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Category: Integrations

Free Today, Regret Tomorrow: The Risk Behind No-Cost Installs

Posted on by Ashley Decollibus

If there’s one thing every fleet operator learns quickly, it’s that “free” usually comes with strings attached.

In the race to win business, some smart trailer tech providers have started offering free hardware installations – touting it as a way to help fleets save money. And on the surface, it can sound appealing. But seasoned industry pros know the truth: when something’s free upfront, the real cost often shows up later in poor performance, unreliable data, or long-term lock-in.

At Phillips Connect, we take a different route. We don’t rely on gimmicks or bury costs behind clever marketing. We focus on delivering dependable, high-performance technology that pays for itself through uptime, accuracy, and long-term value. Because in this business, what starts out free often becomes the most expensive line on your balance sheet.

When a vendor offers a free hardware or lighting installations, ask yourself:

  • How are they making up for that lost revenue?
  • Are they using certified technicians?
  • Are they following OEM wiring standards?
  • What happens when something fails?

Here’s what we’ve seen, and what many fleet managers are starting to learn the hard way:

  • Non-standard wiring, like splicing into harnesses, may get the install done more quickly and less expensively, but it can void your OEM warranties and create electrical gremlins that chase you for years.
  • Free labor isn’t always skilled labor. Untrained or rushed installers often skip steps, misroute cables, or leave systems half-calibrated. This results in out-of-service trailers, expensive service calls, danger to your loads, drivers and the public at large, and oftentimes angry drivers stuck with equipment they can’t trust.
  • Shortcuts today equal delays tomorrow. Free installs often lead to longer downtimes later due to troubleshooting preventable issues, ultimately costing you in both time and operational efficiency.

Phillips Connect is proud to be the premium option. We invest in:

  • Certified professional installations
  • OEM-compliant wiring practices
  • Tested, integrated systems that work as promised the first time

And we do it all with the backing of Phillips, a name fleets have trusted for nearly a century for rugged, reliable, road-tested solutions.

With our smart trailer solutions, including cameras, sensors, tire pressure systems, brake diagnostics, cargo monitoring, and more, we’re turning trailers from dark boxes into real-time data hubs.

That’s only valuable if the technology works, and it only works if it’s installed correctly.

If I have one final thought for you, it’s to ask the right questions:

  • Who’s doing the work?
  • How are they wiring into my system?
  • Will this void my OEM warranties?
  • What’s the track record on system reliability post-install?

Because when it comes to smart trailers, you’re not just buying hardware. You’re buying uptime, data integrity, and peace of mind.

At Phillips Connect, we charge for installation because we do it right. And when your trailers are rolling, your data’s flowing, and your drivers trust their equipment — that’s an investment that pays off every mile.

Phillips Connect and Platform Science

Posted on by Phillips Connect

 

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the webinar featuring Phillips Connect and Platform Science. We explored how the integration of smart trailer technology with advanced in-cab solutions is setting a new standard for fleet efficiency, safety, and driver empowerment. Whether you missed it or want to revisit key moments, here’s a summary of the highlights.

Challenges in Fleet Management and the Role of Technology

The webinar kicked off by addressing some of the most pressing challenges in the industry today:

  • Driver Retention: Keeping skilled drivers onboard amidst increasing demands.
  • Customer Expectations: Meeting tighter delivery windows and service standards.
  • Operational Efficiency: Reducing costs and eliminating inefficiencies.

Phillips Connect and Platform Science showcased how technology—particularly real-time data insights—provides actionable solutions to these pain points, streamlining operations and fostering better collaboration across teams.

 

A Game-Changing Partnership

The Phillips Connect and Platform Science collaboration combines the best of smart trailer telematics with an intuitive in-cab platform, delivering insights that help drivers and fleet managers make smarter decisions. Together, they provide:

  • Real-Time Data: Insights into trailer health, such as tire pressure, temperature, and brake performance.
  • Driver Empowerment: Direct delivery of critical alerts and updates to in-cab devices.
  • Operational Transformation: Enhanced fleet utilization, predictive maintenance, and improved compliance.

This partnership redefines how fleets manage operations, boosting productivity while ensuring safety and compliance remain top priorities.

 

Empowering Drivers: Real-Time Trailer Insights

One of the most impactful segments of the webinar delved into how real-time data enhances the driver experience. By providing immediate visibility into trailer conditions—load status, maintenance alerts, and more—drivers can take proactive measures to prevent downtime and ensure safety on the road.

Key Benefits for Drivers:

  • Reduced unexpected breakdowns.
  • Better communication with fleet managers.
  • Improved confidence and control over daily operations.

