We all know telematics save time, money and improve the safety of your organisation in the long run. But for many companies, making the plunge into telematics can be daunting, especially for a larger fleet.
Before you start spending your budget on the latest telematics software/devices it is important to have a targeted action plan in place so that your results accurately meet your expectations. What follows are some key areas that you and your team need to be aware of heading into the 2020 year ahead:
Focus on the issues at hand
It is important that your organisation understands the issues that are currently in play. What is the key area/s within your fleet that need adjusting?
- Safety – Are you having lots of incidents among your fleet that you would like to monitor and prevent?
- Productivity – Are workers wasting time being in your vehicles that could be channelled into other projects?
- Efficiency – Are you getting a good return on your investment by having certain vehicles in your fleet?
Your organisation should get a team together that is going to help you identify what the issues are, and how you intend to solve them.
How will it impact your organisation?
It is important when choosing a telematics vendor that you choose one that can measure the impact on your organisation. While the results of any change are likely to be positive in the long term it is important that your entire team understands the transition process and are aware of any potential teething problems that might occur when you first implement telematics.
This is particularly important for large organisations, with many likely to implement telematics over an extended period of time rather than adding devices to its entire fleet straight away.
Consider the financial and practical dilemmas that might occur to your organisation during such a transition. Will certain vehicles be offline for installation or can you install telematics seamlessly?
Measure the results
There is no point installing any form of telematics without having access to important data and knowledge of what is happening to your vehicles. When selecting a vendor make sure to choose one that provides you with all of the following key areas of assistance:
- Support – What support is available to your team if you get stuck? Can you upgrade/downgrade your telematic solutions as your business needs change?
- Training – Proper training allows your team to all feel comfortable with the software and how to report it accurately for business.
- Account management – It is vital you understand the overall accounting nature of telematics so that you can be certain you are getting a positive ROI on your purchases.
