Frost & Sullivan Applauds Cummins for Exceptional Customer Value Leadership in Providing Connected Engine Diagnostics Solutions

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the Connected Engine Diagnostics Solutions industry, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Cummins Inc. (Cummins) with the 2017 North American Customer Value Leadership Award for its exceptional customer experience offered through its suite of Connected technology solutions, as well as for the brand equity the company has earned among its fleet customers. Cummins is a global power leader and a top engine supplier to the trucking industry.

Truck OEMs and, more recently, conventional Tier I suppliers have driven demand for telematics-enabled services, with the installed base of telematics devices increasing to over 5 million units in 2016 in North America. Component suppliers provide prognostics (predictive maintenance) and remote diagnostics as supplementary services for fleet operators. These solutions simplify truck maintenance by quickly and proactively determining failure causes for individual components.

"As fleet operators incorporate multiple connected devices onboard, they're required to invest more time and resources to effectively manage, analyze, and use that data," said Gokulnath Raghavan, senior research analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "Most fleet and logistics operators operate with less than 2% profit margin, so lightweighting holds equal weight to simplifying the maintenance process and improving uptime when it comes to investing in new technologies. Therefore, offering fleet operations transparency with real-time operational improvements data sharing that leads to lower costs for operators is a key requirement for connected solutions."

Cummins launched Connected Diagnostics™, its first product in a suite of Connected technologies, in 2014. Using telematics, Connected Diagnostics wirelessly connects Cummins-powered equipment to Cummins for immediate diagnosis of an engine system fault alert, allowing for quick conversion of data to actionable information. Customers receive an immediate notification of a fault, along with clear recommendations for continued vehicle operation or immediate service needs.

In addition to Connected Diagnostics, Cummins has developed both Connected Advisor and Connected Software Updates.

• Connected Advisor provides customers with prioritized, time-based recommendations, as determined by engine experts at Cummins, to distinguish between immediate repair needs and those that can be scheduled a few days out.
• Connected Software Updates delivers secure, over-the-air programming capabilities enabled through telematics service provider (TSP) partners so customers/fleets can upgrade engine calibrations or preapproved software updates automatically through the Cummins Connected Solutions portal.

To further differentiate and streamline the service experience, the new Cummins Guidanz™ mobile app accelerates the diagnostic and repair process, while giving customers the repair time estimates they need to make informed decisions. Immediate Assessment, a feature of the Guidanz mobile app for certified Cummins service providers, immediately assesses and prioritizes fault codes, and identifies the most likely repair parts.

"Frost & Sullivan has found that Cummins' top-class customer service has also boosted its engine sales, with some fleet operators delaying truck purchases to wait for the availability of Cummins engines with Connected features," said Raghavan. "Fleets measure the effectiveness of a telematics service by its direct impact on TCO through reduction in downtime or fuel consumption. Cummins Connected products deliver on both fronts."

Cummins expects its 2017 revenue to increase 9% to 11% over 2016, and earnings before interest and taxes to be in the range of 11.75% to 12.5%, demonstrating extraordinary growth in the trucking industry, which Frost & Sullivan expects to only grow 2% to 3% overall in 2017. Frost & Sullivan believes this performance is because of Cummins' dedication to developing technological solutions to solve customers' problems rather than just expanding component market share. The company's focus on customer journey mapping, system design thinking, and lean, agile methodologies allows for a more efficient growth strategy than expanding revenue and market share only through new customer acquisition.

The success of Connected Diagnostics, which has provided the foundation for Cummins' suite of Connected technologies, and the company's strong overall performance have earned Cummins Inc. the Frost & Sullivan 2017 Customer Value Leadership Award.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in implementing strategies that proactively create value for its customers with a focus on improving the return on the investment that customers make in its services or products. The award recognizes the company's unique focus on augmenting the value that its customers receive, beyond simply good customer service, leading to improved customer retention and customer base expansion.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About Cummins Inc.

Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service diesel and natural gas engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, (USA) Cummins currently employs approximately 55,400 people worldwide and serves customers in approximately 190 countries and territories through a network of approximately 600 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 7,400 dealer locations. Cummins earned $1.39 billion on sales of $17.5 billion in 2016. Press releases can be found on the Web at www.cummins.com. Follow Cummins on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cummins and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/cumminsinc.

Jon Mills
Director, External Communications
Cummins Inc.
Phone: 317-658-4540
Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE Frost & Sullivan