Bosch is now offering logistics companies the option of sharing available truck parking spaces on their secured premises with other forwarding companies.
It functions according to the same principle used successfully by marketplaces offering accommodation, and is a win-win situation for both parties. The aim is to provide better protection for truck drivers, vehicles, and freight in the face of over-crowded rest stops and to make it possible for truck drivers to plan where they are going to park. Bosch is therefore expanding its concept to offer truck parking spaces on forwarding company premises in addition to truck stops.
The partner in this pioneering project is international transport and logistics company Gebrüder Weiss. The Bosch logistics partner already rents out ten truck parking spaces at its logistics center in Maria Lanzendorf near Vienna. From August 2017, truck drivers can now reserve these spaces using the Bosch Secure Truck Parking platform.
If the pilot is successful, Gebrüder Weiss plans to link further branch offices in Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria to the platform. Secure Truck Parking from Bosch aims to establish a Europe-wide network. “As a full service logistics provider, we want to make supply chains as secure as possible. With the Secure Truck Parking platform, we are networking information about free parking areas with drivers and forwarding companies, thereby optimizing the transport process,” says Alexander Horak, Head of Industry Vertical High-Tech at Gebrüder Weiss.
“Forwarding companies are supporting one another by sharing parking spaces, much in the same way as carsharing participants share cars. If this example catches on, the lack of truck parking spaces could be alleviated quickly and cost-effectively,” explains the responsible Bosch Project Leader Dr. Jan-Philipp Weers.
Safety and comfort at the forwarding company depot
In Maria Lanzendorf, plant security keeps an eye on the parking area and the depot has a video surveillance system. Gebrüder Weiss opens its cafeteria to the truckers parked on its premises. Drivers also have access to sanitary facilities with showers.
The Secure Truck Parking platform can connect different access control systems, from the control of barrier systems and rolling gates to reception parking. This model involves personal registration at reception in the forwarding company depot. Because reception is manned around the clock, the truck driver can pick up the smart card needed to use the infrastructure, e.g. the sanitary facilities, at any time.
Bosch seeks partner forwarding companies
Bosch wants to establish a Europe-wide network for Secure Truck Parking and is seeking additional logistics companies as partners. Interested forwarding companies looking for secure parking options or wishing to add their own parking areas to the network can contact Bosch Project Leader Dr. Jan-Philipp Weers (Phone +49 69 7562-1734 | Jan-Philipp.Weers@de.bosch.com).
Background information
Around 14,000 more parking spaces are needed for trucks in Germany. Truckers frequently have to approach several parking areas before finding a space or look for unsecured parking away from the highway. This results in more accidents and more freight theft. The Bosch Secure Truck Parking webbased booking platform records truck parking space occupancy in real time. Forwarding companies and truck drivers can reserve parking spaces along their route in advance or while on the road using an online portal or app. The parking areas are equipped with Bosch security systems and video surveillance. Following a successful pilot run at the employee parking lot at the Bosch site in Karlsruhe, Bosch plans to launch the booking platform in August 2017.
