As a growing fleet business, at one point or the other, you will need to choose a GPS for tracking your fleet. Fleet tracking uses GPS to keep track of vehicles at any point in time.
GPS tracking is one of the best methods to improve efficiency, improve driver safety and save money. You also get instant status updates on your fleet location to help you keep your entire fleet operations running smoothly.
Routing with GPS Fleet Tracking
In order to enhance the efficiency of fleets it's helpful to know where they are. How long does it take for trucks to reach their destinations? Do you have any current routes? Are roads hindering our growth? How does traffic affect our lives in a way? Having fleet tracking allows fleet managers or dispatchers to see exactly which vehicle was located. It helps dispatchers estimate the arrival times and gives more accurate information to those who anticipate an delivery, a business advantage.
Fleet tracking acts as a permanent link between your fleet and you and massively improves operating costs. You get to have increased control over your assets and can provide better service on the way. The right GPS fleet tracking solution can be a great investment. If you are unsure of how to select gps tracking solution, you can go through the checklist below to help you pick the right GPS fleet tracking system.
How to choose the right GPS fleet tracking technology?
Before you go for a fleet tracking system, you need to keep certain things in mind. Keep these factors in mind when choosing a GPS tracking devices.
Identify your requirements
The first step is to identify what exactly are you looking to do with a GPS fleet tracking system. Find out your goals before you invest. Think about what kind of features you need that will benefit your business by adding GPS tracker to your fleet vehicles. Start by identifying your problems and whether a GPS tracking will solve them.
- Do you need to monitor fleet vehicles?
- Do you want to improve driver safety?
- Do you want to reduce fuel and maintenance costs?
- Do you want to increase fleet security telematics?
- Do you want to improve fleet performance?
- Do you want to improve customer service?
- Do you want to eliminate fuel theft?
- Do you want to gain valuable business insights?If you end up with a yes in several of them, then you should go for an investment of GPS trackers
It is important to not drown in a multitude of goals. To start, only focus on one or two short term areas for improvement. After that start considering how you will scale this solution for your problems in the future.
Don’t forget to research
There are several companies that provide GPS satellite tracking systems out there. The features, quality of technology and the customer experience of each of them vary. You need to match the software of a potential supplier with your requirements. Researching thoroughly can help you make an informed decision that you won’t regret. Choosing the first company that pops up can make rue your decisions in the future.
Choose a supplier that matches your requirements and is willing to take the time to listen to the specifics of your business and your goals. Ask for referrals and talk with previous customers to ask for their experience. Don’t forget technology can be a big investment. You want your software solutions to last a long time and also scale with your business. Be sure to choose a company that is prompt and backed by talented staff.
Easy to understand navigation and customisation
GPS fleet tracking systems can end up being tough to understand due to the number of vehicles they track and monitor. Go with a company that offers a clean and simple interface. The system should be easily understood with minimal effort. You don't want to take a whole course just to understand how your new software works. A plain and simple dashboard that only shows the necessities will let you track all the important things without confusion. In addition, having the option to customize will allow you to remove metrics that you don’t want to see. You can thus cater the system to your specific needs.
Includes Vehicle Diagonosis
GPS fleet tracking systems are more than just plain old trackers. They come with many additional features that can help you improve your return on investment. Go with software solutions that has a number of features such as vehicle diagnosis. This will let you keep track of important engine metrics such as uptime, fuel usage, idle time, unnecessary overtime, maintenance schedule, repair schedule etc.
Keeps track of driver safety and behaviour
A lot of GPS tracking systems also take drivers into consideration. They allow you to keep track of drivers and vehicles, track driver routes, driver communications notify to fleet managers for excessive idling, keep track of detours, etc. This creates an incentive for the driver to always engage in proper driving laws and ensure driver behaviour and safety on the road.
Gives instant notifications
A good GPS fleet tracking system will send notifications for things that require immediate attention. After all, it isn't viable to keep looking at the dashboard all the time to ensure proper protocols. This is why a system that offers instant notifications to fleet manager can be helpful. It will only ping you for the things that can be considered important. Some solutions even offer the option to customise the alerts to go off for certain actions like an off-route vehicle, unsafe driving or defects.
Also has a mobile application
You may not always be on the desk to monitor your fleet. At times, you have to leave your computer for other activities. A mobile application can be quite useful to keep track of your fleet in such situations. While it is not a hardcore requirement, a system that provides a mobile application will certainly be ahead of its competitors.
Asset Monitoring with Fleet Tracking
The management of an enterprise's fleet involves maintaining control of major assets including vehicle and equipment and transport loads. Fleet Trackability provides asset management with constant updated position information for each product. A fleet supervisor can detect theft immediately and protect against unauthorized items by tracking the location of a fixed item. It is also possible for fleet managers to know after-hours use and illegal activities of employees, contractors and unauthorized persons on the fleet vehicle.
Satellite and cell phone tracking
While GPS tracking uses GSM as an alternative method to collecting and using data, GPS can be used by large organisations to provide fleet tracking solutions for fleet management solutions. GPS fleet trackers rely on satellites to provide data to the system rather than relying on mobile tracking. Satellites can provide broader coverage and hence much more accurate than cell-to-cell tracking. Some vehicle tracking systems even incorporate GSM tracking as the GPS tracking system for vehicle tracking systems.
Comes with reliable support
Customer support is very important in any business. It is especially the case post-implementation when issues occur. Ensure that the GPS fleet tracking solution you choose has reliable and reachable customer support that can be accessed via a number of methods. Live customer support should be your main priority when it comes to choosing a provider. There are bound to be some bumps down the road after a while. A lack of customer support can leave you hanging high and dry. This can even potentially ruin your investment.
Final words
Fleet owners need to carefully consider where to invest their funds and how those investments will affect their business. Especially in today's cut-throat business environment, where it is crucial to maintain profits or be overtaken by the competition. Not every GPS tracking system provider will have the same capability and features. This is why you need to have a checklist ready to find the system that matches your needs. Before you decide to invest in any solution, understand your goals and what you expect from the provider. Check for features, support and test how the system works for you.
These were the benefits of using GPS tracking devices. But they will only benefit you when you implement them in your business. So go ahead and select the best GPS tracking solutions for your business. At Secure Fleet Manager, we offer a free demo before you can invest for GPS tracking and fleet management solutions. This is to build trust between us so that we can start our journey together.
You are free to mention your views or queries in the comment section below. If you have any queries, doubts, or requests, do not hesitate to email them at info@securefleetmanager.com. For more updates, deals, tips, and hacks about the fleet business operations follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Thank you for reading till here.