Live Location Tracking
The first and foremost thing you need in a fleet tracking system, if it is to be half as effective as you want it to be, is live location tracking. This is the ability to track fleet vehicle movements instantaneously, without delays, and can be seen on your end as a marker moving in real-time on your fleet tracking application screen. You can then issue orders and reroute your drivers without worry.
Some products simply list “location tracking” in the product description – these are subpar systems that can’t help you effectively manage your fleets. In such versions, the screen refreshes after a minute or two, showing you locational updates. There is no way of knowing what happened between the two points in time.
The biggest factor in ensuring the effectiveness of fleet tracking systems is their ability to track vehicle movements as they happen.
Driver Behavior Monitoring
Fleet owners also face a lot of stress when it comes to safety concerns. As an employer, you not only want your fleet vehicles to be perfectly safe, but you also have to do all you can to avoid accident liability. For this, you need to enforce strict disciplinary limits for your drivers. This means no speeding, no aggressive driving, no swift turns, no hard brakes, and so on.
While, in theory, you can do all of this by instructing your drivers well and conducting regular workshops, there is no way, save for fleet tracking systems, to ensure that your employees follow through with your guidelines on the road. Fleet tracking applications like Fleetr let you see how your drivers are doing, whether they are following all the safe practices or not, and more.
Any form of unsafe driving will not go unnoticed, and your app will notify you immediately of such behavior, giving you enough time to act and change things. The ability to monitor your drivers’ behavior is one of the most important factors in boosting the effectiveness of fleet tracking technology.
Fuel Usage Optimization
Fuel usage is the most important factor affecting the overall business costs for any fleet. Small businesses, more than big ones, need to conserve their resources and find ways to cut down unnecessary expenses. However, fuel wastage is an area that affects all fleets the same and is especially hard to control.
Idling, poor maintenance, and taking longer routes are some of the most important reasons for inflated fuel costs. The first one can be countered via fleet tracking software that sends timely alerts if someone is idling one of your fleet vehicles. You should generally discourage this to save money and resources, both of which will help with business expansion.
Idling alerts help keep business costs within reason, and though the sum saved may not seem like much at a given instance, it can pile up fast. This money can be put to better use in taking your business to the next level.
Optimal Route Selection
Route selection is another area where fleet tracking systems are irreplaceable.
You can rely on experience and intuition to guide you the best but don’t expect perfect results – to “er” is human!
Besides, it is impossible to know the traffic flow situation throughout the city, whether some construction work is in progress or if a certain wrong turn will take you on a roller coaster ride of traffic signal stops, turns, and delays.
This is where fleet tracking systems make a huge difference – the application employs a complex algorithm to use satellite data and plot the most suitable course for every travel. This way, you’ll be using the most optimal route between points A and B, conserving time, effort, and money.
Route optimization is one of the most high-end features for fleet tracking and is responsible for making the technology as effective as it is.
Timely Maintenance Alerts
Maintenance is hard to keep up within the fleet business because of the tight schedules and everything, but it is just as important as anything else about the business. Fleet management systems give reminders and alerts for maintenance checks and troubles. Since the tracker is plugged straight into the OBD panel of the vehicle, it is fed with information about the car’s overall health.
Thus if there is some maintenance trouble, the fleet tracking app will notify you about it at the moment.
Of course, this can’t, or at least should not, replace pre-trip inspections and other maintenance checks.
Simple UI
The effectiveness of fleet tracking applications depends on how easy they are to use.
Most apps have been designed for people with only minimal information about telematics and the technical aspects of fleet tracking. Thus, they have a simple UI for the users. Otherwise, fleet tracking wouldn’t have been half as useful as it is right now.
Fleet, for instance, has a simple, clean interface with several features listed for your convenience. Just a couple of taps and clicks is all it takes to understand what the app holds for you. There is no learning curve for beginners. This means that fleet tracking has been made as simple as possible.
Easy To Acquire
Lastly, fleet tracking effectiveness will be a topic of discussion only once people acquire such systems for their businesses. Products like Fleetr have made it very simple for business owners to get started with their own fleet telematics systems.
Fleetr, for instance, comes only with a $9.99 per vehicle per month rent minus any contracts, hidden charges, installation fees, service dues, and so on.
This certainly adds to the effectiveness of a fleet tracking system.
Bottom Line
Fleet tracking can help business owners tackle the prominent issues of running their fleets, such as the costs of operations, management trouble, communication optimization, and more. The simplicity of software like Fleetr coupled with affordable rents, easy acquisition, and zero learning curve also adds to the equation. Since the system has been designed specifically for small fleets, it perfectly addresses the needs of a small business owner and is highly cost-effective. There are no binding contracts, hidden fees, or any of the other trouble commonly seen with high-end fleet tracking systems of comparable caliber. Plus, you can quit anytime.
Call us today if you’re planning on taking your fleet management machinery to the next level; even if you’re uncertain, we’ll explain everything you need to know!
