A Q&A with Santa, and Fleet Manager Mrs Claus, of North Pole Inc
Here Steve Blackburn, our European Vice President, shares his top tips on how to choose the best vehicle tracking system for your business and how to effectively use telematics data to drive business improvement.
1. When selecting a product treat it like any other software solution i.e. CRM. Consider what benefits you want to get, how you will achieve this and what operational changes will be needed. Apply these requirements when carrying out your research rather than being overly influenced by what you are 'told' you need.
2. Enquire about the technical support offered. When you need support you will want answers quickly and from someone technically competent. Is the support UK based and accessible, is this support dedicated and adequate to support the number of customer that the supplier has.
4. Ask about what measures are in place to ensure the system is resilient and reliable. The hosting of a tracking solution is complex so consider getting some IT support to assess the information and to ask the right questions.
5. The solution you are considering may have all the features you need right now but as your business grows, your requirements change and technology moves on and you need to be sure your supplier can keep up. Investigate what R&D resources the supplier has, they can't predict the future either but having adequate resources is a basic requirement to being technically agile. Look for evidence of innovation in the past to support this.
6. Communicate with your staff about the new tracking system – why you are implementing it and what the benefits are. Don't assume people will know, change is often frightening and facts about the software and the benefits to the business and ultimately their jobs shouldn't be led by the rumor mill.
6. Train your staff - businesses see greater value from a tracking system when both office and field based staff are comprehensively trained. Choose a provider that offers initial product training and has comprehensive training resources which can be accessed on demand.
7. Drive improvement through incentive schemes - use telematics data to formulate incentives designed to encourage efficient and safe driving practices. One of the most effective schemes are driver league tables, where top performers earn a percentage of the savings they have made through efficient driving.
Do you have any other advice to share? What do you think are the most important factors when looking to invest in vehicle telematics? Please let us know your thoughts and tips by leaving a comment below.