Have you thought about implementing a fleet tracking system for your business, but you’re hesitant for one reason or another? Maybe you’ve called several companies trying to get a price to see if it’s even within your budget to install GPS tracking. Maybe you’re just unsure if the savings will outweigh the cost of the system.
Yes, GPS tracking for businesses provides numerous benefits: fuel savings, improvement in driver behavior, faster response times to your customers, an edge over your competition, accurate timesheets, reduced overhead costs, and more. But, what are the problems with GPS tracking? You’ve heard several companies all claim they can save you money by installing GPS tracking units in your vehicles, but you need to know if the pros outweigh the cons, and will implementing a fleet tracking system really provide a significant ROI for your business.
So rather than going on and on about the benefits of GPS tracking, let’s address the problems:
1. Your Employees’ Reactions
You don’t want to offend your employees because you are worried that all they see with a fleet tracking system is that you don’t trust them. Rest assured. The truth of the matter is actually that the majority of your drivers will embrace the fleet tracking system because it leads to productivity, rewards, proof of service, more jobs, and therefore, more money in their pockets. What about the ones who don’t embrace it? Well, we hate to be the bearer of bad news, but those employees are most likely the ones abusing your company vehicles and policies.
Rather than worrying about your drivers’ reactions, why not prepare yourself by planning out a way to introduce the fleet tracking system to your drivers. That way, they will see that you are doing this to better the business and their jobs as well, not because you think they are all misusing the vehicles. Focus on three key benefits: Safety, Service, and Savings.
- Safety
A fleet tracking system provides alerts that will allow your business to maintain a proper maintenance schedule for the vehicles. This ensures that the vehicles are up to date with oil changes, tire rotations, and all other servicing needs. GPS tracking also helps expedite recovery of stolen vehicles and any equipment or tools on board. Because vehicles with GPS tracking are more likely to be recovered sooner, resulting in little to no loss or damages, insurance premiums are reduced as a reward for the extra safety measures.
- Service
GPS tracking is invaluable as a customer service tool. Customers will no longer have the ability to lodge false complaints about overcharges. You can back employee claims of services rendered. Also, a fleet tracking system allows your business to respond more quickly to customer needs, resulting in happier clients and additional business.
- Savings
GPS tracking provides numerous benefits that help increase revenue. These include reduced fuel costs, lower insurance premiums, increased productivity, improved dispatching, and back office efficiencies. For the driver, all these benefits add to job security with a financially stable company during these tough economic times. Saving money on fuel alone over the course of the year can provide the entire salary for one employee.Increased revenue can also be forwarded to employees in the form of bonuses. Rewards based on data collected from GPS tracking can boost morale and help gain acceptance of the system.
Employees should know that while it may be new to your business, GPS tracking is rapidly becoming the industry standard for any business with a fleet of vehicles. Your competitors are already using GPS to maximize profitability. By not embracing this technology, you would be putting your business and employees at risk.
2. It’s Expensive
It’s no secret that implementing a fleet tracking system is an investment. The companies that have been in the business for 5+ years are charging anywhere between $45 and $65 per vehicle per month. Multiply that by the number of vehicles in your fleet and it can cost a pretty penny. If the provider charges much less that, chances are that they are just looking to cash in on the latest technology craze and cannot provide you with the support and infrastructure needed to upkeep a quality fleet tracking system.
But, like with any investment you make, the focus should be on the return. A lot of companies who have installed GPS tracking claim that the system pays for itself within the first month just on fuel savings alone. We’ve also seen several companies use the fleet tracking system to recover a stolen vehicle, which in some cases means saving $50,000 – see a real life example.
3. Not Enough Time in Your Day to Monitor the Software
You see the benefits of installing a fleet tracking system, but you just don’t have the time to sit in front of your computer and monitor the wealth of information and data that GPS tracking provides. This is a valid point – you’re a busy business owner or fleet manager and you just don’t have enough time in the day to pick up another responsibility. However, the best fleet tracking systems do all the work for you. You don’t have to sit down at your computer at all if you don’t want to. You can set up Alerts and Reports to be emailed directly. If a driver is speeding or is in an undesignated area, you or a co-worker can be alerted.
Some GPS tracking providers have even developed mobile phone apps, so you can literally manage your fleet from anywhere.
4. They Aren’t Designed for Small Businesses
Most fleet tracking systems can seem overly complex. You may not want all the bells and whistles, but rather just a simple, easy-to-use system in which you can check on your vehicles’ locations throughout the day. When developing their software, the best GPS tracking providers focus on ease-of-use.
Providers like FleetMatics focus on SMBs and want business owners and fleet managers who don’t have as much computer experience to be able to use the software as well as an IT professional. The software is built specifically for all backgrounds and allows for companies to use as little to as many features of the solution as they want. For example, see this story from a pool service business owner who was hesitant to implement a fleet tracking system because his company is very small.
5. It’s a Huge Commitment
As we mentioned earlier in this post, implementing a fleet tracking system for your business is an investment. And yes, making the decision to implement a service that will impact your business well into the foreseeable future is a big commitment. Most GPS tracking providers require a 3-year contract.
However, many of the users of GPS tracking we have talked to don’t know how they ran their business without it. For example, a commericial roofing business owner will never manage his business with a fleet tracking system again. Read his story.
While it is important to weigh all of the pros and cons when making a decision that will significantly impact your business, GPS tracking provides positive impact. The problems we addressed here are either not really problems at all, or problems that can easily be resolved.
At the end of the day, implementing a fleet tracking system for your business is a smart decision that will provide a huge return on your investment, both in dollars as well as the extra time you’ll gain from having your fleet completely under control.
