May 09, 2024

Just like that, OpTech 2024 has come and gone. Now, of course, we feel for those who were unable to attend it—as it is the premier technology event, each and every year. If you are one of those unlucky few, we think it is safe to assume that you could be wondering: “what did I miss at OpTech 2024, anyway?” Well, if you ask us, there is, truly, nothing quite like it—an event that is full of the industry’s best as well as their collective knowledge on all the emerging innovative technologies that are being implemented into the game of supply chain enhancement. Whether you’re striving to bring knowledge from supply chain experts into your operations or just a pure technology enthusiast, OpTech 2024 brought it all! That, along with countless opportunities to network with goal-driven, like-minded professionals and innovative showcases of vendors full of knowledge of supply chain advancements, made this event one for the books! With that said, however, if you are one of those who could not make it out to OpTech 2024—do not fret! We understand that time is valuable and want to make sure that you don’t miss out completely. Of course, there is nothing like attending and fully experiencing such an illustrious event. However, there was just too much insight provided by so many leaders in the industry for us not to share. After all, everyone deserves a shot at optimizing their supply chain. From lessons taught by 2023’s supply chain to the most recent trends in sustainability, artificial intelligence (AI) in demand forecasting, predictive analytics for risk management, private LTE connectivity for enhanced communications, and much more, OpTech 2024 covered it all!

Of the many insightful speakers that were in attendance at the cutting-edge event, OpTech 2024, we would like to provide a recap of Azuga—including who they are, what they do, how they stay ahead of the curve in terms of innovation, and what they presented at such a successful event.

• Who is Azuga and what do they do? – Azuga, a subsidiary of Bridgestone, was established in 2012 with the aim of revolutionizing GPS tracking. Initially conceived as a means to enhance location visibility, Azuga's vision evolved to encompass a broader objective: leveraging technology to address various fleet management challenges. By transforming traditional GPS tracking into a comprehensive solution, Azuga strives to empower customers with tools to enhance operational efficiency, productivity, maintenance, and safety within their fleets.
• How does Azuga stay ahead of the curve in terms of innovation? – Before being acquired by Bridgestone, Azuga was innovative in their own right. However, after being acquired and thanks to Bridgestone’s emerging technologies group and their goal of searching for and investing in growing technologies, their level of innovativeness has skyrocketed. With the way Bridgestone is investing in advanced tire pressure monitoring and companies that are creating AI algorithms around autonomous driving, they are going to change the fleet future. In addition to that, Bridgestone is continually creating software solutions that complement and enhance what Azuga delivers in these actionable data points and forms of intelligence to their fleet customers.
• What did Azuga present at OpTech 2024? – In short, Azuga’s presentation worked to highlight IoT and how it is being utilized in obtaining enterprise visibility. Similarly, the presentation pointed out that Azuga sells a device that is designed to take data out of a machine and put it in the cloud to get analyzed to encourage and create some kind of actionable intelligence for a business owner to call upon and use to better manage their fleet and solve and problems that are associated with owning and operating a fleet. In addition to all of that, Azuga also sought to highlight to everyone in attendance just how mature this technology is, as well as how easy it is to deploy. And, more importantly, they wanted to highlight some of the advances around the IoT fleet technology that Azuga and Bridgestone are aiming to employ to provide additional value to their customers so they can help solve those business problems. Along with these highlights, Azuga’s presentation discussed the process of differentiating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). To be specific, how their video telematics device has an AI component to it that is revolutionary. In fact, according to Azuga’s Director of Sales, Christopher Johnson, he actually deployed this device when his son started driving. In that, every time he tried to text and drive, the camera would provide both an audible and visual warning to put the device down before starting to record within three seconds and sending said recording to the cloud. Now, when applying this technology to a fleet of vehicles, it is clear to see that this new AI technology can help mitigate negative driving behaviors—such as eating, drinking, smoking, texting, or sleeping—and help coach drivers in real-time due to the fact that the AI in the camera is actually powering the ability to create those coachable events for drivers. All in all, Azuga’s presentation was nothing short of insightful, informative, and innovative.

What a time OpTech 2024 was! If you couldn’t or didn’t make it out this year, mark your calendars for 2025! It is, truly, the premier event regarding all things supply chain innovations. In it, you get access to countless advancements in the supply chain through things like AI-drive demand forecasting, sustainability in logistics, and automation within the supply chain as a whole. Whether you’re looking to bring your supply chain game to the next level or just a technology enthusiast, OpTech has it for you. At Heartland, our goal is to bring our customers sustainable and scalable solutions that are tailored to enhance operational levels of efficiency, sustainability, productivity, and profitability to unparalleled levels. In that, we take great pride in constructing an illustrious event where there is nothing sort of an abundance of insight and resources. So, if you’re curious about OpTech or want to take your business to the next level, be sure to reach out to us today!