Updates: what’s new in September 2020

The Wialon partner community welcomed autumn with a pleasant event: at the beginning of September, we awarded the winners of the global IoT project of the year competition. By the way, the ceremony recording is already on our YouTube channel, and you can find the list of winners on the official website. 

You may think that in all the excitement, we might forget about the monthly update. Absolutely not! The September update will bring the beneficial modification of the Wialon app for Android / iOS, new useful features in Wialon Hosting and the Wialon flagship apps. And as always, we have prepared a detailed overview of this update. Find the details below!

Wialon Hosting

The latest API version support by the VIN decoder

We updated the current API 2.0 to the 3.1. As a result, now, while decoding the vehicle’s VIN, you’ll get even more fields on the Profile tab automatically filled with essential unit information.

The new column for activated units on the Accounts tab

We added a separate column to display the number of activated units in the CMS on the Accounts tab. Previously, to find out this information, users had to apply the appropriate filter (activated/deactivated) on the Units tab. 

A separate column displaying the number of active units will help calculate their cost at the end of the month, simplify the analysis of the number of active and deactivated units, and reporting on them.

Feedback on the Wialon functionality 

We have added the ability to leave feedback on the Dashboard and vector maps functionality. 

Sometimes your clients would like to suggest some improvements. To allow them to share their opinion directly and without leaving the platform, we have launched a tool to collect their feedback.

So, on the Dashboard page and vector maps, they will see an icon to enable a mini-survey on these options' work. The Dashboard tab is a feature that system users have been working with for only a year. To develop this tool, we must understand what data is missing. With the new option, clients will be able to inform us without leaving the Dashboard tab.

The new, technologically advanced vector maps are fresh functionality, and we allow for some inaccuracies or areas for improvement. Now it will be possible to report this immediately while using the cards.

That concludes the list of new system features. We kindly remind you that forum users learn about Wialon Hosting updates on a dedicated topic.

NimBus

Mileage for rides in reports

We added the Mileage column to all types of reports. It displays the length of the unit track from the first to the last visited stop. If the bus visits no stops, the value 0 will be shown.

Checking for the unit groups modifying 

Now, after logging in the application, a check for the unit groups modifying will be carried out. The unit groups will be compared with the ones in Wialon Hosting. In case of modification, the user will see a dialog box with the following information:

• the number of new units in groups;
• the number of routes with modified bind units.

The user can also either confirm or cancel the binding of new units by clicking on the corresponding buttons in the dialog box.

Please note that if the user cancels the binding, the unit groups will be compared again next time the user logs in the application. A dialog box requesting the confirmation or cancelation of new units binding will appear also.

Visit the forum and share your thoughts on the new features in NimBus.

Hecterra 

Grouping in reports

Now it’s possible to group data in reports:

• by unit;
• by field;
• by driver;
• by operation;
• by crop.

Thus, the clients can easily and quickly generate reports on the most important criteria for their business. Earlier, it was needed to download the report and work in Excel to see the Wheat crop's works, for example. Now it’s possible to do this right in the Hecterra app.

Please note that the user sets the grouping criterion before requesting the report. The default is no grouping.

Priorities of fuel sensors

In the settings, we added the opportunity to specify the sensor order priority used to obtain fuel data. Previously, if several sensors of different types were installed on the vehicle, for example, both a FLS and a flow meter, Hecterra showed the amount of fuel spent on all sensors together. As a result, incorrect fuel data was generated.

The way to deal with it was by leaving only one sensor type enabled in the unit settings. Now there is no need to turn off all the sensors. The users can just specify the priority order for using sensors of different types. And if suddenly the priority sensor type shows 0, it will be possible to calculate fuel by the type of sensor with a lower priority. As a result, the user has the correct calculation of the spent fuel.

Find more on the new features, as well as comments on the app processing and user experience on the Gurtam forum.

Fleetrun 

Sending notifications to private Telegram channels 

Previously, notifications could only be sent to public Telegram channels. In the current update, we set up sending notifications to private Telegram channels.

