Cartrack GPS Vehicle Tracking as a Tool to Improve Fleet Management Efficiency

While GPS tracking is well known, and you may already be using it, often times it’s underutilized. Not because you don’t need the features (like many of us don’t use our cell phones to their full capacity), but because of other reasons.

Based on 1000s of conversations with United Arab Emirates Fleet Managers over the past 7 years, we discovered these two reasons why GPS tracking is being underutilized by the majority of businesses:

1. The existing GPS tracking software does not provide the functionality needed?to properly support their operation, and fleet managers don’t know where to turn for a solution. Fleet managers just accept the limitation and find manual workarounds to cover the gap. Does this ring any bells?
2. Fleet managers have operational needs and challenges, but have never considered that GPS tracking?can solve them. In the day to day busy-ness of operating a fleet, there hasn’t been time to research and see what modern GPS tracking can do.
3. The existing GPS system was implemented for one feature, but the full functionality hasn’t been implemented.?In the case of Cartrack, we are constantly learning from our users and improving by adding new features all the time. Often we do an installation driven by the need for just one feature, without any exploration into the full benefits available by utilizing the system in full.

In this article we’re going to share with you current applications of GPS tracking which you may have not considered. In doing so we will likely challenge your current view on what GPS tracking is for. In addition you’ll see a new world of possibilities of how your fleet efficiency can be improved with GPS tracking like you’ve never thought was possible.

FAIR DISCLAIMER: We can’t guarantee that your current GPS tracking software can support all the additional uses which modern GPS tracking can provide. However the examples in this article are based on real installations Cartrack has implemented in UAE.

Be rest assured, these are real and there is a hardware + software solution to support them. You are welcome to reach out and our team can?show you how.

Fleet Management is a busy role with many tasks to juggle on a daily basis. On top of that you are constantly on the lookout for new ways to ensure safety of drivers and vehicles, increase efficiency, cut costs, and reduce operational risks.

In order to make these decisions quickly, you need a few key pieces of information at your fingertips at all times.

We’ve identified the top 3 critical fundamentals influencing fleet management efficiency which every Feet Manager wants to know. Read on and you will get a chance to re-discover how far can you go in each of these critical areas.

FUNDAMENTAL # 1.

Where Are Your Assets?

As a Fleet Manager, knowing where your vehicles are is paramount, and is easily achieved with GPS.

Assuming you already have GPS tracking software in place, let’s skip the basics and explore where else GPS tracking can help.

1. Do you have assets or equipment (other than your vehicles) off-site or on the road?
2. This covers any kind of equipment. It could be on site and you need to know it’s not moving after hours, or if it is moving you need to know why. It could be on the road and you need to know when it’s delivered, and when there is a delay, what the cause is.
3. Do you need to maintain a set temperature for your load?
4. With your vehicles on the road, are there any important parameters you have to monitor and maintain, which are critical for your operation? For example temperature inside a refrigerated food delivery vehicle.?Read the full story?of how we have helped a well-known juice brand which needed to ensure that the temperature of their juices remained below a particular threshold during a full day of deliveries.
5. Do you have service or delivery people visiting sites?
6. Did you know that Cartrack units are not only suitable for in-vehicle applications? There are a multitude of other applications where these units could be successfully used.

For example, GPS tracking capabilities can be used in the service industry, where personnel have to drive to a location and service something at that location. It could be a commercial cleaner, plant maintenance, a printer or computer IT service, or tradesmen. Cartrack can help you to validate that the staff member was onsite for the required duration and that periodic visits are completed as part of a SLA.

While we live in the world where natural disaster, lockdown and other unexpected events are a possibility, knowing where your staff is becomes increasingly important. It also allows you to identify how well they are performing and use this to either troubleshoot poor performance, or show gratitude to your hard working staff.

FLEET MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY TIP:?Look around your organization and be inquisitive. What else could you possibly want or need to track to improve operational efficiency? Then ask a Cartrack specialist if this is something which can be tracked. In many cases the answer is yes, and you might be able to get one more challenge sorted.

Interested??Reach out to learn more.

Still skeptical about the benefits of using a GPS tracking system, and uncertain how your team will respond to it? Call right now 971-4 581 5600 and one of our consultants will be glad to share with you the full story about GPS tracking and will help you understand if your business truly needs it, or not. Take a moment to explore the safety and security of your assets on the road for the sake of your peace of mind.

FUNDAMENTAL # 2.

What is Your Drivers’ Performance on the Road?

Put simply, your drivers are your companies most precious assets. Not only because as people there is no price tag on their health and wellbeing, but also because without your drivers… not much would happen, right?

As a Fleet Manager, you have multiple obligations to your drivers as well as to the company. Above all you want to ensure your drivers are safe at all times, because that’s all that really matters.

There is a lot of attention spent to the development of safer driving behaviors.

The reality is that drivers in your fleet have varying levels of capability. While you can raise standards through training, you then need to monitor driver behavior to ensure your team is following company standards and expectations. Without establishing a fleet safety program, you won’t be able to see whenever a driver exceeds the speed limit as well as incidents of dangerous driving. When you know what is actually happening on the road, you can then take further action to prevent unsafe behavior from occurring again.

For example, an event-based tracking report can alert you well when a vehicle’s position is changed whenever it:

• Turns the ignition on or off
• Accelerates and decelerates
• Deviates 5 degrees when turning
• Detects any cases of harsh turning, braking, and acceleration
• Exceeds set speed thresholds
• Detects vehicle idling

Let’s explore how GPS tracking can assist you in making sure your drivers are safe and secure on the road, because there are 8 aspects which a smart GPS tracking system can help you with. While you may know or have heard about many of them, check out the depth of information and value you can receive.

