We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Car website. However, if you would like to, you can change your cookies at any time
The start point for the best source of fleet information |
The benefits associated with telematics in areas such as fuel consumption and accident reduction are now well accepted by businesses and fleet managers, as are the lower insurance premiums that result in safer, more responsible driving.
But the application of telematics is constantly evolving which is what makes the sector such an exciting area to work in. We can see already how far it has come from a basic tracking device, to monitoring individual driver behaviour and now into its more connected phase, where the technology is going to transform how fleets operate.
Looking ahead for 2017 we believe businesses will increasingly be using telematics in a much more connected way, to manage their fleets more effectively by linking in with other services and crucially minimising downtime.
As a fleet manager, or business owner, the ability to have the complete picture of how your vehicles are behaving at all times is invaluable. With a telematics device and the right kind of engine diagnostics software linked into your vehicles, it is possible now to see where faults are developing and act on that data before it becomes a full-blown breakdown.
For many fleet managers unexpected vehicle downtime is one of the most difficult aspects of managing their business, as are under-utilised vehicles in the fleet that are not doing the job they're there to do.
With the complete view that telematics provides, connecting with services such as breakdown or accident management, that fleet manager will have a much better understanding of where the problems are and be proactive about dealing with them.
Fleet managers will be able to make significant savings in time and money by spotting when a part such as a battery is failing and so schedule a replacement in the workshop, rather than waiting for that call from the driver to say their vehicle is off the road due to a flat battery. Similarly they can identify which parts of the fleet are under stress in terms of utilisation and move vehicles and drivers around to provide support where it's needed before a problem occurs.
So, in our view, what we are likely to see much more of this year is telematics enabling fleet managers to move away from simply responding to things when they go wrong, to being proactive about SMR and driver demands - and being able to plan their resource much more confidently.
If you consider downtime to be the enemy of fleet efficiency, then this year businesses will have access to the technology that will defeat it thanks to smarter, more connected ways of deploying telematics.
BusinessCar magazine ©2019
Business Car Magazine © 2020 | Business Car is part of NS Media Group.
