SmartDrive Systems Celebrates a Decade of Business Expansion with Record Quarter
Company Grows Customer Base by 45 Percent in 2014
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartDrive Systems, a leader in driving performance solutions that reduce collisions and improve fuel efficiency, celebrates a decade of business expansion, announcing today the completion of a record fiscal third quarter with greater than 130 percent growth over the same period last year. The Company attributes its progress to continued product innovation, strategic partnerships and customer acquisitions across a number of key vertical markets. In 2014 alone, its customer base has grown by an impressive 45 percent, further advancing driver safety and operational savings for fleets worldwide.
Launched in 2004, the San Diego-based innovator in analytics and driver safety offers a video-based program for commercial vehicles and transit agencies, focused on identifying unsafe driving and preventing collisions from happening in the future. The Company serves transit agencies and global for-hire and private fleets across a variety of markets—from general freight, retail, oil and gas, bulk and hazardous materials, manufacturing, food distribution, waste and construction—delivering solutions that enable fleet managers to take control of operational costs while improving safety. Its open data platform identifies driving risk, captures video, vehicle, audio and driving data and automatically offloads that video for review by driving experts. To-date, SmartDrive's rapidly-growing database has captured and analyzed more than 80 million risky driving events.
"This is an exciting time for SmartDrive," said Steve Mitgang, CEO of SmartDrive. "Our Company achieved remarkable growth as the market has begun to embrace video-based safety programs as a key strategic investment. In addition, we have seen our customers measurably reduce their risk, improving safety scores by over 50 percent within weeks of deploying our solution. At the end of the day, our goal is to help our customers protect their company and their freight and, most importantly, bring their drivers home safely. We look forward to an even more exciting 2015."
Customer Additions
From expanding its global footprint to penetrating new markets, SmartDrive's customer base has grown dramatically over the past three years, with 45 percent growth in 2014 alone. Some of the recent wins include deployments at Golden State Foods, Cypress Truck Lines, M&W Transportation, Kenco, Goggin Warehousing, Bulkmatic, KS Industries, Kimrad Transport, Utah Transit Authority and Regional Transportation District of Denver to name a few. Additionally, after experiencing significant improvements in fleet safety and cost reductions, SmartDrive's existing customers chose to further extend relationships with the Company. For instance, in 2014, leading total service wholesale distributor of food and household products Bozzutos, signed on for an additional three years, after seeing a 95 percent reduction in its CSA Unsafe Driving Measure using SmartDrive's event recording program.
Product Innovation
To-date, SmartDrive's intellectual property portfolio includes 107 issued patents and pending patent applications. SmartDrive was most recently awarded a patent for the invention of triggering event video when an active safety system is engaged or the driver executes a high-risk maneuver. The Company also released seven product innovations over the prior 15 months, including the SmartDrive Assurance product line. An industry-first, the video-based safety program can be easily tuned to the risk priorities and specific fleet operating environments through a range of camera, integration and program configuration options—including a 360 degree-view of the vehicle. With Assurance 360 fleets can hone in on compliance-related risk and their most frequent types of collisions, including those caused by backing, unintended lane changes, roll-overs and close following from passenger vehicles. Other product enhancements in this period include custom coaching and scoring, enhanced management reporting and KPIs, dynamic range triggering, active safety system integration and extended recording. Because the SmartDrive platform is software-as-service and firmware upgrades are delivered "over-the-air," customers can take advantage of these capabilities as part of their monthly subscription—ensuring that they are not investing in obsolete technology.
Strategic Partnerships
2014 also brought about many strategic alliances for SmartDrive in order to optimize value for its customers. The Company announced a partnership with ProSight Specialty Insurance to create SecureFleetSM, a fully-integrated video event recorder and risk reduction service. The complimentary offering combines the patented vehicle data and video event recording system with a comprehensive driver coaching program to help fleet owners and safety managers reduce risk and costs and better manage fleets.
Other recent collaborations include strategic alliances with WABCO and Convoy Technologies on developing solutions to further reduce collisions and improve fleet safety.
Industry Recognition
SmartDrive's growth and impact on the transportation industry has been recognized nationally, with the Company securing award wins and notable rankings. In 2014, for instance, SmartDrive ranked as the 399th fastest growing company in North America on Deloitte's 2014 Technology Fast 500™. For its work within the food and beverage space, the Company was recognized with FoodLogistics magazine's FL100+ award, an annual award that honors outstanding software and technology providers that hold influential roles in the global food and beverage supply chain. Previous awards for the brand include the Fleet Safety Product Award and the Edison Awards.
Corporate Growth
SmartDrive has undergone significant changes in the past decade, growing to 450 employees at the end of 2014 and expanding its footprint globally into seven countries. The Company's leadership team has evolved, uniting experts and industry veterans to lead continued innovation. Looking ahead, SmartDrive plans to continue investing in its team, including plans for significant sales force expansion in 2015.
In 2014, SmartDrive reached another growth milestone by relocating its corporate headquarters to a 25,000-square-foot facility, increasing office space by 35 percent. The new building houses the Company's cross-functional teams, including executive leadership, operations, marketing and sales divisions, and the previously-offsite warehouse.
For more information on SmartDrive Systems, please visit www.smartdrive.net.
About SmartDrive Systems
SmartDrive Systems gives fleets and drivers unprecedented driving performance insight and analysis, helping save fuel, expenses and lives. Its video analysis, predictive analytics and personalized performance program help fleets improve driving skills, lower operating costs and deliver significant ROI. With an easy-to-use managed service, fleets and drivers can access and self-manage driving performance anytime, anywhere. The Company has compiled the world's largest storehouse of more than 80 million analyzed risky-driving events. SmartDrive Systems is based in San Diego, Calif., and employs 450 people worldwide.
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SOURCE SmartDrive Systems
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