Did you know that 7 out of 40 Cartrack reports provide information related to safer driving and help to improve driver behavior??Interested??Reach out to?learn?more.

1. Driving hours to make sure drivers are taking breaks. It’s a big deal that your drivers on the road are well rested and alert at all times. Therefore, making sure drivers take sufficient breaks is one of the ways to look after their well-being for the sake of safety of everyone on the road. This also ensures you are always compliant with the relevant regulations.
2. Driving speed to ensure drivers are staying within the speed limit. This isn’t all about safety; a vehicle travelling at 107kms per hour uses 20-25% more fuel than a vehicle travelling at 100kms per hours. So speed isn’t just about making sure your drivers are being safe on the road, it’s actually about real cash savings.
3. Dangerous driving to identify dangerous incidents, maneuvers, and actions. Timely identification of these instances allows you to help drivers improve their driving as well as make better decisions about individual performance.
4. Maintenance schedules to ensure the vehicles in your fleet are safe to be on the road. Automatic alerts mean one less thing to worry about.
5. Vehicle misuse – whether you allow your team to use the vehicles in your fleet for personal use or not, monitoring the misuse of vehicles is important. Imagine if you have the ability to see where your vehicles are used, when, how far they were driven, and how they were driven. Reckless driving after hours for personal use in a company vehicle is not a good look for your company’s reputation.
6. Have you ever considered GPS tracking could help to improve your company’s reputation?
7. Fleet maintenance – a key part of improving the safety of your fleet is ensuring your vehicles are well-maintained. But you’re busy, so it’s easy to miss crucial safety milestones.
8. How much easier would your life be if you can receive reminders to help you stay on top of vehicle maintenance? It’s proactive too, so it will anticipate a wide range of vehicle issues before they happen by reminding you about?WOF & REGO Expiry,?Service Reminders, calculate and send RUC Reminders,?Drivers License Renewal and more.
9. Theft is a problem which may go unnoticed for a while and cause a lot of damage. Modern GSP tracking systems offer two key ways to reduce the risk of vehicle theft in your business. The first is a remote vehicle immobilizer to prevent your vehicle from being used when stolen. With our tracking devices, you’ll also know the location of the vehicle which you can pass on to the police. Second, is monitoring of fuel usage vs mileage travel to prevent fuel theft.
10. Some GPS tracking systems like Cartrack offer up to 40 different alerts which provide virtually unlimited possibilities including stepping into dangerous location (narrow road, slippery road) and the ability to use a Panic Button directly connected to the control room. All this means you can tailor it to exactly what you need.

FLEET MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY TIP:?Take time to think about every activity (no matter how small) that each driver does throughout the day and question if this should be measured. Chances are a well-developed GPS tracking system like Cartrack can measure whatever you come up with and more. Then once measured, you can consider benchmarking and including this measurement into the overall picture which allows you to manage your fleet better.

FUNDAMENTAL # 3.

Are Delivery Schedules and Planned Routes Followed?

Once you know where your vehicles are, and are certain your drivers are safe on the road, you can get into the more serious business of running a fleet, i.e. actual efficiency of your operation.

While operational efficiency is everyone’s business, as a Fleet Manager you are responsible for the execution and delivery.

Properly planned and optimized routes can result in significant savings for the business. Even though the actual adjustments might not seem to be big, over time they add up. That is the power of volume and numbers.

Consider how many aspects of your business are affected when a driver is taking a different route for some reason:

1. Billing to client is almost certainly affected, because route deviation might result in longer travel, more fuel required, more time spent in delivery. Overall the cost of delivery can increase forcing you to bill more to the client, which might not win you any fans.
2. Cost allocation might be in question, in case you choose not to penalize your client you have to allocate the cost correctly to enable better analysis and decision making later on.
3. Distance driven costings are immediately affected, if you are using these in your business.
4. Logistics management might be affected. While your driver is taking a different route there might be a need to provide an additional service, pick up, or delivery. If a different route is taken you can no longer count on this vehicle being in close proximity.
5. The ability to identify who is closest for ad hoc service or an urgent request used to be a massive challenge. GPS tracking made this aspect of logistics management much easier to manage and make it more predictable … as long as everyone is following their designated route.

Now that you have learned about 16 less obvious ways that GPS tracking can be used in a business like yours, did any of them spark your interest? Did you find your existing system already does it all? Or are you interested in a system that could manage all of these and then some?

If you are not 100% sure how it might work for your fleet, now is the best time to discover Cartrack – a one-stop-shop GPS tracking solution. We pride ourselves on having No Compromise GPS Tracking.

What makes Cartrack a one-stop-shop?

Not only because we offer almost every imaginable GPS tracking capability, but because we are always one step ahead of you in thinking what will be needed next. So instead of starting an expensive custom development, we already have most features you might need developed and included in one of our standard packages. How good is that?

What’s No Compromise GPS Tracking?

Not every GPS tracking system is made equal. What’s great about Cartrack is the broad range of capability our system has. The best way to describe it is we will never say no to your needs. It’s not a guarantee but we are fairly confident we can solve any challenge you throw our way.

Muhammad USMAN Shaukat

Relationship Manager

Mobile: (+971) 52 245 9740

Cartrack Middle East

www.cartrackme.com/en/