Business Models and Roles for Mediating Services in a Truck Platooning System-of-Systems

Platooning of trucks on motorways has been proposed as a method of reducing fuel consumption. It requires communication between the trucks to control the distance between them. However, this system-of-systems (SoS) cannot only contain the trucks, but also needs to include mediating off-board services for match-making to find suitable constellations of trucks, and for creating platooning incentives by distributing the profit made equally among the constituent systems. This paper analyzes what actors in the SoS would be suitable to operate these services, and also business models that cover the cost for their implementation and operation. It concludes that the truck OEMs have a vital role in creating the mediating services, and that a suitable business model would be based on usage fees for the services rather than upfront payment for platooning equipment.