When most people think of GPS, they think of getting directions, finding a stolen vehicle, or perhaps parents tracking their teens’ whereabouts. However, for a company with a fleet of vehicles, a GPS vehicle tracking system increases productivity when used to its full capacity.
If you have a fleet of any type of vehicles on the roads for any reason, there are several ways a GPS vehicle tracking system can increase the productivity of both vehicles and drivers. Whether you’re a customer service manager, fleet manager, or business owner, GPS tracking can help you increase productivity in multiple areas and show a positive return on your investment in 90 days or less.
You work for a plumbing company and have noticed that three of the plumbers you have on the road spend much more time on many jobs than the other seven plumbers. But you don’t know why. A GPS vehicle tracking system would tell you that those three plumbers actually do the job in the same amount of time. The difference is that they spend the extra time sitting in the truck with the engine idling. This behavior affects gas mileage, individual labor productivity, company customer service productivity, and customer satisfaction (because customers can see trucks still parked outside their homes). Data from your GPS vehicle tracking system will tell you how long the engine has been idling, where you are while idling, and exactly when the engine was turned on and off, as well as how long the vehicle stayed in one place all day. .
A GPS vehicle tracking system can help you improve efficiency and productivity in a number of ways, as the above account demonstrates. Here are some additional ways you can expect to improve productivity and efficiency:
- Track and download reports with your GPS vehicle tracking system on the time each driver spent at each location. Some companies report increases in employee productivity of up to 30%.
- Detect and eliminate excessive engine idling with your GPS vehicle tracking system and improve fuel efficiency, reduce fuel costs and reduce fuel consumption.
- Use the tracking and reporting provided by your GPS vehicle tracking system to monitor employee driving habits and correct bad habits that are dangerous or inefficient. These actions will also help you keep your vehicles on the road longer, reduce maintenance costs, and save fuel and fuel costs.
- Using a GPS vehicle tracking system to locate and direct or redirect the closest vehicles to customer locations. For any business trying to survive in a competitive environment, high productivity and customer service performance may be its greatest competitive advantage. Knowing which vehicle is closest to a customer with an immediate need will reduce response times, increase customer satisfaction, improve customer retention, and improve fuel and driver/employee efficiency and productivity.
- Installing a GPS vehicle tracking system on every vehicle in your fleet will improve your profitability and improve your work productivity. Because a nearly invisible GPS device connected to the OBDII connection in the vehicle allows you to receive an immediate alert notification if there is a vehicle theft and because the GPS device allows you to pinpoint the vehicle’s location every second, recovering the vehicle and apprehending the thief is much more likely. Most insurance companies offer reduced rates on insurance for all vehicles that are part of a GPS vehicle tracking system.
- The geo-fencing option that is part of a GPS vehicle tracking system allows you to set limits for each vehicle. If a vehicle is taken outside of that defined area, you receive an instant alert. With this capability, you can not only protect your vehicles at night, but can also detect any unauthorized use of company vehicles.
- Your GPS vehicle tracking system will also provide maintenance alerts. This can make a critical difference in both extending the life of the vehicle and preventing costly breakdowns. It can also help you catch problems when they’re just getting started rather than when they’re major, costly repairs that keep the vehicle off the road for a period of time. Improving productivity is a critical objective in most companies. Understanding the potential impact of a GPS vehicle tracking system on your business is a very powerful argument for making the investment, especially when you’ll save enough to pay the full cost in 90 days or less.