 

Data-Driven Efficiency: A Competitive Edge for Fleets

Operational efficiency is critical for today’s fleets, and Phillips Connect and Platform Science deliver results through:

  • Proactive Maintenance: Minimize unplanned repairs and extend asset life.
  • Fleet Optimization: Maximize trailer utilization and reduce empty miles.
  • Compliance Confidence: Real-time alerts for safety and regulatory adherence.

 

Real Results: Customer Success Stories

The webinar featured compelling case studies demonstrating the real-world impact of these solutions:

  • Fleet XYZ: Increased uptime and reduced maintenance costs through predictive analytics.
  • Fleet ABC: Improved driver safety and reduced incidents thanks to actionable insights.

These success stories underline the measurable benefits fleets can achieve by integrating smart trailer and in-cab technologies.

Next Steps: Join the Revolution

The Phillips Connect and Platform Science partnership represents a pivotal shift in how fleets operate—turning data into decisions and insights into action. Don’t let your fleet fall behind.

Here’s how you can take action today:

  • Schedule a Demo: See the system in action and discover how it can benefit your fleet.
  • Explore Our Resources: Download case studies or white papers for deeper insights.
  • Connect With Us: Contact our team to discuss your fleet’s unique needs.

Platform Science Partners with Phillips Connect to Deliver Actionable Trailer Insights Directly into the Cab

Posted on by Phillips Connect

DriverAssist™ empowers drivers with smart trailer technology – improving driver experience, safety and operational efficiency.

San Diego, Calif., Oct. 8, 2024 – Platform Science, the creator of the leading edge application platform for transportation, Virtual Vehicle, today announced a partnership with Phillips Connect, a renowned technology company specializing in IoT devices and fleet solutions. The partnership brings Phillips Connect’s DriverAssist, an integration that delivers actionable trailer insights such as tractor-trailer pairing and TPMS directly into the cab for drivers, to the Virtual Vehicle Marketplace.

“By partnering with Phillips Connect, we are integrating innovative real-time tractor-trailer pairing validation directly into any workflow, scaling a fleet’s existing setup without the need for complex changes,” said Jake Fields, co-founder and CTO, Platform Science. “Drivers are at the center of everything we do and this partnership not only streamlines fleet operations but also enhances driver satisfaction. Phillips Connect is a true leader in smart trailer technology and by integrating them to our Virtual Vehicle platform, it creates more choice for our customers.” 

“We’re excited to partner with Platform Science to empower drivers and fleets with real-time, meaningful trailer insights that truly streamline operations for our customers,” said Rob Phillips, co-founder and CEO, Phillips Connect. “By integrating DriverAssist into Platform Science’s Virtual Vehicle platform, we’re helping fleets eliminate costly errors like mis-pulls and enhance safety with tire pressure alerts providing drivers with the tools they need to be more efficient and safer on the road. This collaboration is a significant step in driving the future of smart trailers, where seamless connectivity and actionable data deliver real value for both fleets and drivers.”

DriverAssist is accessible to all current Platform Science fleets through the Virtual Vehicle Marketplace. This solution delivers advanced trailer insights, sending important alerts directly to drivers in near real-time, empowering them to take immediate action.

DriverAssist delivers key trailer data, including real-time tractor-trailer pairing validation, tire pressure monitoring, and many more expansion options, ensuring drivers stay informed about their load and trailer health at all times. Tractor-trailer pairing not only boosts driver confidence but also gives the back office the assurance they need by strengthening verification protocols, enhancing security, reducing the risk of trailer theft, and streamlining fleet operations overall. Real-time alerts on tire pressure problems when they are detected empower drivers to take immediate action if necessary. 

“Our goal is to leverage technology to streamline workflows and boost efficiency across our organization. With technology evolving so rapidly, we want partners that could help future-proof our operations,” said Mike Narkys, President, MNS1 Express Inc. “Platform Science and Phillips Connect stand out as leaders in their fields — Platform Science for truck technology and Phillips Connect for trailer technology — giving us the expertise we needed in both areas. Phillips Connect’s smart trailer platform allows us to integrate sensors that address today’s needs and easily adapt to future technologies. The real-time, actionable data we receive helps us stay ahead of maintenance and safety issues. DriverAssist and the T/T Pair technology streamline our drivers’ workflows even further, providing critical information on their tablets and preventing errors and avoiding common issues like mis-pulls.”   

Platform Science’s Virtual Vehicle is the premier application platform that unlocks all signals at the edge directly on the truck without any aftermarket hardware installation. It is being deployed by many of the world’s largest commercial trucking fleets. By adopting Platform Science’s Virtual Vehicle, fleets are leveraging a best-in-class driver experience, integrating an intuitive application ecosystem including solutions made by telematics providers, third-party developers, OEMs, shippers, and fleets themselves.

