23 partner services can be booked by customers at any time on the RIO Marketplace. In addition, 31 innovative solutions can be integrated on request via the partner management of the TRATON GROUP's digital brand.

"Right from the start, we have emphatically pursued two premises: On the one hand, RIO wants to connect all participants in the logistics chain in an uncomplicated way. On the other hand, there is no question for us that we cannot develop all solutions ourselves, but rely on high-performance partners," says Jan Kaumanns, CEO at RIO. "This milestone of the 50th partnership shows that our concept is the right way - and that we take coopetition seriously."

Focus on customer wishes when selecting partners

The upheavals of the coronavirus pandemic have highlighted something in social life that can also be applied to the world of logistics and the efficient flow of goods in the digital age: firstly, transparency, in this case in relation to real-time vehicle tracking, is of fundamental importance for making fact-based decisions within supply chain management. Secondly, optimum planning reliability in the transport business allows more flexibility, for example in production processes or end customer deliveries. Thirdly, solutions in tachograph and time management ensure the legally compliant execution of the transportation business in road freight transport.

"Our partner selection is based on the organizational processes and the value chain that shippers and transport companies deal with on a daily basis. We integrate the data obtained from the truck fleets and pass it on: thanks to our standardized interfaces, so-called APIs, the customer can have the data consolidated in a partner system of their choice - and this does not necessarily have to be the RIO interface; in the end, they only have to keep an eye on one IT system," explains Johan Carlberg, Head of Partner Management at the TRATON GROUP's digital brand.

Well-known names represented at RIO

In the field of vehicle tracking, RIO partners include industry giants Timocom, Trans.eu and Sixfold. With their solutions, they answer the question of where a truck is currently located and when it is expected to arrive at its destination.

The tracker from partner LOSTnFOUND also enables vehicles without their own telematics to be tracked on the RIO platform, from construction machinery to loading aids such as pallets. When it comes to route and order management, names and products such as CarLo from Soloplan, WinSped from LIS and Translogica from InfPro IT Solutions are among the lighthouse partners. These logistics, forwarding and transport management systems are responsible for a large part of the processes on the part of carriers and dispatchers. Automated expense reports and, last but not least, software modules for monitoring and archiving driving and rest times are the most important tools in tachograph and time management. Providers such as VDO TIS-Web, TachoWeb from DAKO or modulon SPESEN can be found in the RIO Marketplace.

"We will continue to monitor which potential new partners will not only help RIO, but above all our customers, to grow in terms of efficiency. In 2021, we want to connect the often separate transport and logistics ecosystems on the one hand; on the other, we will work hard to make it even easier for data to be exchanged bidirectionally between RIO and our partners," concludes Jan Kaumanns.