By RAM Tracking on 9 Apr 2019
By Richard Howard, Sales Manager, RAM Tracking
Fleet management is a complex, critical set of interconnected tasks. These range from vehicle tracking and remote diagnostics to financing, insurance, and maintenance. Fleet management solutions also need to include the management of driver behavior on the road as well as health and safety considerations.
You need a fleet management solution that combines the features your business needs now with the usability and flexibility to meet future needs as well. While there are multiple fleet management solutions to choose from, every candidate your business considers should have, at minimum, the five features described below.
Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking technology is a de facto standard in Canada and elsewhere around the world. It is used and trusted by citizens, businesses, and governments. It offers unmatched availability, affordability, manageability, and ubiquity. In addition, modern GPS-powered fleet management solutions can track fuel consumption, mileage, speeds driven, and brake applications. Your fleet management solution must support GPS tracking of vehicle locations and whichever other information your business deems important.
Your fleet management solution must also be able to combine location-tracking information with up-to-the-minute information about traffic, weather, and road conditions. That combination of information will enable your business to reroute fleet vehicles as needed to avoid accidents, closures, and other delays. Route optimization increases the odds that your vehicles will get where they need to be on time, despite changes in route conditions. This is a critical benefit of modern fleet management solutions and should be high on your list of selection criteria.
Your fleet management solution must be smart enough to tell your fleet management team when anything happens that requires their attention. Your team should be able to configure your fleet management solution to generate warnings automatically when vehicles deviate from scheduled routes when accidents or other unexpected problems occur, and when vehicles exceed company-defined speed or fuel consumption levels. Your fleet management solution should also allow easy creation of alerts based on other criteria important to your business.
The information collected and generated by your fleet management solution can be valuable to multiple elements of your business. Of course, your fleet management team can use it to refine and optimize their efforts. In addition, financial and process decision-makers can use it to inform those decisions and improve business processes. Your fleet management solution must therefore be able to generate reports that make data easily understood and readily actionable to people in multiple roles.
For maximum value to your business, your fleet management solution must integrate with key business applications and processes. Specific areas of focus include asset management, inventory management, maintenance management, and vendor management. If there are incumbent reporting and data analysis programs, your fleet management solution should integrate with those as well. This will ensure your business can take maximum advantage of the information generated by your fleet management solution. That solution should also support mobile apps, for your drivers and your fleet managers. This will keep your fleet management team and drivers connected and informed, wherever they may need to be.
The most sophisticated fleet management solution in the world is of only limited benefit if it is not overseen and operated by the best people your business can find and retain. Fleet management solutions are evolving almost constantly, as are your business needs and goals. It takes a combination of modern technologies and skilled, experienced people to maximize the benefits of your fleet management solution and efforts.
Don’t have the fleet management solution or people you need for your business? Fear not. Expert, affordable help is available. All it takes is a commitment by your company to pursue the best fleet management solution available for your specific business needs and goals, and a bit of research.
Learn how RAM Tracking combines the best technologies with the most skilled and experienced people to help manage the fleets of thousands of companies around the world. Contact us today.
Richard Howard brings nearly a decade of front-line sales experience at RAM Tracking, having supported businesses across diverse sectors with their fleet management and asset tracking needs.
Throughout his nine years with RAM, Richard has developed a comprehensive understanding of the operational challenges that trades and field service businesses face daily. His client-first approach focuses on matching the right technology solutions to real-world problems, helping fleet operators gain better visibility, control costs, and protect valuable assets.
When he's not helping businesses optimize their fleets, Richard is a passionate traveller who loves exploring new destinations, experiencing live music, and discovering great food wherever he goes.
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