Once you’ve decided to add a fleet management system to your business, it’s important to choose the best tracking system for your needs. Fleet tracking makes it easy to effectively manage the vehicles in your fleet and offers a variety of reporting methods, as well as the abilities to track your vehicles in real time.
You will be able to monitor individual locations of all vehicles in your fleet at all times and keep a watchful eye on fuel performance and driver behaviour. Greater efficiencies in route planning will mean optimised business performance and increased productivity. You could also find your new fleet management system cuts the costs of your motor insurance.
Fleet tracking systems are used across a wide range of industry sectors and have proved their versatility and cost-effectiveness. Installing your system will be fairly easy and it’s often the case that installation costs are covered within the price of a subscription to a fleet management service. It is important to source the best provider to suit your needs, however.
Finding the right fleet management system
There’s a large number of fleet management providers on the market, so it’s important you understand exactly what your business objectives are prior to making any decisions. Ideally, you should also be aware of any planned future expansion too. The data from your fleet tracking system will be utilised by a variety of in-house departments, including finance, HR and your operations team, so it’s important to include them within discussions about operational requirements from your new system.
You will find that different fleet tracking systems provide a range of features. Real-time monitoring can be extremely useful, as it gives you instant access to vehicle locations and allows much greater control over the operation of your fleet. The ability to carry out geo-fencing means that you can set up virtual barriers to prevent vehicles entering or exiting different locations. Analytics for safety purposes will give you the ability to analyse your drivers’ behaviour and monitor for safe and effective driving.
Important features for fleet tracking
Opting for a flexible fleet management system, which can be upgraded if your business expands, could also be a priority consideration. You should also look for a provider that is able to offer a high standard of customer support, with a good track record of providing enhancements and upgrades to systems when required. Not all of these features are available on every fleet tracking system, so it’s critical you establish which of these are most important for your business.
Some additional features included in different fleet tracking systems include:
- scheduling for vehicle maintenance
- remote diagnostics for all vehicles
- automated collection of all vehicle data
Ultimately, your new fleet management system helps decrease life-cycle costs of your vehicles and provides a fully integrated fuel management system, which also helps cut costs. You can set up preferred routes and locations to ensure your drivers reach their destinations in the quickest possible time frame. With real-time vehicle tracking, it’s possible to view the congestion levels on allocated routes, and quickly divert your drivers to alternative routes when necessary.
Once you've decided to add a fleet management system to your business, it's important to choose the best tracking system for your needs. Fleet tracking ....