Calculation of the unit cost for a certain period 

We added the opportunity to calculate the cost of a unit maintenance per kilometer or mile for a specific period, not just for the entire time. For that to happen, users need to enable the graph type By months in the calendar and specify the required period.  

In this calculation, the total cost of unit maintenance for the specific period is divided by its actual mileage for the same period. The cost for the specified period is displayed to the right of the calendar.

For example, the client can compare the scheduled and actual unit costs monthly. With such data on hand in dynamics, it will be easier to make adjustments and optimize costs.

Displaying the average cost of several units in a report 

We made it possible to display the average cost of several units in a report at once. The following options were added to the Reports tab in the user interface in the Report type field:

• “By fleet cost per 1 km”;
• “By unit cost per 1 km.”

When performing this type of report for the required period (for example, for a month), the client will see a comprehensive picture: which month was profitable and when there were losses, for instance, due to car breakdowns.

Unit mileage since its operation start

In the unit profile, the mileage since the unit’s operation by the current owner or the start of expenses on the unit by the same owner can be specified. This value is the actual mileage of the unit. It is needed to calculate the average unit cost correctly. 

Numerical way of data presenting in Excel report 

We added the ability to display the number of services and their duration exclusively in numeric format. The metrics are shown in the column header. This form of presentation allows for custom calculations directly in this report.

Find more details on Fleetrun new features in this forum topic.

Logistics

Custom fields’ column group in reports 

In the By unit report (with detalization) settings, the user can now add the Custom fields column group. As soon as the client activates this option, the table will display all columns with custom fields for the selected report period. Earlier, custom fields appeared in report tables in Wialon Hosting. They will now appear in Logistics reports as well.

It’s really convenient that new columns will also appear in the exported file, both .xlsx, and .pdf, as well as when printed. In this case, in the Total line in the exported files, the cells of the new columns will be empty.

Please note that the Custom Fields column group is available only for the report with detalization since only orders have custom fields. Accordingly, the rows of the corresponding columns will always be empty in reports without detalization.

Required custom fields

Last month we added the ability to create custom fields in the order creation/edit dialog, as well as display fields in the order table.

Creation of custom fields in the order creation/edit dialog

Displaying custom fields in the order table

This month, the functionality for creating required fields in the settings on the Custom Fields tab has become available. The field names added in the settings will be displayed by default in the order creation dialog and the order table. And now, the custom fields are displayed in a more user-friendly way. Each field name and its values are distributed in separate columns, which allows changing each column's order in the table and sort information in each column.

Please note that to automatically add custom fields created in the resource earlier, the Autocomplete button should be used.

Thanks to this feature, the most important order parameters can be displayed without adding them manually.

Visit the forum and read about the new Logistics options. Please share your experience with the updated functionality.

Wialon app for iOS and Android

Configurable navigation bar

It has become possible to manage the tab visibility on the navigation bar. Thus, if the client has only one unit on the list, the Monitoring tab showing the entire working list of units will be unnecessary. Now, on the Settings tab, the client can drag it to the block with hidden tabs, thus hiding it.

As a result, we have made the navigation bar more personalized because now the clients can customize the order of the tabs and their visibility that they need right now.

Please note that not only your clients who use the application can benefit from this feature. As a solution provider, you can: 

• change the tabs order;
• hide some tabs except Settings;
• deactivate any tabs except Settings by switching off or on the related services in CMS.

What is more, the white label partners also can take advantage of the added functionality. To change the tabs order and their visibility, they should submit a request to Gurtam specifying the needed configuration.

Please note that this configuration can only be changed when requesting an app update.

More details on Wialon app updates are on the Gurtam forum.

Please share your feedback on the new functionality on the Gurtam forum. Remember that we make most product update decisions based on your opinion. Feel free to leave your comments!

We kindly recommend you sign up for our newsletter not to miss the news from Gurtam.