Sign up here for our upcoming webinar with Platform Science on Nov. 12th – Empowering Drivers: Delivering Smart Trailer Insights Directly Into The Cab

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About Platform Science

Platform Science is transforming transportation technology by empowering enterprise fleets with a unified, user-friendly technology platform. Platform Science makes it easy to develop, deploy, and manage mobile devices and applications on commercial vehicles, giving fleets an edge in efficiency, flexibility, visibility, and productivity. The customizable platform delivers an unlimited canvas to fleets and developers seeking to innovate and create new solutions as customers’ needs, businesses, and industries evolve. Platform Science was named by Fast Company as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies and has twice been ranked #2 in the FreightTech 25 Awards by industry news leader FreightWaves. For more information, please visit www.platformscience.com.

About Phillips Connect

Based in Irvine, CA, USA, Phillips Connect takes telematics light-years beyond basic GPS tracking by combining the industry’s most advanced connected asset solutions for trailers, chassis, and containers with a variety of sensors including brake, tire pressure, and light sensors, among others. It combines cutting-edge connected asset solutions with sensors like brake and tire pressure, enhancing fleet efficiency. Its products are seamlessly integrated with the Connect1 user interface, giving fleet managers the information they need to turn their assets faster and maximize driver productivity. Phillips Connect has developed industry IoT sensor connection technology that is widely used in the freight industry. The products are designed to improve overall safety and security, reduce costs in fleet maintenance, and dramatically enhance fleet asset utilization. Phillips Connect, Phillips Industries, Phillips Europe, Phillips Asia Pacific, Phillips de Mexico, Phillips Innovations, and Phillips Motorsports are entities under the Phillips Family umbrella. Together, they provide comprehensive solutions that meet the evolving needs of commercial vehicle operators, with a focus on safety, security, cost reduction, and asset utilization. Phillips continues to set industry standards through its unwavering commitment to research, development, innovation, and customer-centric collaboration. For more information, please visit our website: www.phillips-connect.com.

Click here to visit the Phillips Connect DriverAssist Landing Page.

Check us out on Platform Science: DriverAssist T/T Pair and DriverAssist TPMS.

On the Road Interview: Discussing Trailer Health and Data Partnership

Posted on by Ashley Decollibus

Phillips Connect’s Mark Wallin, Senior Vice President of Product and Noregon‘s Sandeep Kar, Chief Strategy Officer met with Fleet Equipment’s On the Road with Alex Crissey to spotlight Phillips Connect’s latest collaboration with Noregon. The partnership focuses on incorporating Phillips Connect1 trailer data into Noregon’s renowned TripVision remote diagnostics system. The integration is set to significantly enhance the information available to fleets, particularly regarding brake faults and overall trailer health.

Understanding the implications of this partnership is crucial for fleets utilizing either or both services. The integration means access to more detailed and actionable data, helping fleets maintain their trailers more effectively and safely.

Click here to read the full press release.

 

Phillips Connect Partners with Noregon to Revolutionize Fleet Management

Posted on by Phillips Connect

Irvine, CA (February 27, 2024) Phillips Connect is pleased to announce a partnership with Noregon, a leading solutions provider for the maintenance, service, and upkeep of commercial vehicles and heavy-duty equipment. The collaboration is aimed at integrating Phillips Connect’s Connect1 trailer data into Noregon’s TripVision® Remote Diagnostics system. This collaboration facilitates the effortless exchange of essential health data from Connect1, including specifics like location, odometer readings, brake diagnostics, and the overall health status of trailers, right into the TripVision interface. The integration promises to bolster TripVision’s functionality by incorporating in-depth trailer health and brake fault data, complemented by direct connections back to Connect1 for thorough insights. This initiative marks a significant advancement in the unification and enhancement of fleet data, delivering an unmatched level of insight and management capabilities to fleet operators.

Unified Data for Unmatched Efficiency

Through this collaboration, Phillips Connect and Noregon are working closely to enhance maintenance solutions that are available to the market. By integrating critical data from Phillips Connect’s robust monitoring systems with TripVision’s comprehensive diagnostics capabilities, customers will now have access to a unified platform where they can monitor both their tractors and trailers in one place.

This integration offers enhanced information on ABS and brake faults among other critical diagnostics, providing fleet operators with actionable insights. The aim is to significantly improve the maintenance and operational efficiency of fleets, ensuring that vehicles are not just monitored but maintained with the most up-to-date information available.

