GPS Fleet Tracking is no doubt a powerful technology once implemented. Like a vehicle-version of the Sims — you know where the car is on the road, when its craving an oil change and what mileage it has. Real-time tracking is the most efficient way to assume control of your fleet and stay informed on every decision for your drivers, your vehicles and your deliveries.
But in order to convince an entire company to implement a radical change like fleet tracking, you need hard evidence of the benefits.
Earlier this summer I wrote a post dispelling GPS fleet tracking as a privacy violator. While privacy is perhaps the largest concerns for those considering to implement a new tracking system, cost is the second. Today I take on the cost concern. First, by bringing to light the game-changing benefits that makes GPS fleet tracking a worthy solution for your fleet.
The Three Major Benefits to Fleet Tracking
1. It Saves Money. A Lot of Money.
According to the Aberdeen Group’s 2012 report on fleet management, fleets using fleet tracking software experience on average:
- a 10 percent reduction in idle time
- a 5 percent reduction in fuel costs
- a 7 percent increase productively overall
This amounts to approximately $157 savings per vehicle per month. When this reduction in costs applies to an entire fleet, savings escalate exponentially. A median commercial fleet can save millions. A modest-sized fleet can save thousands.
2. It Helps You Plan Ahead
GPS fleet tracking — if it could be given a singular definition — solves human error on the road. Top performing organizations with fleet tracking are able to plan effectively because of accurate data collection. This data helps managers pinpoint concrete, achievable goals like fast deliveries or optimal routing. In addition, dispatchers never need to ask its drivers for redundant updates on when and where they are. GPS fleet tracking knows exact durations and times that car is moving — not an estimate.
Fleet tracking has the power to make your customers happier. Missed appointments or late arrivals are the second largest cause for customer complaints. Fleet tracking works to eliminate that with accurate timeline projections and optimized routing. This makes customers, drivers, and dispatchers alike less frustrated on the road.
3. It Helps Maintain Your Assets
The constant real-time data stream also informs dispatchers on maintenance, repair and disposal decisions. They receive alerts for oil changes and regular repairs based on mileage. No vehicle will miss its check-up again and your drivers will remain safe in your vehicles.
How to Cash in on Fleet Tracking
Despite GPS fleet tracking’s numerous capabilities and benefits, fleets often don’t get the most out of their solution. Here are some ways fleets are not getting what they need out of real-time tracking:
- Only a quarter of fleets are monitoring idle time and fuel consumption, which are key cost components for fleets
- Three-fourths of fleets fail to use location information to optimize routing
- Over two-thirds of fleets don’t use fleet information to make informed repair or maintenance decisions
Is GPS Fleet Tracking Right for You?
No matter how big or small your fleet is, whether it delivers groceries or provides public transportation, GPS fleet tracking will benefit you. Costs that go into time management, asset tracking and gas are an essential concern for all fleets. Whether you manage a fleet of five or five-thousand, each vehicle is capable of saving up to $150 a month. All companies with a GPS fleet tracking system can experience an improvement in customer satisfaction and an increase in driver performance. In reality, cost can’t be a concern. You will earn your investment back by the thousands.
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