The Importance of Telematics in Fleet Management

In an industry like trucking, fleet management is everything, and all transportation companies have a huge set of priorities they have to pay attention to. They have to monitor the health and security of their drivers, manage the state of their fleet and equipment, deal with rising costs, customer service issues, and so on. Without telematics, managing all of this information in real-time would be impossible. This is why telematics plays such an important role in transportation today. Here are some of the reasons telematics are so important in fleet management.

Owner Operators

If you landed on this page and are an owner operator, you do not need a full fleet management solution. You really just need and Electronic Logging Device (ELD). The mandate has come and gone so if you do not currently have one, you should get one ASAP. That does not just apply to owner operators, every truck that is not exempt is required to have one today.

Monitor Driver Behavior

One of the reasons why telematics is so important is that they allow you to literally keep an eye on your drivers. Fleet telematics providers like Envue offer things like commercial video system solutions that will allow you to reduce distracted driving incidents for instance. They also offer products that specialize in reporting driver performance and behavior, which will then allow you to improve efficiency and safety, as well as lower costs. 

In addition, telematics could give you a lot of insights into your driver’s driving habits. For instance, you could get reports on things like information as precise as tight turns, sudden lane changes, jackrabbit starts, or sudden braking. You’ll quickly be able to see which of your drivers are outliers and bring them in for additional training if needed. Making sure that they adopt the right techniques will not only allow you to make sure that their and the public’s safety is ensured but reduce maintenance calls and costs as well.

GPS Tracking

GPS tracking is the best way to make sure that your products are delivered; and delivered on time. And when you have visibility of your whole fleet, you can have a better idea of the best routes and avoid congestion or other issues that could cause delays. You can also get ETA notifications through messages to allow you to reduce loading dock downtime and organize your workforce better.

Parts Inventory

You shouldn’t only keep an eye on important equipment, but on your parts as well. However, this type of tight asset management can be time-consuming. Telematics tools allow you to each and every part in your inventory. Not only will you be able to keep track of them, but you’ll also be able to compare vendors, part usage, monitor parts history and automatically or manually reorder parts.

In addition, some tools will allow you to track things like warranties, perform in-depth component performance analysis, track account codes and more. This will allow you to save a significant amount of time and redirect your efforts towards your operation. Another thing it will do is allow to check parts ordering patterns and see if some drivers in your fleet might be using certain parts more than others.

Conclusion

Fleet management and telematics go hand in hand, and without a solid platform and the proper tools on hand, you’re set to not only experience management issues but possibly face legal consequences. Never underestimate the importance of data, and how it could help you run a smoother and more efficient operation.