Expanding Maintenance Solutions

The partnership between Phillips Connect and Noregon is set to significantly enhance how customers perform maintenance. By making Phillips Connect’s detailed trailer data available through TripVision, fleets can now gain a more comprehensive understanding of their vehicle’s health. This integration enables fleets to respond in real-time to issues on their vehicles and make informed maintenance decisions based on the tractor and trailer’s overall health and safety status.

A Richer, More Valuable Offering

Phillips Connect is dedicated to enhancing the user experience by providing richer, more valuable offerings to its customers. By taking ABS and brake data to the next level, Phillips Connect ensures that customers who are already utilizing TripVision will see a notable enhancement in their operational capabilities.

“Our integration with TripVision is a game-changer for the industry,” says Rob Phillips, CEO and Founder of Phillips Connect. “By bringing together the best of what both our companies have to offer, we’re enabling fleets to operate with an efficiency and clarity that was previously unattainable. This is about providing our customers with the tools they need to succeed in a competitive landscape.”

Bill Hathaway, Executive Chairman and Founder of Noregon said, “As Noregon looks to the future of fleet management, our partnership with Phillips Connect is a pivotal step towards that vision. This collaboration represents a groundbreaking approach to fleet monitoring, maintenance, and service. It enables us to offer unparalleled insights into fleet health, ensuring that our customers can achieve higher efficiency and reliability in their operations.”

Utility Trailer Connect Launches Advanced Trailer Telematics Platform

Posted on by Phillips Connect

ORLANDO, FL (March 6, 2022) – Utility Trailer Connect is pleased to announce the launch of its advanced trailer telematics platform.

This new system stems from Utility’s proprietary wiring harness that has been reengineered to work with the Phillips Connect Smart7™ nosebox. Utility recognized early on the advantages of providing the highest quality, corrosion-free harnesses that would seamlessly and reliably connect to multiple sensors for the life of the trailer. Because Phillips Industries is the standard wiring harness supplier for Utility Trailer, upgrading to the telematics version of its existing harness can be done without slowing the trailer production rates. All connections of the Utility harness are soldered, and connections are over-molded.

Utility Trailer with Phillips Connect Smart7™

This collaborative product suite at launch will include GPS trailer tracking, light-out detection, intelligent ABS fault code reporting, tire inflation system monitoring, and the ability to connect to additional sensors (sold separately) including door open/closed, ultrasonic cargo detection, and interior cargo cameras, among others. It also has built-in expansion capabilities, offering over-the-air communication updates that will integrate with advanced tire pressure monitoring systems and Bendix’s Roll-Stability system, trailer weight, air tank pressure, and optional brake pad wear-sensors for disc brakes. Future systems will include connection to reefer units and liftgates for monitoring status and maintenance.

“I really appreciate the way that Utility worked with our team to develop its joint smart-trailer solution. Rather than focusing on being first to market, we put our technical resources together to develop the most reliable, fully integrated, and easiest-to-install system available,” said Rob Phillips, founder and CEO of Phillips Connect. “Quality and reliability were always paramount to everything else, and they never compromised. This platform is a true game-changer for its premium fleet customers.”

“Our team also worked with Utility and our mutual customer, Hirschbach for Utility’s first large-scale installation of the Smart7™ system,” he said. “Hirschbach now has more than 1,200 Utility refrigerated trailers in operation with the Smart7 telematics, and has placed an additional order for Utility refrigerated trailers to be delivered in 2022.”

The Connect1 online or mobile platform is incredibly powerful, yet intuitive, and displays all the critical alerts for a trailer on just one screen. It even makes it easy for fleets with multiple telematics solutions to get to the right provider’s platform with a few keystrokes and a single click.

“Phillips has been an excellent partner to Utility and its dealer network for the last 40 years,” said Steve Bennett, VP of Utility. “This new platform’s components, such as the Smart7 nosebox, wire harness, and accessory items such as door sensors and cargo sensors are available at Utility Trailer Dealers throughout North America.”

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About Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company

Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company is America’s oldest privately owned, family-operated trailer manufacturer. Founded in 1914, the company designs and manufactures dry freight vans, flatbeds, refrigerated vans, Tautliner® curtainsided trailers, and aerodynamic technologies. Utility currently operates six trailer manufacturing facilities across North America. Utility’s 3000R® and the 3000R® multi-temp refrigerated trailers are manufactured at the Atkins, Virginia, Clearfield, Utah and Piedras Negras, Mexico plants. The 4000D-X Composite® series dry vans are manufactured at the Glade Spring, Virginia and Paragould, Arkansas plants. The 4000AE®, 4000S®, and 4000AE®Drop Deck flatbeds as well as the Tautliner® are all manufactured at the Enterprise, Alabama facility. Utility also has an extensive independent dealer network with over 100 locations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and South America. Visit www.utilitytrailer.com for more information.