The American manufacturer announced in September that it is adding two new third-party options to its semi-trailers: a lightweight brake drum from Accuride; and a liftgate battery charger from Schmitz Cargobull’s North American joint venture with Utility.

“By partnering with Phillips Connect, we are integrating innovative real-time tractor-trailer pairing validation directly into any workflow app, scaling a fleet’s existing setup without the need for complex change,” said Jake Fields, co-founder and CTO of Platform Science.

According to the results of a case study involving adipic acid, Bulk Tank’s system reduced extended loading times from 6-9 hours to just 2 hours, while reducing waste to a minimum and eliminating the need for manual operation.

Manufacturers have always cared about what the customer thinks about their products. In the commercial vehicle industry, this is often expressed in terms of economics. Perhaps it needs an industry outsider to make the question of customer satisfaction about empathy instead of, or in addition to, materialism. Recently, I spoke with somebody who is prepared to bring feelings into a conversation that normally deals with facts only – Ali Javidan, the founder and CEO of Range Energy, a startup firm based in Mountain View in California’s Silicon Valley.