HERC works with Cognizant on telematics

Hertz Equipment Rental Corp (HERC) is partnering with information technology company Cognizant to expand its telematics and digital services.

Cognizant said it had been selected to digitally transform HERC’s business; generating higher value from its telematics technology, the wireless capture of data about maintenance status, operator behaviour, geographic location and other performance aspects from sensors on HERC's heavy equipment fleet.

HERC, a unit of Hertz Global Holdings, is an equipment rental company with approximately 280 locations worldwide. The business is being prepared for a spin-off as an independent company by its parent.

Cognizant said it aimed to help HERC to capitalise on the latest digital capabilities, including advanced mobile interfaces for field technicians to improve efficiency and productivity, and new digital services for customers enabled by telematics.

Specific capabilities Cognizant is developing for HERC include asset tracking through advanced systems that automatically send an alert to employees when HERC equipment assets are entering or leaving a site; and equipment availability and utilisation tracking that enables real-time monitoring of equipment asset status.

Maintenance scheduling that enables automatic scheduling of preventive maintenance based on run-hours of equipment is also being developed.

"Cognizant has long been a valued partner to HERC, so it is natural that we turn to them as we innovate with new technologies, and look to enhance our operational efficiencies," said Rich Marani, chief information officer at HERC.

"The team at Cognizant impressed us with a deep understanding of our industry's business challenges, and their demonstrated ability to execute end-to-end as we transform our telematics program. We know we can rely on them not only to develop a winning strategy, but to partner with us in implementing solutions that will drive our business success."

And Sean Middleton, COO and emerging business accelerator at Cognizant, said, “HERC's sizeable deployment of telematics technology reflects that they're forward-thinkers and leaders in the new digital age.

“We're excited to work with them in building applications and analytics on top of this foundation to help better engage their customers and unlock new levels of business value from the massive amounts of data generated.”