samsara’s TPMS, another component of its Smart Trailer solution, which is in open beta, continuously monitors tyre pressure and temperature, sending real-time alerts to fleet managers and drivers. This enables proactive maintenance, reducing the risk of costly breakdowns and ensuring vehicles remain safe and efficient while on the road.

EBPMS and TPMS are part of Samsara’s Smart Trailer solution, designed to help fleets boost efficiency, reduce costs and improve safety. Key features include:
• GPS tracking with real-time visibility for both powered and unpowered trailers, enabling users to see trailer locations, movement history, and usage patterns 24/7.
• Geofencing allows users to set up virtual boundaries around key locations such as depots, yards, and customer sites which trigger alerts if they’re moved without authorisation.
• Real-time alerts notify managers in the event of unauthorised trailer tampering, door openings, unexpected movements out of hours, or breaches in temperature or humidity thresholds.
• Thanks to Samsara’s Connected Operation Platform, the Smart Trailer solution allows fleets to track their assets at scale across an entire trailer fleet.
• Smart sensors installed on trailers that can detect security breaches and changes in ambient conditions. They can also provide key vehicle indicators such as tyre pressure and the condition of brake pads.
• For fleet managers, the solution allows them to track their entire fleet via a single pane of glass, identifying underutilised trailers so they can make informed decisions about their trailer fleets.

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Manage Fleets All Day Long

Posted on by David Priestman

Managers of road transport fleets can have influence not just at the departure and arrival from the depot hub, as David Priestman reports.

“Data and insights lead to action,” Samsara CEO Sanjit Biswas informed attendees at the company’s Go Beyond event in London. He visited 100 Samsara customers last year. By listening to them and understanding how they use the data obtained from the dashcams and sensor technology the company can continue rolling out updates and extensions to its ‘Connected Operations’ platform.

These include a strike alert for low bridges (particularly useful on old British roads); electronic brake performance monitoring; a privacy mode that stops the driver-facing camera monitoring (something that is resisted by some drivers and unions, or just not suitable for a minority of operations); and drowsy driver detection. “We have enough data now for drowsy driver detection,” Chief Product Officer Kiren Sekar told me, “based on a driver’s blank stare, nodding head, closed eyes and/or rubbing eyes.”

Lane departure warning and forward collision warning is being added to the platform too, as well as ‘smart trailers’ real-time GPS tracking, which also monitors trailer brakes and tyre pressures. “All the data is there in a single platform,” Sekar explains, “location, maintenance, charger insights. We can integrate with the trailer manufacturer’s sensors. How do you ensure the driver has the right trailer? We can do that, but if you’re using just the data from the trailer manufacturer you wouldn’t know that.”

Good Drivers Prevail

The ‘virtual coach’ shows the driver camera footage of all alert issues. This is powerful and is used as positive feedback and constructive advice to them. Only 20 per cent of drivers need extra help. 80 per cent are good drivers, but need to avoid any bad habits developing. ‘Connected training’ uses AI to write and create driving courses.

Samsara’s IoT and AI tech is well-suited to be used on electric vehicles as transport firms continue to switch from diesel and petrol commercial vehicles as the challenge of operations is greater with EVs. “Most of our customers are still using ICE trucks and vans,” says Sekar. “EV conversion is a business case, as is saving on fuel. Demand for EVs differs across locations. Safe driving is also more sustainable, of course.”

The platform provides data on everything from severity of speeding, idling to fuel usage and time-on-site, producing a trip summary for managers, who can select advanced custom reports, using up to 9 data points, on things like scope 3 emissions. Samsara aims to have an impact on customer outcomes – running and insurance costs, accidents, emissions and more.

League Table

Paul Duncalf, Director of Safety for Sysco (which owns Brakes food distribution) talked about the roll-out of Samara in its CV fleet. “You need a compelling story to persuade the team to adopt technology. Ours was to reduce serious traffic accidents. Do you want to work for a company that doesn’t want to do that and have that on your conscience?”

