How Hitachi brought machine-control licensing fully in-house with Premium Positioning

Hitachi Construction Machinery (UK) Ltd. runs the RTK licensing behind its excavator machine-control and geospatial products on Premium Positioning, managed entirely through the XYZ Platform. Since switching, licensing decisions have stayed with Hitachi rather than a third party, new devices go live the same day, and the team rates our technical support 10 out of 10.

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The partner

Hitachi Construction Machinery (UK) Ltd. is part of the global Hitachi excavator business, supplying new and used heavy construction equipment along with machine-control technology.

That technology, sold under Hitachi Connected Technology (HCT), depends on continuous, centimetre-level positioning. Every 3D machine-control system on a Hitachi excavator pairs a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver with a live stream of RTK corrections, so the network behind that stream matters as much as the machine itself.

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The challenge

Before working with us, the network licensing behind Hitachi's machine-control and geospatial products sat outside the business. Issuing, tracking, and adjusting licences ran through a third party rather than Hitachi's own team, so every change had to pass through someone else first.

That gap made it harder for Hitachi to move at the pace its dealers and customers needed, and it meant the business could not fully stand behind the positioning layer of its own machines, even though the machines themselves carried the Hitachi name.

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Why Premium Positioning

The deciding factor was control. The XYZ Platform let Hitachi bring licensing in-house rather than depend on someone else for it, so the team could issue, adjust, and manage licences itself, on its own timeline, without waiting on an external process.

Account manager Spencer Hibberd was involved throughout the switch to RTK Premium, which meant the platform was set up around how Hitachi's business already worked, rather than the other way round. That close involvement is part of why the relationship has held up well since.

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The solution in practice

Day to day, Hitachi runs RTK licensing across its excavator machine-control and geospatial product lines, sold and supported alongside the machines themselves. When a dealer or customer needs a device, Hitachi's team logs into the XYZ Platform and generates and activates it directly, rather than waiting on an outside process.

The same portal gives Hitachi a live view of licence utilisation across its fleet, so the team can see who is using what, and step in quickly if something needs attention. That combination, immediate device activation alongside day-to-day visibility, is what the team points to most often when asked what matters, ahead of any single feature.

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The results

• Licensing for machine-control and geospatial products now sits fully with Hitachi, rather than a third party.
• New devices are generated and activated the same day, direct through the XYZ Platform.
• Customers gain confidence that Hitachi can support them entirely in-house, without a third party in the loop.
• Licence utilisation across the fleet is visible at a glance, rather than pieced together after the fact.

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“RTK Premium has become part of how our business runs. Working with Spencer has been fundamental to our growth, and it's a big part of why our roll-out within Hitachi has gone so well.

– Billy Groh, Machine Control Lead, Hitachi Construction Machinery (UK) Ltd.

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Support when it counted

Working closely with the HCT support team, constant communication and clear visibility through the XYZ Platform have led to quick response times, keeping machines moving with as little disruption as possible.

That responsiveness shows in Hitachi's own rating: 10 out of 10 for technical support, with the relationship with Spencer Hibberd cited as a reason the roll-out inside Hitachi has gone as well as it has.

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