FleetMatics sales reps constantly hear from prospective clients that fleet management is on their radar, but it’s not a priority right now. Many SMBs are setting the decision to implement GPS fleet tracking on the back burner and not realizing that while they are waiting for the ‘right timing,’ the pot is bubbling over! Indecision on implementing a GPS tracking system can lead to wasted money and other unforeseen consequences for a SMB.
Why, you ask, is putting tracking on the back burner a bad idea?
Gas Costs
For many companies, fluctuating fuel costs are just a normal part of the budget. There is no way getting around having to fill up – you have a job to do and it requires fuel to keep your vehicles moving. So unless all your vehicles are electric, fuel costs are inevitable for your company.
However, increased fuel costs due to over-idling can be avoided with a GPS tracking system. Keep this in mind: a transit van will consume around 0.75 gallons of fuel per hour of idling while a semi will consume around 1 gallon of diesel fuel per hour of idling. The costs of the wasted fuel add up… you could be wasting hundreds of dollars (maybe more depending on your fleet size) each month you put off implementing a fleet management system. With GPS tracking, you can see how long your drivers are idling and be instantly alerted when they pass an idling threshold set by you. Excessive idling can be stopped and you’ll see your fuel costs decrease because of it.
Payroll Costs
Like fuel costs, payroll is also an unavoidable expense – you have to pay your workers, right? Whether you pay your drivers based on miles driven, hours worked, or job completion, there is some sort of record keeping involved with organizing their payroll. With a fleet management system, you can automate your timecards. The Fleetmatics Hours Worked report can be sent to your email daily, which tells you when your vehicles were turned on, how long they ran for and when they were turned off. It is the simplest way to confirm that your drivers are getting paid for the hours that they say they were working. This timecard processing can help keep track of breaks and overtime hours as well. This helps to ensure that your drivers are taking the proper breaks and getting paid for the actual number of hours worked.
Customer Service
Not only is GPS tracking a good way to keep operating costs down, it also helps determine which employees have your company’s best interest at heart. If your drivers are taking breaks and not reporting them, there is also a chance they are showing up late and making your company look bad. Bad customer service spreads fast in any industry – don’t let this happen to your company. Bad press from current customers can have you losing out on new customers and future business. GPS tracking helps you weed out employees who aren’t doing their best work for your business.
Of course, not all your drivers are taking advantage of their position. GPS tracking also provides you and your drivers with proof of service. It is an easy way to solve customer disputes – you can always back your employees up when they say that they arrive on time to a job. The Detailed Report shows where your driver was all day and can prove the exact time a driver arrived at and left a location. You can even do a Route Replay to see the exact route the truck took on the map. GPS tracking helps build trust between you and your customer, since you know exactly where your vehicles are at any time.
So, what are you waiting for? You can reduce costs, improve productivity and employee behavior, and improve customer service all by simply implementing a fleet management system. While you are sitting there trying to calculate how much overtime you owe your drivers, your trucks are currently idling and more money is going down the drain. Don’t wait any longer to implement GPS tracking. All you are doing is wasting money you could be saving and missing out on the opportunity to improve your company overall. While the idea of fleet tracking might currently be on your back burner, it’s time to move it to the front and turn up the heat!