What about getting driver buy-in for the introduction of cameras? Sysco had an amnesty for driver misbehaviour for the first few months, except for phone usage. Sysco managers use the tech themselves. “We showed drivers how it works and some footage so they knew why we were introducing it.” Best driver competitions and incentives, all data driven, help with acceptance. “League tables work well psychologically,” he points out. “Start with the alert settings bar set high, rather than for everything. Then lower it to make things tougher,” he advises.

Boardroom Decision

Fraikin’s Chief Digital Officer, Edward Breedveld, describes working with Samara as a ‘partnership’. “It’s open, collaborative and transparent,” he says. “We’re pushy to break boundaries and get things solved and we wanted to get it right first time.” Fraikin has 60,000 commercial vehicles in 10 countries in Europe, providing a full-service rental fleet to its customers, from delivery to maintenance and replacement. The company is still retrofitting its entire fleet with Samsara tech and deploying it on all new vehicles. A boardroom-level decision, with what Breedveld describes as almost ‘military level planning’.

“We need the driver to be happy and they’re in short supply, so we want feedback,” Breedveld states. “Information is key. We show people in real time how Samsara works. Data is needed because decarbonisation is coming.” As fleets switch over the financing and usages of EVs brings concerns around charging, battery degradation and resistance to change. Data from Samsara’s platform provides actionable information to improve user experience and reduce the environmental impact of road freight transport.

France is a challenging market to deploy Samara in Fraikin vehicles. There are legal obstacles around privacy so union backing is required. ”Each market is different,” Breedveld informs. “But in Europe the journey to net zero in road transport and to zero emissions in urban areas is irreversible.”

Samsara’s customers like the fact that the platform keeps moving forward, offering more for them to use it for and learn from. “When one of Fraikin’s fleet customers understand what data can be provided they see the potential,” Breedveld concludes. “The system tells the customer what they didn’t know before. Customers use Samsara for positive reasons, not for ‘big brother’ negative ones. It helps everyone, for example with plummeting mobile phone use. Companies using Samsara can benchmark themselves verses their competitors, favourably.”

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How Tech can Attract the Next Generation

Posted on by David Priestman

The leaders of physical operations-led organisations in the UK and Ireland reveal how putting technology at the centre of their business strategy is transforming the workplace to meet the demands of a new generation while creating safer and more efficient organisations. That’s according to a new State of Connected Operations Report — Building for the Next Generation: Workforce Trends in Physical Operations— from Samsara, the pioneer of the Connected Operations® Cloud, which includes insights from 1,550 physical operations leaders across seven countries, including 300 in the UK and Ireland.

“It’s no secret, the labour market can be tough in industries like transportation, construction, and field services but we’re seeing technology make a real difference in how younger talent views their career opportunities,” said Meagen Eisenberg, Chief Marketing Officer at Samsara. “Our research shows that technology is not only making these industries more attractive, but also helping retain workers for the long term. The ROI is impressive and yet, there’s so much potential ahead as many are at the beginning of their digital transformation.”

Modern Technology Tools are a Must-Have for the Workforce

The majority (91%) of leaders in the UK and Ireland agree that modern technology tools have made their industries more desirable to younger workers. Many also report increased employee morale, improved productivity, and lower turnover. Recognising their value in protecting workers from not-at-fault incidents and false claims, leaders ranked automation and robotics as the top technology for improving recruitment and retention. Personalised safety scorecards closely followed, reflecting younger workers’ emphasis on job safety and their comfort with technology that enhances safety.

Despite investments, many workers aren’t yet satisfied, as 79% of leaders in the UK and Ireland report they frequently hear feedback about the need for greater investments in safety and security. To address this, all respondents plan to increase investments in workforce safety and security technologies over the next five years, with many prioritising IoT-enabled safety devices, automation that reduces worker exposure to hazards, and predictive safety analytics.

