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Navigation, telematics, digital tachographs. What was manual, analogue, or paper 30 years ago is now digital. As recently as the 1990s, road freight transport relied heavily on drivers' experience and rough estimates. Routes and traffic were unpredictable; there was only a rough idea of fuel prices across borders; currency exchange was done in cash; there was no record of driver or truck movements or incidents, and there was no direct connection to the truck cabin. It's hard to imagine this today. However, when it comes to resolving technical issues, customers need full support and a quick response, not just in the transportation sector.
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Before navigation devices and smartphones came into use, navigation relied on paper maps, while communication with dispatch centers took place via public telephone booths. Today, transport is fully digitised, and road conditions can be monitored online. Millions of vehicles across Europe are connected to telematics systems that track location, routes, and vehicle operations in real time.
Dispatchers now have an instant overview of the entire fleet and can continuously optimise its performance.
"Data enables them to make more informed decisions even before drivers hit the road. AI helps to calculate estimated costs for a specific route with up to 98% accuracy compared to actual costs. Modern telematics solutions can also include driver coaching tools that analyse driving behaviour and provide recommendations that can lead to fuel savings of 10–20%,"
explained Jakub Adamec, Head of Customer Mobile Apps at Eurowag.
This digitalisation reflects the scale of today’s transport sector. Nearly 294 million vehicles travel on European roads, including approximately 38 million vans, trucks, and buses. Without digital management, coordinating such volumes efficiently would be impossible. Currently, the estimated telematics adoption rate in European fleets is below 30%.
Driver work-time monitoring has also undergone a major transformation. Before 2006, driving times were recorded using paper tachograph discs, which could be relatively easily manipulated. Today, digital tachographs are the standard, enabling much stricter oversight of driving times. Drivers may typically drive for a maximum of nine hours per day and must take a break after 4.5 hours behind the wheel. Compliance with these rules is now far easier to monitor than ever before.
Transport has therefore evolved from manual management into an environment driven by real-time data. One of the digital pioneers in the European CRT is Eurowag, an integrated mobility and payment services provider, stressing further potential in making transport operations even more efficient.
“Through full data integration, particularly in route planning, fuel cost management, and driver performance improvement, transport companies gain greater control, improve efficiency, and grow profitably,"
The development of new technologies covering almost every process of a commercial transport operator has significantly increased the number of applications that every operator has to manage and, therefore, complexity. However, it is only with an end-to-end connected service ecosystem such as Eurowag Office that the benefits are brougth together. Eurowag Office is a one-stop shop developed to integrate all transport operations, services, and systems that communicate with each other in real time on one platform.
Digital adoption in transportation companies is strongest in larger international fleets and mature digital markets such as France, Spain and the Netherlands, while small-carrier adoption remains more fragmented. Using mobile devices, GPS, or tachographs is already a common practice. According to ABI Research 2024, among European fleet managers, 73% used GPS fleet-tracking software, while 53% of the GPS software users reported lower fuel consumption, 49% fewer accidents, and 34% lower labour costs. Earlier research by IRU unveiled that 65% of operators surveyed were looking to invest in technology to optimise their day-to-day operations, 38% planned to invest in new fleet management solutions, and 25% in electronic or digitised documentation (e-CMR).
Eurowag has developed an all-in-one platform with digitally connected services, with a clear idea:
“Simplifying the administrative burden deriving from working with multiple systems is one of the main benefits of choosing a one-stop shop. For our customers, the value of using Eurowag Office comes from saving time and optimising costs through real-time data. This translates into clear savings and improved margins. And when it comes to technical issues in fleet operations, our customers know that they can count on a leading-edge technology and expert people speaking the customer's language and always available to support,”
Sources:
https://www.acea.auto/files/ACEA_Report-%E2%80%93-Vehicles_on_European_roads_2026.pdf
Road transport - Transport - Eurostat
Telematics Industry Statistics | 2026 Sourced Report
