In 2019–20, Sainsbury’s was reviewing the tyre policy on its fuel tanker fleet. Bridgestone commissioned Dynamon to forecast, for that tanker operation, the fuel consumption of each policy it proposed. Tyre Analytics built those forecasts from the fleet’s telematics and vehicle data, so fuel use could be set alongside tyre cost for the vehicles as they actually ran.
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Key outcomes
- 2019–20 marked Sainsbury’s review of the tyre policy on its articulated fuel tanker fleet, seeking the lowest total cost of ownership.
- Operation-specific forecasts of fuel consumption for each policy Bridgestone proposed, drawn from this fleet’s telematics and vehicle data.
- Independent evidence was what Bridgestone could present to Sainsbury’s on the fuel and total-cost performance of its proposed policies.
The challenge
In 2019–20, Sainsbury’s was reviewing the tyre policy on its fuel tanker fleet of articulated tractor units and tanker trailers. The retailer wanted the policy that balanced tyre cost against real-world fuel performance, so the fleet would have the lowest total cost of ownership rather than the cheapest pence-per-kilometre rate.
Bridgestone commissioned Dynamon to forecast, for the Sainsbury’s tanker operation specifically, the fuel consumption of each of its proposed tyre policies. Fuel cost could then be weighed against tyre cost for the vehicles as they were actually run.
The fleet
Sainsbury’s is a UK grocery retailer. It serves customers online and in supermarkets and convenience stores, and it sells fuel from petrol filling stations on its forecourts. Bridgestone is a tyre manufacturer headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and its products include truck and bus tyres.
The vehicles in this study are Sainsbury’s fuel tankers: articulated tractor units with tanker trailers, the fleet whose tyre policy was under review in 2019–20.
The approach
Dynamon built a baseline from the tyres already fitted and from the fleet’s telematics and vehicle data, then forecast each proposed policy from it.
Tyre Analytics models the energy each vehicle uses second by second — aerodynamic drag, tyre rolling resistance, acceleration, hill climbing, and engine and auxiliary losses — from telematics, vehicle configuration and tyre fitment data. That lets it predict how a change of tyre policy would affect fuel consumption and total cost in the fleet’s own operation.
What the analysis showed
Bridgestone could present Sainsbury’s with independent, operation-specific evidence of the fuel and total-cost performance of its proposed policies. The forecasts were made for the tanker operation, from the tyres already fitted and from the fleet’s telematics and vehicle data.
The proposed policies included Bridgestone’s Ecopia and Duravis truck tyre ranges. On this tanker operation, fuel consumption was forecast for each policy so the fuel cost could be weighed against the tyre cost.