The month of May has been extremely busy with events and
travel. First, there was MCVE 2024, which took up a full week in the beginning
of the month, then a few days at the Busworld Southeast Asia in Jakarta, a hop
over to Bangkok for Agritechnica and finally, a few days in China with a truck
and bus manufacturer. In each of these instances I have met a whole lot of new
people from all walks of life. Also, what I thought is interesting is that
immediately, the topics we discussed in all four countries were the same.
That the themes of the conversations were identical could maybe explained
somewhat by the fact that everyone I met had something to do with the transport
industry. In various roles though, but the unifying factor was the affiliation
to the business of moving goods (and/ or people). I guess this would make it a
safe topic, but also one where there is a lot of shared knowledge and opinions.
Each of the people I have met had an immense knowledge of the industry. Through
years of working in or with the industry, a lot of know-how and forward
thinking has been developed. Just like the saying goes that one doesn’t pay for
a five-minute job, but for the years it to took to do the job that fast, there
is an immense treasure of knowledge we could tap into.
One subject that came up repeatedly (and more frequently in
recent times) is the push for electrification. Here, the wealth of experience
immediately turned into practical and pragmatic suggestions that were obvious
to some, but maybe needed saying. In particular, within the discussion about
Battery Electric Vehicles, time and time again, it was the same blunt
statement: this will only work if there is enough charging infrastructure. I
think we all know that, but it has to be said out loud for everyone to hear and
register. The idea of selling electric vehicles is great and we can see a lot
of support for it. However, we don’t see the same amount of ambition when it
comes to the development of the much-needed support framework. No long studies
needed; no research required. Just ask those in the business.
What was amazing is that the same consensus was reached in
all four places without anyone knowing those in the other countries or having
heard their views. How is it that we all come to the same conclusions, despite
being in different markets with varying circumstances? It is kind of a deja-vu
when a variation of a conversation leading to an identical conclusion happens.
And now, the questions beckons, how do we harness the power of this regional
hive mind? Accessing this shared and common knowledge would surely give an
entire region an edge when it comes solving our transportation problems.
Oftentimes, one would find the simplest and most elegant solution when asking
those that are immediately concerned. While a research project can unearth
issues and find answers, isn’t it the person directly affected perhaps better
suited to give a pragmatic answer? Governments could surely benefit from
tapping into this potential. While we are trying to solve issues in seminars,
conferences and case studies, maybe there is a one-sentence answer available.
Across the region, millions of people are involved in the
transportation business. They generate what I would want to call Big Data of
Transportation. There must be a way to harness the power of all that
experience, all the thoughts and knowledges, so that we do not have to reinvent
wheels and find answers to our daily transport problems. To some extent, truck
OEMs already harvest data through Fleet Management Systems, but I would want to
see this being taken further. Across brands and beyond analysis of driver
behaviour. Imagine what could be achieved if every trucker, transporter,
workshop owner and technician, the many people dealing directly and indirectly
with this industry contributed to a transport hivemind. A super-charged
association that enables us to pass on knowledge and synthesis clever
solutions.
Maybe AI is the answer. However, having tried one, the one
thing I know is that an AI needs to be fed with information. I ask questions. I
want to know if the answer to our issues in Malaysia may lie in an idea by a
transporter from Jakarta. If nothing else, among the industry players, no
matter what size, there is a tremendous amount of knowledge. We should not let
that go to waste, but put to use in a way that benefits the entire industry. My
guess is that right now, someone in the region is thinking about how to utilise
the knowledge of fellow transporters in a different country to solve a local
problem.
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