How to Choose the Best GPS Fleet Tracking System
4 Mar 2015GPS fleet tracking software is here to stay. It has revolutionized fleet management. Many companies have produced programs with a variety of features. How does a manager choose among them?
Here is a quick overview of GPS technology and four tips to help you choose the best solution for your company’s needs.
What Is GPS?
The technology comes from the U.S. government. It relies on 24 orbiting satellites that send and receive signals from a wide range of GPS devices. You probably have one in your car. If you’re a runner, you might have a sport watch with tracking.
GPS is incredibly accurate, often within a dozen feet if the weather is right. Because it relies on many satellites, the triangulation is able to do an excellent job of pinpointing your truck when it carries a fleet tracking device. Likewise, in the office you are able to see exactly where each truck is at any given time.
All GPS technology basically works the same. But the features of individual software packages can vary considerably. Here are four tips to help you choose the ones that will increase monitoring and profitability for your company.
#1. What do you need?
This takes research, but the more precise you are, the better chance you have to choosing what will help you the best. Ask each department what they ideally want to know about the fleet during a working day. This is your starting point.
As fleet manager, identify your most critical problems. Is it for:
- Reducing fuel costs.
- Keeping trucks safe from theft.
- Workers taking too many breaks or running personal errands.
- Employees moonlighting.
- Fleet breakdowns.
- Drivers getting lost too often.
- Difficulty finding pickup locations.
- Improving customer satisfaction.
#2. What are your future needs?
What functionality will you need further down the line? You want a system that can grow with you. Consider a cloud-based system. It provides easy, automatic updates, and it is usually less expensive. Cloud-based systems can be accessed anywhere you have the ability to connect to the internet.
Look at the benefits of a modular system, which lets you buy just as much as you need now, with the chance of investing in more as you grow.
Make sure you ask about how productivity improvements due to the installation of each of the brands you check have improved profitability.
#3. Give the top contenders a test drive.
Narrow down your choices to two or three. View videos of GPS tracking products and providers. Watch a demo.
Then, consider installing them. Perhaps install them all at the same time, using different trucks of course. That way you can easily compare features in real world conditions.
Ask other companies who have bought systems you are considering about customer service. You want a firm that is responsive and quick when a problem arises.
Call the top contenders and speak to them.
#4. Train everyone involved.
Anyone remotely connected with the GPS system and fleet management, plus drivers and even maintenance people need to get up to speed fast. That way you will get the most out of your investment quickly.
Provide classes for drivers to learn how to operate the equipment. Set up an answer desk when questions come up during the day.
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