Vnomics
Vehicle Performance Monitoring Business Stems from Military Contract
Changing the Transportation Industry
Vehicle breakdowns in the field are mission critical for the U.S. Armed Forces. In the early 2000s, GIS worked with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a tool capable of monitoring military vehicles and predicting failure to improve preventative maintenance procedures. The resulting vehicle-health management system was tested and deployed on Marine Corps vehicles at Camp Pendleton, California, where it successfully helped the military see significant cost savings over replacement and repair after failure. It was so successful that GIS partnered with Lockheed Martin on a $200 million competitive contract with the Marine Corps to equip 10,000 military vehicles with the same technology later that year.
New Technology, New Business Venture
GIS is known not only for its work with current businesses, but also for its impactful efforts to develop new businesses and technologies that advance the industry. Seeing the significant opportunity to commercialize this vehicle monitoring technology, GIS formed a company called Liban (later renamed Vnomics™) to develop the technology into products, processes, and services, and to bring them to the market. A business leadership team was formed and the company was invited to join a highly selective business incubator at RIT. Today, Vnomics™ employs 50 people and provides a real-time analytics system that help fleets and their drivers improve fuel efficiency.
Bottom-Line Results
The company’s TRUE FUEL™ technology is now in use on more than 14,000 trucks, serving large and small customers throughout the United States and Canada. The tool delivers an average increase of 9% in fuel savings for its customers. Recent consumer data from the company shows that 53 million gallons of fuel—$160 million worth—had been saved through TRUE FUEL™. Vnomics™ is revolutionizing the transportation industry and continues to redefine our ideas of performance success.