Technology Investments Drive Financial Returns and Unlock New Efficiencies

Leaders state their technology strategies are driving significant financial benefits, as almost half (49%) report their safety-focused technology investments have saved their organisation more than £800,000. All respondents in the UK and Ireland confirmed that technology has empowered the workforce to shift their focus toward higher-value tasks, including preventative maintenance, safety checks, and valuable upskilling opportunities. The research also revealed widespread adoption of e-learning platforms, with 84% of organisations already using these tools. Leaders cite interpersonal and team relations as well as feedback and assessment as the top benefits.

To discover more insights from the State of Connected Operations Report: Building for the Next Generation: Workforce Trends in Physical Operations visit here.

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Innovative New AI Tools for Fleets

Posted on by David Priestman

Samsara, pioneer of the Connected Operations® Cloud, today introduced Samsara Intelligence, an expanded suite of AI offerings designed to help customers make smarter decisions and run safer, more efficient operations. Trained on the world’s largest Connected Operations data set, Samsara Intelligence combines cutting-edge AI technologies with real-world use cases to address the complex challenges faced by operations teams worldwide.

“Samsara Intelligence combines AI with an unprecedented scale of data and brings it to the people who do the hard jobs that power the world,” said Kiren Sekar, Chief Product Officer at Samsara. “Whether it’s identifying risk to keep drivers safer on the road, replacing tedious data entry with a photo, or helping mechanics reduce asset downtime, Samsara Intelligence helps our customers operate smarter.”

Samsara Intelligence leverages the world’s largest Connected Operations data set, processing more than 70 billion miles driven, 265 million digitised workflows, and 10 trillion data points each year. The diversity and breadth of this data is used to accurately train AI models that surface insights, automate tasks, and help make better decisions. Built for flexibility, Samsara Intelligence allows customers to fine-tune AI model sensitivity and customise workflows to suit their unique needs.

With Samsara Intelligence, customers gain expanded access to a range of AI solutions tailored to streamline operations and drive smarter decision-making. Today, this includes Samsara Assistant, a generative AI tool that provides instant answers to complex operational questions, and Intelligent Experiences, which offer embedded AI-driven recommendations and actions throughout Samsara’s platform to enhance operations processes.

Samsara Assistant

Samsara Assistant is an interactive generative AI tool that empowers operations teams with critical, timely information at their fingertips. Assistant can deliver immediate answers to a wide range of questions that customers encounter daily.

Examples of how customers use Samsara Assistant today include:
• Identifying vehicles with severe fault codes and receiving step by step instructions to resolve them.
• Spotting time-sensitive disruptions in daily operations, like unexpected stops, which might signal a driver is at risk or in need of assistance.
• Determining which drivers have the highest safety scores and should be recognised for their high performance.

According to Samsara’s recent State of Connected Operations Report, almost half (45%) of UK leaders surveyed are already using AI, and 89% said they plan to increase investments over the next year. Brandon Hire, the UK’s tool and equipment hire specialist, has exemplified this trend as an early adopter of Samsara Assistant.

According to Antony Draper, Safety, Health, Environment & Quality Director at Brandon Hire, “Assistant allows us to proactively manage our fleet, ensuring issues—whether vehicle fault codes, or driver performance—are identified early so we can minimise impact on the business. It gives us information at our fingertips to make informed decisions, ensuring we’re maximising uptime and providing the best service to our customers.”

Intelligent Experiences

Intelligent Experiences embeds AI insights, recommendations, and actions throughout the Samsara platform. This multi-modal intelligence leverages all data across video, text, sensor, and diagnostics to make AI accessible for the frontline. Specific visual, coaching, and training offerings for Intelligent Experiences include:
• Visual Intelligence: Empower workers with actionable insights from a photo. For example, identify safety hazards from a photo of a jobsite, measure storage capacity from a photo of a trailer, or provide proof of delivery records from a photo of a bill of lading.
• Positive Recognition: Recognise safe drivers with automated messages and kudos, helping to improve engagement and foster a culture of responsibility on the road.
• AI Course Builder: Improve safety and compliance while reducing administrative time by uploading policy and procedure documents to instantly create custom training modules.

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