In October 2011, Zonar marked its 10th anniversary of providing customers with innovative fleet management solutions.Zonar began with the simple idea of improving commercial vehicle safety through technology. The company's foundational offering, EVIR is the only electronically verified vehicle inspection system available. As the demand for EVIR increased, so did the suite of solutions offered by Zonar. Today, Zonar offers a wide range of products and services that includes:
V2JTM Telematics Platform: next generation GPS capabilities that combine real-time delivery of vehicle condition with performance data, in one simple-to-install device; Wombat: all the power of the V2J inside a case that can handle even the harshest environment including mud, dust, snow and salt; ZPassTM: the award-winning technology designed to monitor and report student ridership in a safe, reliable and non-intrusive way; and, Ground Traffic Control: a powerful web-based fleet management portal that provides a real-time picture of fleet operations with unmatched visibility, ease and control.
"Ten years is an incredible milestone," said Chris Oliver, vice president of sales and marketing at Zonar. "Maintaining great relationships with our customers is a key to our success. The constant engagement for ideas and input inspired some of the most innovative products in the market and elevated us to the forefront of this industry."
Zonar attributes their growth to customer-driven product innovations and strong relationships with customers who are leaders in their respective markets. For example, Zonar customer First Student, Inc. is the largest provider of student transportation services in North America and transports six million students daily using a fleet of over 57,000 buses.
Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer in the U.S. worked with Zonar to develop and deploy the industry's first real-time remote diagnostic system as standard equipment on model year 2012 Freightliner vehicles equipped with Detroit Diesel engines. DTNA's Virtual Technician, powered by Zonar, delivers vehicle diagnostics and fault codes to DTNA's service centers as they occur making possible advanced repair scheduling and parts ordering—often before the vehicle arrives at the shop.
In addition to transporting school children and improving the safety, efficiency and reliability of Freightliner trucks, Zonar also recently developed a revolutionary new fuel management system called Z-Con. Developed in conjunction with TCH, Z-Con ensures secure transactions, prevents fuel theft and simplifies the fueling process by transforming trucks into fuel cards. Using sophisticated multi-factor authentication, Z-Con consistently and accurately identifies a truck and authorizes the fuel purchase by facilitating communication between the truck's ECM, the fuel pump and the purchasing network – creating a seamless transaction process while ensuring that fuel is pumped only into the authorized vehicle.
"Offering new and efficient ways to improve all aspects of fleet management has been and will always be our focus at Zonar," said Eric Manegold, founding partner and vice president of Business Development for Commercial Vehicles. "Ingenuity, innovation, and great relationships have brought us this far—I can't wait to see what the next ten years will bring."
