SkyGuard® Fleet Management Services Now Integrated with Garmin® Commercial Portable Navigation Devices

Flowood, MS – July 09, 2010 - SkyGuard, a provider of fleet management systems, has reached an agreement to integrate their services with Garmin’s commercial Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs). This integrated service will enable SkyGuard’s customers to create and optimize daily routes for their drivers, send those routes directly to the drivers at the beginning of the day, and send schedule updates and text messages to the drivers throughout the day – using the PND as the source of communication. The total solution provides customers with the benefit of reduced fuel consumption, increased efficiency, enhanced safety and greater customer satisfaction.

Both the PNDs and SkyGuard‘s web-based application have been enhanced to work together, seamlessly. The PND is connected to the SkyGuard telematics device installed in the customer’s fleet vehicles. Once connected, the customer’s dispatcher has the ability to send individual addresses or full pre-scheduled routes directly to their driver’s Garmin PND where they appear on the screen in chronological order. When the addresses appear on the PND, the driver can generate turn-by-turn directions with only a few taps on the screen. When finished, the driver indicates that the job has been completed by a few more taps, then moves on to the next address in the route. The enhanced service also allows for simplified text messaging between the dispatcher using the application and the driver using the PND. Drivers can easily see the message on the dash-mounted Garmin screen and quickly select a pre-programmed response with minimal distraction. This creates a safer, more accurate communication method than cellular phones.

Since 2005, the SkyGuard system has provided the ability for customers to track vehicles online, but the communication with the driver has been limited to sending cellular text messages and emailed driving directions. “In the past, the methods of communication between the dispatcher and the driver had the potential to create distractions that could be dangerous to the driver and others on the road,” commented Gary Wilfert, SkyGuard’s Chief Operations Officer. “With Garmin, the communication is simplified and thus, safer.”

In addition to the improved communication and enhanced safety provided by the integrated system, the connection between the two systems ensures that accurate records of the routes and associated messaging can be downloaded and stored. Wilfert remarked, “Both the SkyGuard system and the Garmin devices are valuable tools for fleet managers, but this totally integrated solution yields more benefits to the customer than can be offered by each product separately.”