What if I told you that regardless of your business size, fleet tracking can have a positive impact on your fleet?
Whether running one of the largest fleets in the country, or a small operation, your goals are the same. You want to provide your customers with great customer service. You want to maximize your efficiency and driver productivity. And you want to run your business as affordably as possible, keeping fuel and maintenance costs low. Ideally you want to have macro-level insight into the way your entire fleet (and business) is running day to day.
Today’s fleet tracking solutions have come a long way since GPS was first introduced to market a few decades ago. Ten years ago, it was perfectly acceptable (even revolutionary) for your GPS software to refresh every five or ten minutes. Reports were pretty basic and the upfront costs were very high. It often took the average fleet several months to see any kind of payback on their GPS investment.
Today, fleet tracking solutions have expanded far beyond GPS to include vehicle tracking, driver coaching and fuel management, order dispatch, reporting and back office integrations to help owner/operators of all sizes access more data faster, improve dispatch efficiency and maximize staff and driver productivity.
While fleet solutions are becoming much more robust and feature rich, yet they are also becoming more affordable, easier to install and less costly to maintain. With no need for IT involvement, fleets can be up and running in just a day and some customers report a 6-9 month ROI with a 15-20% reduction in total fleet costs.[1]
Here are five ways fleet operators – just like you — are benefitting from advancements in fleet tracking:
From ‘where’s my truck?’ to ‘how are my assets driving?’
An owner/operator’s information needs have evolved beyond ‘where’s my truck.’ Now, the emphasis is on productivity and efficiency. An advanced fleet tracking solution allows you to ‘ride alongside’ your drivers, offering them immediate in-cab feedback and coaching, helping them correct behaviors such as harsh braking, turning or speeding. This can help lead to improved overall safety for the fleet and help to reduce maintenance and fuel costs.
From ‘where’s Fred?’ to ‘show me the status of my driver at this exact moment.’
By eliminating the need to call around for status information, an advanced fleet tracking solution today provides your dispatch team with up to date, accurate information on the driver’s status, if he/she is en route, estimated time of arrival (ETA), and arrival time. This information allows you to proactively communicate with customers. A fleet tracking system’s driver terminals also offer turn-by-turn spoken directions to drivers, so they can take the most efficient route to their destination while helping them to dodge traffic and other slowdowns when possible. See how Tiger Services’ improved their visibility.
From ‘paperwork overload’ to ‘seamless dispatch efficiency and improved order management.’
The more quickly and efficiently drivers can get to their destination, the more jobs they can fit into their day. More efficient and automated communication between office and drivers means fewer errors, less guesswork and reduced overhead. Combined, these advantages can help fleets serve customers better, drive more revenue, and overall become more profitable.
From basic communication to full business integration
There’s a huge difference between being able to send data to a truck via a text message, and two-way communication where information flows seamlessly between vehicles and the systems you use to run your business. Integration plays a key role in today’s fleet operation, with fleet tracking systems offering the ability to flow information and data between vehicles and back office systems.
From ‘operational inefficiency’ to ‘maximum productivity.’
The more data an owner/operator can collect, the better visibility they have, and the more efficient the business can be. Your vehicles can tell you when they need maintenance. You can see how drivers are performing across the fleet. And you can make better, more intelligent business decisions. Learn more in our best practice guide – Do more, in less time: How to Boost Productivity.
Fleet tracking solutions are becoming increasingly affordable and feature rich and can benefit fleets of any size. From the small operation, to a large fleet covering coast to coast, fleet tracking can give you the tools to help boost efficiency, productivity and streamline operations. So if you are still relying on pen and paper to run your business, or getting by with just GPS, now might be the time to explore just how far fleet tracking has come. Start by checking out the 5 Keys to Fleet Management Selection.
[1] Disclaimer: Results are not guaranteed and customer experiences vary.