GPS fleet monitoring is not only for the large transportation enterprises and truck companies, even small businesses with a transportation component can use it to keep track of their vehicles and drivers to improve work efficiency.

Far from being a spying tool, GPS fleet management software and systems are meticulously designed management tools to help managers better monitor and guide their workers.

The merits of GPS tracking are no news for anyone, even for small business owners, but how practical would fleet tracking be for a small business setup? You’re probably wondering that this is one of those things that can wait until you expand your wings further, but GPS fleet tracking is very applicable at any stage of a business, even when it has started small.

Especially, when it has started small…

Let’s see why that’s the case.

GPS Fleet Tracking Benefits Small Businesses As Well, Here’s How

No more waiting, let’s get started:

Real-Time Location Monitoring

The biggest problem with fleet productivity, even if we’re only talking about one vehicle, is the lack of transparency. Consider this: you’ve dispatched your crew to the client’s location, and the client is waiting for your people to show up, desperately waiting, but there’s no sign of them, anywhere.

They phone you to ask for an ETA, what do you do now?

Probably call the driver and ask how long it will take for them to get to the client’s place, right? And the driver says that they will be there soon enough – wow, very precise! Or they might say something like 5 or 10 minutes when you know that this is not the case because honestly, it never is.

How can you ensure that you give an accurate ETA to your clients and ensure that your drivers are always on time for wherever they’re headed? Live location tracking via a GPS fleet management system – simply put, this feature lets you know exactly where your drivers are at any given instant.

This way, you need not bother your driver, but instead, give a direct and accurate answer to the client.

You can work on the delays later, but for now, you’ve managed to bring transparency into your business, and clients respect that, always!

Avoid Delays & Get More Work Done Everyday

Now on to the second part of the scenario described above: why was your driver late? Can it be prevented? Well, theoretically speaking, being late can be prevented by simply getting up early to do whatever needs to be done, but we know that’s not always true.

The roads are unpredictable, you never know where a single wrong turn might take you, or if a certain route might be crammed with vehicles at a given instant even though it is free-flowing most of the time, or if some vehicle accident has obstructed the traffic flow on the road you plan on using.

Simply put, there are too many variables in the equation and thus guaranteeing anything about being able to stick to the schedule is not a wise move unless you’re sure that you can circumvent all of the aforementioned problems.

Well, despair not, this is very much practical, the entire fleet management business runs on this very concept. Route optimization, or selecting the best possible route for every travel, based on distance, traffic flow, and all other relevant conditions, is the perfect solution here.

By ensuring that your drivers don’t run into problems down the road that may cause them unnecessary delays, and to your business, some very unwanted shame (try reading through Google reviews of disaffected clients), you will be able to get the best out of your fleet.

This also means that you will get more things done every day through better route planning and cutting down distances to wherever your team needs to be!

Reducing Fuel Costs

The most important monetary drain for transportation businesses, apart from traffic accidents, is fuel wastage. While the impact may not be immediately apparent, the amount of fuel wasted over a year can cost you well enough – this money should be better put to work on something productive, something that helps your business grow and become more profitable.

The best way to ensure this is to discourage idling – but how would you know if one of your drivers were idling miles away from your office? Well, fleet tracking comes to the rescue again. You will be promptly notified whenever your vehicles have idled for a considerable duration, and when that happens, act immediately and let your drivers know that this is not okay.

This way, your drivers will know that their behavior is being monitored and thus will act their best.

Improving Driver Behavior

Talking of driver behavior, did you know that the leading cause of traffic accidents throughout the USA is negligence? Even a split-second distraction or recklessness can have catastrophic results. Thus unprofessional attitude and unsafe driving actions should be discouraged however possible.

This includes speeding, aggressive driving, hard pressing against the brakes, and so on.

All of these are telltale signs of negligence and recklessness on the road and can result in serious accidents which will not only cause severe physical and emotional harm to all involved in the situation but also leave the parties under deep financial pressure.

Did we mention that you’ll be a party to any accident that your worker causes?

Well, yes, you’ll be – all the more reason to ensure road safety on your end.

Reduction In Traveling Distances

Cutting down traveling time is a sure-hell way of ensuring that you don’t have to spend as much on maintenance as you would otherwise, and it also allows you to save time for more work.

As noted earlier, you can do so by selecting the optimal route for every travel. We know that not all roads are the same, some have longer distances, others are overly crowded (thus idling can be an issue here), and yet some others are unsafe.

Thus it is best to choose the best possible route for every transportation mission. Of course, this selection would not be possible without the guidance of fleet management assets which help managers select the optimal route, keeping all the factors in mind, for every trip.

Then there is smart scheduling, instead of going back and forth constantly, you can plan daily routes in a manner that minimizes the distance traveled. If you manage to lower the number of miles traveled every day, you’ll be better able to cut down both fuel and maintenance costs, and save lots of time too.

And you know how they say that ‘time is money!’

Timely Maintenance Alerts

Maintenance troubles can create huge issues with your operations plans. Imagine having your vehicles break down in the middle of the road when they’re supposed to be heading somewhere urgently. The embarrassment and the financial drains are both worrisome.

You can avoid that through properly scheduled maintenance checks, however, we know that they don’t cover everything. And some minor details can elude the eye of even the most vigilant inspectors – after all, you’re always in a hurry when it comes to the transportation business.

But worry not, fleet trackers are usually wired with the onboard diagnostic panel and will thus share details about maintenance needs. If something seems to be out of order or if there is an impending issue with any part of the vehicle, you’ll know immediately.

Thus you can communicate the problem and have your driver get it fixed before it becomes any bigger of an issue.

More Efficiency Via Automated Data

Tired of arguing about the daily logs? You’re certain that the entries are not completely true, but there is no way you can prove so – your workers don’t need to be lying (for this scenario), they may simply not remember things perfectly.

The point is that no one likes it when you question their honesty, and as a team leader, you should never question the honesty and integrity of your workers because even the most devoted people can make mistakes.

Instead of arguing over the numbers, why not get over with the whole manual register entries business altogether? It may seem weird, but it works perfectly, fleet management apps create automated data records that not only reflect the data honestly but also eliminate the dependence on someone’s ability to remember the details.

Better Team Management

Lastly, fleet management systems can make managers much better at tackling team issues, resolving problems, assigning tasks, and getting the best out of their workers. After all, what is a business without teamwork and leadership?

GPS fleet tracking is not a spying tech or a system of forcing people to be better workers, you can never make someone do something unless they want to. Instead, it is an asset to help those willing to perform well, do the best they can.

And this is exactly what leaders do!

Fleetr Is The Perfect Fleet Management Tool For Small Businesses

Small businesses are usually intimidated by the idea of getting a GPS fleet tracking system because they feel that such technology demands technical knowledge, lots of money, and binding agreements. What if we were to tell you that you don’t need any of these things?

What if we told you of a fleet tracking solution that demands next to nothing save for monthly rent? Yes, an option like this does exist, and it has helped thousands of businesses, small businesses, make a huge impact at their work, ensure client satisfaction, and drive up profits.

We present to you Fleetr, the perfect fleet tracking solution for businesses of all sizes but especially small startups – no binding contracts, no agreements, no hard commitments, no hidden charges, no installation fees, nothing but a mere $9.99 monthly rent per vehicle, and that’s it.

Feel free to explore our deal further and compare the terms and conditions, you will see why Fleetr is as good as it is.

Call us today to get tracking right away!