BlackBerry Cornering Connected Truck Market with New Partnerships

A former mobile device behemoth is making inroads when it comes to the connected truck industry.

BlackBerry has announced a partnership with Pana-Pacific, detailing how BlackBerry Radar is now available to more than 2,800 heavy-duty truck dealerships across North America. The Waterloo-based BlackBerry’s Radar technology is an asset tracking solution that provides increased visibility into how trucks move and ship cargo.

Pana-Pacific works closely with vehicle manufacturers to develop all kinds of products, including telematics, navigation and communications. As part of the agreement, Pana-Pacific customers will have access to Radar-M, which is designed for trailers and containers, as well as Radar-L, which is for flatbeds, chassis, containers, machinery and other kinds of valuable transportation or non-powered equipment.

“We decided to add BlackBerry Radar to our portfolio because we believe the near-real-time information it provides will empower our customers to make better business decisions and improve the overall performance of their transportation operations,” said John Trenberth, CEO of Pana-Pacific.

BlackBerry radar is data-driven offering that gives fleet operators information like vehicle location, route and mileage, temperature, humidity, door status, cargo load and more, all through an online dashboard. The platform can collect up to 100 times more information than a typical GPS-based tracking solution, ensuring both safety, security and compliance for drivers, fleet operators and purchasers.

“BlackBerry Radar allows fleet managers and equipment owners to make smarter decisions for their business, saving time, money and resources,” said Philip Poulidis, general manager of BlackBerry Radar.

Along with this partnership, BlackBerry also unveiled a collaboration with BigRoad, a company with Toronto’s Fleet Complete. BigRoad is an electronic logging device company and will purchase BlackBerry’s Radar-M technology.

The collaboration will allow BigRoad to better book truckloads and ensure quick payment as well as hours-of-service visibility.

“Fleet Complete and BigRoad are committed to finding innovative ways to help drivers save time, comply with government regulations, and more importantly, make more money,” said Tony Lourakis, CEO of Fleet Complete. “We’re excited to expand our relationship with BlackBerry and increase the power and potential of the BigRoad Freight program with BlackBerry Radar.”

These connected trucks partnerships further strengthen BlackBerry’s recent moves into the connected car market as a whole. The company has long since moved away from mobile phones and recently partnered with Qualcomm to spread their connected car platform to as many consumers as possible.