Interview with Daniele Simonaggio, Fleet Business Unit Manager Viasat S.p.A.
Let’s start from the team. What is Viasat Fleet?
The Viasat Fleet division is made up of a team of professionals, technicians and experts focused on the road transport and logistics market. The information that we put at the fleet manager’s disposal through an intuitive dashboard and specific, easy-to-use reports, ranges from vehicle use data to driving style data, from vehicle and load security data to mission management data, including real-time communication with the driver and much more. The quality of Viasat Fleet’s telematics solutions provides operators in the mobility and road transport sector with the best possible business management and the highest possible degree of security and cost-effectiveness by reducing operating costs.
So, has the time finally come for telematics?
Viasat has been on the market for decades and is regarded by the industry as a reliable and experienced partner. Our telematics solutions provide an effective answer to the monitoring, locationing and reporting needs of vehicles, goods and activities. They make it possible to check fuel consumption, lower insurance costs, provide security and assistance for vehicles, goods and people, allow in/out communication between headquarters and vehicles and the recovery of excise duties. We support our customers through our 5 proprietary Operations Centers, supported by 25 outsourcing Operations Centers in Italy and abroad, active 24/7, 365 days a year. A team of specialized operators, a capillary network of highly qualified service centers and the ability to supervise the entire operating chain by controlling the entire production, distribution and supply cycle of services, are among the strong points of Viasat’s offer, which lays its foundations on consistently high quality standards and a high level of operational flexibility, which allows us to meet the needs of our customers in the best possible way.
Traceability, security, cost-effectiveness: I think these are the watchwords among Fleet Managers. How do you ensure these conditions?
The traceability of transports and shipments is ensured through the Viasat Fleet Web console, which allows road transport companies to track, locate and monitor the vehicles of their fleet and the goods they transport at any time and from any online workstation. This allows companies to optimize their trips, schedule missions via tablet/ on-board satellite navigator and activate a constant, direct contact between Fleet Manager and driver. By remotely controlling the fleet, companies can know with certainty the entire route taken by the vehicles, but also the exact time of delivery, the level of fuel in the tank or how long the driver has been driving. The on-board systems are certified and equipped to guarantee the highest security levels, with 60 types of alarm sent to the Viasat Fleet Web console and more than 40 automatic alarms managed by the Viasat Operations Center, which provides 24/7 assistance to our customers and guarantees maximum safety for both drivers and transported goods. All these elements lead to a reduction in costs, achieved through an optimal management of the company’s activities. In short, nothing is left to chance.
One last question. There is a lot of talk in the sector about chronotachographs and excise duties reimbursement. What can you tell us in this regard?
The control bodies have stepped up their vigilance on the roads and within companies, with the aim of ensuring that the regulations about the drivers’ driving times, breaks and rest periods are properly observed. Viasat Fleet allows companies to remotely and automatically download the data recorded by the chronotachographs in accordance with the law. The “Real Time” function allows them to keep the drivers’ driving hours and rest periods under control in order to better plan their missions. This allows for the analysis of infringements with the aim of avoiding heavy penalties.
What about excise duties?
Fuel accounts for 90% of the total expenses sustained by transport operators. This is why the reimbursement of excise duties is so important for transport companies, especially in a difficult economic situation and in an increasingly competitive market context like the ones we find ourselves in. In Italy, as in the other European Union countries, motor fuel is heavily burdened. This is why Viasat, thanks to its partnership with Tecno Accise, a company that has been operating in the sector for over 15 years, deals with all the practices necessary for recovering excise duties, supporting with its professionalism and competence all the companies that transport people and goods from Italy to abroad and vice versa.