When you’re managing a fleet, there are a lot of things you have to consider – and placing priorities is certainly not always the easiest thing to do. A fleet manager has the constant responsibility of balancing between employee satisfaction, cost reduction, maintenance work, and deadlines to meet. It’s exactly because there are so many variables involved that the fleet manager can often be forgiven for overlooking one or two items. Luckily, there’s a solution that will help with many of the issues: GPS tracking. The system allows you to optimise the whole management process in many ways. Here are the top advantages of a vehicle tracking system for your fleet.
Who’s it for?
The truth is that a tracking system, such as that from VirtusFleet.co.uk, will benefit any kind of company, large or small. Most commonly, however, it has been used by enterprises that need to keep a good control over their fleet – electrical and plumbing companies are rapidly adopting the model, and so are limousine or taxi services as well as trucking companies. When transportation is a major part of the business, then the tracking option is good for you.
Reducing running costs
Running costs can be significantly reduced because those drivers who speed and waste fuel can be paid attention to. Similarly, annoying traffic situations (also a common waste of fuel) can be avoided by plotting various alternative routes and implementing them as information is learned in real-time.
Reducing maintenance costs
The tracking system is connected to the vehicle system itself (it’s often powered by the engine of the vehicle itself), so issues like mileage can automatically be detected, creating a warning system for maintenance scheduling.
Optimising efficiency
- Keeping track of drivers. The tracking system allows the tracking of lunch hours, unauthorised stops, overtime requests, and so on.
- Creating shorter routes. The shortest route is not always the most efficient (due to traffic) but the tracking system can help you plan them.
- Taking care of your employees. When you know where your employee is, you can build better bridges and communicate better.
Perhaps the greatest advantage of all is that, at any time, you are able to locate your staff and therefore know where they are and what they are doing. This is useful simply because, as you can see everything happening in real-time, you can start making contingency plans in case something goes wrong. It’s also useful because it takes away the element of surprise – the fleet manager will know immediately what needs to be paid attention to, and what can be put aside for later. To put it simply, a lot of uncertainty is removed from the management equation, and that makes a very big difference.