Maintenance, dispatch, safety, and sales: one carrier’s seven-year journey to running a
smart trailer platform across the whole organization.
IRVINE, Calif. — May 6, 2026 — Seven years into running Phillips Connect’s smart trailer
technology platform, Nussbaum Transportation has made trailer intelligence a mission-critical
component of nearly every part of its operation: maintenance, dispatch,
operations, safety, their sales team, and the driver experience.
Phillips Connect recently debuted Nussbaum’s success story documenting how the
Hudson, Illinois-based truckload carrier reached this milestone and what that level of
adoption has produced.
Nussbaum operates approximately 600 tractors and 1,700 trailers across 48 states. Over
the course of the partnership, the carrier has extended the useful life of their trailers from
10 years to 15, a decision informed by continuous trailer health data rather than fixed trade
cycles. Their CSA score now leads their benchmark group, and roadside costs have
trended down as preventable issues are caught before a driver ever hooks up to the
equipment.
The success story also details how adoption spread beyond the maintenance shop.
Nussbaum’s operations team uses the platform to manage all 1,700 trailers in real time,
with visibility into what trailers are loaded, empty, how much space is available, and where
each one sits, reducing the phone calls and guesswork that slow dispatch. Their sales
team uses the Phillips Connect platform to give customers direct visibility into their own
trailer pools, turning it into a customer service tool.
“Prior to Phillips Connect, we wouldn’t have as much trust in the equipment because we
didn’t have eyes on them. With Phillips Connect, we can have more trust knowing that we
can reliably push the life of these trailers out to 15 years,” said James Grier, Director of
Fleet Service at Nussbaum Transportation.
“It all boils down to efficiency. How efficient are we being with utilizing that asset, whether
it’s operations, whether it’s maintenance, and then when it comes to the customer, how
can we put it in front of them. All of those things play into how we want to really utilize
trailer intelligence,” said Doug Bradle, Chief Operating Officer at Nussbaum
Transportation.
“Nussbaum is the kind of fleet our platform was built for. When a customer trusts the data
enough to extend their trailer life, support their compliance programs, and put that
intelligence in front of every team in the organization, the outcomes speak for themselves,”
said Rob Phillips, Founder and CEO of Phillips Connect. “None of that happens without a
real relationship behind it.”
More information on the Nussbaum Transportation can be found here.
About Phillips Connect
Phillips Connect is a leader in smart trailer technology, helping the world’s largest fleets unlock the
full value of their trailers through advanced intelligence, monitoring, and real-time visibility. The
Phillips Connect platform brings together data from sensors, cameras, and an expanding
ecosystem of integrated technologies to deliver actionable insights across trailer operations. From
the yard to the back office, teams gain a clearer view into trailer health, cargo conditions, location,
and activity, supported by built-in cargo monitoring designed to help protect freight and reduce
risk. By transforming trailer data into meaningful operational insight, Phillips Connect enables safer
operations, more efficient workflows, and more predictable performance. Headquartered in Irvine,
California, Phillips Connect provides intelligent trailer solutions for modern transportation. For
more information, visit www.phillips-connect.com.