Europe, Vehicle Telematics

"The drivers drive with more foresight, the wearing parts last longer, the number of accidents goes down, the diesel consumption goes down - the stress is less."

Oliver Nocke, Fleet Manager at Roman Mayer Transport & Logistik in Gersthofen

Standout benefits:

• 65,250€ and 45,000 litres of fuel savings: The environmentally friendly driving style results in a positive effect on fuel efficiency

• 17,000 € claim resolved: video evidence means that previously unclear situations can now be clearly clarified

• 93 Sprinters equipped with telematics solution: With Samsara, Roman Mayer can cover the entire fleet in just one application - from vans to 40 T trucks

From Gersthofen on the road throughout Europe

Despite its considerable size, the Roman Mayer Logistics Group is still an owner-operated logistics company whose vehicles have been on the road throughout Europe from Gersthofen in Bavaria since its foundation in 1969. Around 1,400 people work for the Swabian company, more than 600 alone are drivers and they are on the road with the 450 company-owned vehicles as well as 700 trailers and semi-trailers. The total of more than 1,000 assets is reason enough for fleet manager Oliver Nocke to equip the fleet and staff with the best technologies.

Widely scattered vehicles complicate management

Despite all its entrepreneurial success, the imposing size and the area covered also pose one of the biggest challenges for Spedition Roman Mayer. Because the owner-managed company structure, through which the entire fleet is still controlled from Gersthofen, requires Oliver Nocke and his team to be informed at all times about where individual assets and ultimately deliveries are located. Nowadays, recipients want to know in real time where their delivery is in order to be able to comply with possible acceptance situations and protocols as well as to be able to provide personnel upon delivery. 

In addition, Oliver Nocke must be able to see at any time how the fleet is doing in general and the condition of individual vehicles in detail. Workshop visits for routine services and repairs must be kept as short as possible and ideally already prepared by the team in the best possible way through fault code readouts. This is the only way to keep the time in which individual assets are out of service as short as possible. 

Due to the large area in which vehicles from Roman Mayer Logistik Group are on the road, it is important for the fleet manager to be able to analyse driver behaviour for potential improvements in order to reduce the likelihood of traffic accidents or to be able to do better reconnaissance work after an accident. 

Last but not least, the electrification of the fleet is also a part of Oliver Nocke's strategy to prepare the Roman Mayer Logistik Group fleet for the future. The transport company's customers also want their goods to be delivered using increasingly environmentally and climate-friendly logistics methods. The management of mix-drive fleets is far more complex compared to the organisation of a fleet that only contains assets with combustion engines.

Samsara convinces with accurate real-time tracking and user-friendliness

There are numerous telematics offerings on the market for large tractors and assets, whether from manufacturers themselves or from independent aftermarket providers. So often the problem is not the procurement itself, but which system offers real benefit to a broad-based organisation like Roman Mayer Logistik Group - with assets ranging from vans to large 40T trucks. A big part of the fleet Oliver Nocke is responsible for consists precisely of those transporters that could not be mapped in the overall context of the fleet by the previous system. 

The Roman Mayer Logistics Group has a pioneering role in the transport and logistics industry, which is noticeable through tests of new vehicles and close cooperation with vehicle manufacturers and technology partners. For example, the company is currently testing a vehicle that is already equipped with safety systems that will not become mandatory until 2026/2028. In his search for a new partner for telematics, Oliver Nocke therefore had to find a partner with whom this pioneering role could not only be strengthened, but ideally also expanded.

Samsara establishes itself as a strong partner

With Samsara, this partner was found. "It is actually the perfect system and all on one platform. We have already run a lot of tests for Samsara because we have a lot of different equipment and have thus been able to gain a lot of experience," Oliver Nocke describes the cooperation with Samsara. In particular, the always helpful contact persons make testing and getting to know the platform very easy. "In the meantime, we use Samsara in trailers, semi-trailers, in trucks, in small trucks, in cars - the more, the better".

More attentive driving with dashcams

Already during the test phase with four selected vehicles and a small number  of drivers, a clear improvement in the driving behaviour of individual drivers could be observed. Thanks to the AI dashcam at the front, the drivers would already be much more attentive on the roads by themselves. The initial scepticism ebbed away the more the selected drivers realised that the Samsara system relieved them and would be a great help for safe driving behaviour on the road. Video recordings from the dashcams can also clarify previously unclear accident events. The exculpatory evidence has a positive effect on the drivers and has led to the rest of the drivers proactively reaching out to management to have their vehicles also equipped with Samsara. For example, in the case of a night-time collision on the motorway, Samsara video footage was able to prove with the help of the dashcam that the professional driver of the haulage company Roman Mayer was not the cause of the accident - damage amounting to 17,000 was determined to the company's vehicle alone. Overall it can be stated that the claims ratio of Roman Mayer has decreased by 6% so far - and this despite the considerable growth of the fleet in the last three years.

Should a customer state that the professional driver allegedly did not appear, Spedition Roman Mayer has the possibility to prove the appearance of the driver. When the vehicle is switched off, the dashcam automatically takes a photo to record the location.

"Overall, the whole fleet has become calmer," reports Oliver Nocke. "The drivers drive with more foresight, the wear parts last longer, the number of accidents decreases, the diesel consumption drops by around 45,000 litres - the stress becomes less." With an average diesel price of 1,45€ net this reduces costs by roughly 65,250€. And he himself also experiences a reduction in workload thanks to the Samsara platform, for example through automated reports. On the first of every month at 6 a.m., the billing department receives an automated scheduled report listing the mileage of the individual vehicles so that the diesel surcharge can be calculated accurately and comprehensibly.

Make AI and data-driven decisions and simplify organisation

In the dashboard itself, Oliver Nocke can also access and manage a wide range of information himself. Of particular importance to the company are trip histories, timesheets and, through an OBD interface, the utilisation and health of the entire fleet.  For the freight forwarder's controlling department, on the other hand, inactivity reports are also of great interest - this department also works closely with Samsara to gain even deeper insights into the efficiency of the fleet. "The numbers Samsara can give us are spectacular," says Oliver Nocke with regard to the system's reporting functions.

The Roman Mayer Logistics Group even stronger in security through Samsara

With the help of Samsara, there are not only advantages for Roman Mayer as a company, but by tracking the trucks in real time, they can offer their customers a top service. In addition, the company benefits from Samsara because they can not only manage the fleet efficiently, the system also helps to improve safety.

Safety is an important keyword, because the transport company particularly appreciates Samsara because it gives them the possibility to support and safeguard their drivers even in case of problems on the route.

The combination of all the above-mentioned reasons makes Samsara a real all-rounder for the Roman Mayer Logistik Group in terms of customer loyalty and support for drivers and dispatchers.