Fleet Tracking
Additional Add-on Services
May 28, 2024
For small businesses, numerous issues can arise from not streamlining fleet operations. Resources, finances, and time are often squandered due to inefficient, poorly functioning fleets.
To achieve sustained success in competitive markets, small businesses should adopt valuable technology like GPS fleet tracking to tackle these challenges.
In this guide, we will cover everything you need to know about purchasing GPS fleet trackers for your small business, including how they work and how to select the right system for your specific needs.
Before delving into the advantages, let's first explain how GPS fleet tracking works. GPS technology uses satellites to accurately locate vehicles in real-time. This data is then sent to a central system, providing businesses with a detailed overview of their fleet's activities, such as movement patterns, speeds, precise locations, and stopping points.
Small businesses often operate within tight budgets and resource constraints, making GPS fleet tracking an essential tool for optimising route planning and navigation. By integrating GPS tracking, small businesses can reduce fuel expenses and travel time.
Fleet managers can use GPS data to identify the most efficient routes, ensuring timely deliveries and service appointments. Additionally, live vehicle monitoring allows small businesses to track fleet locations in real-time, ensuring drivers adhere to schedules and designated routes.
Furthermore, by monitoring driver behaviour, businesses can eliminate inefficient driving practices such as prolonged idling, harsh braking, and rapid acceleration—all of which consume excessive amounts of fuel.
GPS fleet trackers provide valuable insights, including peak operational times and stopping points, which fleet managers can use to identify trends and areas for improvement. Moreover, these trackers offer maintenance alerts based on vehicle mileage or engine usage, minimising the risk of breakdowns and costly repairs down the line. This can significantly enhance your small business’s efficiency.
Using GPS fleet tracking to optimise routes can lead to lower operational costs. With precise information on vehicle usage, small businesses can allocate resources more effectively and make informed decisions, ultimately resulting in cost savings.
By monitoring driving patterns, fleet managers can gain insights into fuel consumption, identifying areas for improved efficiency.
This could be as simple as adjusting routes to avoid congestion, leading to significant fuel savings over time. Additionally, modern GPS trackers integrate with vehicle diagnostics, facilitating predictive maintenance. Instead of reacting to breakdowns, fleet managers can preemptively address vehicle issues, reducing downtimes, costly repairs, and potential delivery delays.
For any business to thrive, customer satisfaction is paramount. As a customer, there’s nothing worse than waiting all day for a delivery, especially if it doesn’t arrive on the estimated day.
Fortunately, with an advanced fleet tracking system, you can keep your customers updated with more accurate ETAs, even providing them with their delivery driver’s exact location and the number of stops before theirs.
This allows customers to ensure they are home to collect their delivery during a much smaller time window, enabling them to go about their day until it is due to arrive.
Real-time tracking, combined with efficient routes and timely services, increases the likelihood of repeat business and positive referrals from customers. This emphasis on customer service excellence is crucial for sustained success in any business endeavour.
Small businesses are often targeted by thieves due to typically having fewer security measures, especially regarding their vehicles. That's why implementing GPS fleet trackers is essential for your small business.
One excellent security feature offered by Fleetsmart as part of our vehicle tracking systems is geofencing. This allows fleet managers to set virtual boundaries on a map. If a vehicle enters or exits these predefined zones, alerts are triggered.
Geofencing is invaluable for ensuring drivers stick to their routes, avoid restricted areas, and can even notify managers when a delivery vehicle is nearing its destination.
Additionally, with real-time GPS tracking, if your vehicles are ever stolen, you can quickly track them down with the police to recover your vehicle as swiftly as possible.
As small businesses grow, fleet management can become more complex. GPS fleet tracking proves invaluable due to its scalability and adaptability to evolving needs. Whether a company adds a few vehicles or undergoes significant expansion, Fleetsmart’s system seamlessly integrates new assets and ensures consistent monitoring.
Insurance companies often provide discounts for vehicles fitted with tracking devices. The rationale is simple: trackers enhance vehicle security, reduce theft risk, and aid in the recovery of stolen vehicles.
Additionally, tracking systems that monitor driver behaviour can promote safer driving habits, further reducing potential claims. However, the exact amount of discount or the terms can vary between insurance providers. It's advisable for fleet managers or vehicle owners to check with their specific insurance company to understand the potential savings and benefits.
When comparing vehicle tracking systems, it's essential to consider the size of your fleet. As a small business, your tracking needs will likely differ from those of a larger, diverse fleet that includes HGVs, vans, and cars.
Larger fleets typically benefit from more advanced systems with numerous features, including comprehensive analytics and driver management tools. Smaller fleets may find simpler systems that focus on essential tracking and reporting to be more cost-effective and easier to manage.
Let your business's specific operations guide your choice of features in a vehicle tracking system. For instance, if timely delivery is crucial, look for systems offering advanced route planning and real-time traffic updates, like those provided by Fleetsmart.
In industries like construction, tracking systems with durable plant tracking devices for heavy machinery are particularly suitable. Assessing your business objectives and daily tasks will help determine which tracking system features are essential, beneficial, or unnecessary for your specific requirements.
The installation process for vehicle trackers can vary widely among providers and significantly impact your fleet's operations. Some systems require professional installation, which may cause vehicle downtime but ensures smooth integration and immediate functionality.
Alternatively, some providers offer self-install devices that your team can quickly and easily set up, minimising disruptions to your daily activities. When evaluating options, consider the installation logistics suited to your fleet size and vehicle availability to minimise the impact on your business operations.
It’s proven that Telematics can help boost productivity, employee efficiency and fleet operations as a whole; all the while reducing detention, idling, hazardous driver behaviour, fuel consumption and vehicle maintenance costs.
Fleetsmart offer a range of the latest Telematics technology at extremely cost effective prices with scalable options starting from just £6.95 per vehicle per month. With a clear multitude of performance enhancing and money saving reasons to implement telematics to your vehicles, now might be the time to upgrade your fleet.