For years, the trailer has been the blind spot of fleet technology. Trucks have been connected, tracked, and optimized. Drivers have been monitored and dispatched with precision. But the trailer, the asset carrying the freight, the one that determines whether a load moves profitably, has largely been invisible to the systems that run fleet operations.
That changes with Phillips Connect’s new integration with McLeod Software.
The Gap That’s Been Costing Fleets
Ask any fleet planner how they decide which trailer to assign to a load, and you’ll often hear the same answer: they check what they can find, make a few phone calls, and hope for the best. That’s not a technology problem. It’s a data problem. The information needed to make a smart decision — where is the trailer, how much space is left, is it mechanically ready to roll — has simply not been available inside the systems dispatchers and planners actually use.
That gap shows up in empty miles, underutilized capacity, and loads that sit longer than they should. It shows up in the time planners spend chasing information instead of moving freight. And it shows up in the customer experience when a committed load can’t be confirmed because no one really knows what’s available.
Trailer Intelligence Where It Belongs
The Phillips Connect integration with McLeod Software puts smart trailer data directly inside the McLeod TMS – no separate app, no manual data pulls, no switching between platforms. Fleet planners and dispatchers gain real-time visibility into trailer location, tire health, brake and lights status, and, critically, what’s actually inside the trailer and how much capacity remains.
That last capability, powered by Phillips Connect CargoVision, is where trailer intelligence takes a meaningful step forward. CargoVision uses an AI-powered camera to show exactly what’s loaded in a trailer and delivers volumetric measurements that support accurate load planning. For partial shipments, multi-stop routes, or any operation where load matching matters, this level of detail transforms the trailer from an unknown quantity into a capacity-aware asset.
MNS1, the first fleet to complete the integration, saw the difference immediately. “Our planners and dispatchers can see inside every trailer, understand how much space is left and decide quickly which trailers are ready to deploy, and which need to be repositioned,” said Mike Narkys, President of MNS1. “The Phillips Connect integration with McLeod helps us turn loads faster, reduce empty moves and put our trailers to work where they make the most impact for our customers and our drivers.”
More Than Location — A Full Trailer Picture
What distinguishes this integration is the breadth of intelligence it delivers. Many connected vehicle solutions stop at location. Phillips Connect surfaces the full health and status picture of every trailer: tire condition, brake performance, lights — the mechanical readiness indicators that determine whether a trailer is actually ready to move. Combine that with cargo intelligence and volumetric load data, and fleets gain something they haven’t had before: a complete, real-time view of every trailer’s operational status, all inside the platform they already run their business on.
“With the Phillips Connect integration, mutual customers gain cargo visibility and real-time trailer location inside McLeod,” said Ahmed Ebrahim, Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Integrations at McLeod Software. “This provides our customers with stronger insight into their networks and helps them plan more effectively across their fleet.”
The First of Many
This integration is the opening move in a broader Phillips Connect platform strategy. The goal is to meet fleets where they already work — not ask them to adopt another standalone system, but to bring smart trailer intelligence into the TMS, fleet management, and operational platforms they depend on every day.
“Trailers become active contributors to fleet strategy when data such as tire, lights and brake health, cargo intelligence, and location are accessible in the platforms they already rely on,” said Todd Hodges, Director of Product Management for Phillips Connect. “This integration is the first of many that will help fleets bring their trailer intelligence forward, no matter what software platforms they use to run their business.”
For fleets running McLeod across North America, the integration is available now. For the broader industry, it represents a clear direction: trailer data belongs in the operational core of fleet management, not siloed in a separate tool.
The trailer has always been essential. Now it’s finally visible.
Phillips Connect helps fleets maximize their ROI on every trailer, every load, and every mile. Learn more at phillipsconnect.com.


