On 23/24 October 2008, Telematics Update presented its annual conference entitled the Logistics & Fleet Management Systems USA 2008 in Atlanta. The event webpage with full details can be found by clicking here. Sponsors for the event this year included Tele Atlas, Trimble, Teletrac, Squarell Technology, and Microsoft Dynamics.
Panel sessions were interesting, varied, and well presented, and the exhibition area appeared to be quite busy all day. I heard a lot of positive comments about the quality of the information exchange, and the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead was a great host location with first class accommodation and facilities.
So what could be improved? The overall message about the conference was designed to appeal to all aspects of the commercial telematics market, from component software suppliers through telematics providers to fleet managers. The problem with this approach is that it was not clear (to the TSPs in particular) which staff members to send. In the current economic climate, there must be clear business benefits to justify the cost of attending. It turned out that very few fleet managers were in attendance.
One of the key needs of the TSP community is to connect with their fleet manager customers. Having an end-user focus would make it worthwhile for all the TSPs and their suppliers to attend, as this is the only US conference focused specifically on fleet management systems. The alternative is to go to a more general trucking event such as those organized by the American Trucking Association (ATA) and compete with all the other technologies on display for truck operators.
My suggestion is to invite fleet managers to attend next year’s conference free of charge, or for a nominal fee to cover refreshments, if they agree to participate in some surveys or present on a panel. Focus the panel sessions and presentations on a two-way information exchange, and look for a combination of existing user experiences and new user requirements balanced with existing system capabilities and future technology. Different tracks could be run for different market verticals. I also think that a specific track for system developers would provide added depth for the TSPs and make it worth them sending both marketing and technical staff.
In the interest of keeping travel costs low, design the conference so people can travel into the location say on a Tuesday afternoon, have an evening networking session with drinks and snacks, then a full day of panels and presentations on the Wednesday, with evening flights out. Flight and one night hotel will keep costs down, and there should be a lot of information exchange and contacts made for a time investment of two days.
These are ideas I wanted to capture while the event experience is still a fresh memory. I look forward to working with the conference organizers to make the 2009 event a success.
