4 Ways GPS Fleet Management Technology Benefits The Service Industry

Every day, GPS fleet management technology brings new operational and cost efficiencies to businesses across the service industry. Key benefits include lowering petrol costs and downtime, reducing maintenance issues, and improving the way you conduct business with service technicians on the road. Security is another major factor, as GPS fleet management technology can track stolen equipment, translating to savings on insurance policies and preventing the loss of vehicles. All these factors help service-based businesses run more smoothly which provides the time and capacity needed for growth.

The benefits of added fleet visibility, improved efficiency and reduced downtime are evidenced by one home services company Service Today. After trialling tracking devices in just five vehicles, Service Today quickly realised the positive impact that added visibility had on its business and rolled out additional devices to its entire fleet of 50+ vehicles. "It was a logistical nightmare before implementing GPS fleet management technology as we had no visibility into the fleet. After outfitting our fleet with it, we've seen a significant increase in the profitability and productivity of our business," Zak Sabourne, Founder and General at Service Today said.

Here are four ways fleet management software can help your service business:

1. Real time visibility of staff - In order to optimise productivity and efficiency, you need to be able to monitor technicians at all times, no matter where they are. When a new customer service call comes through during the afternoon, many technicians try to avoid taking on a new job so late in the day. With GPS fleet management technology, you can quickly see where technicians are to determine who is nearest to a job. This can lead to a new level of productivity in technician time management and greatly increases your ability to service customers. Real-time fleet visibility also allows you to streamline billing by quickly verifying timesheets to determine the amount of time a technician spent on a job.
    
2. Route optimisation - A driver might travel from point A to B then realise destination C is halfway between the two. Using fleet management technology drivers can get to all three locations and back to base in the most efficient manner. By ensuring all vehicles are working at full potential to improve efficiency, you're able to save on fuel, time and maintenance costs, as well as reduce exposure to risk.
    
3. Improved security - With vehicle tracking devices you can track and recover stolen equipment. For example, Service Today implemented tracking technology in its excavators and was able to recover a stolen excavator before the police were able to locate it. This provides cost benefits through savings on insurance policies thanks to the added security.
    
4. Fuel efficiency and vehicle maintenance - A GPS device providing real-time data monitors braking distances and throttle position shows visibility into driver behaviour and vehicle idling . These are indicative of driver performance and since drivers have a large impact on the condition of their vehicles they represent one of the biggest opportunities to improve efficiency. You can also save on fuel by monitoring when vehicles are being used for personal reasons, by programming an alert if a vehicle is being used after work hours.

However, it is important to remember that you won't reap the benefits of GPS fleet management technology just by plugging it in - real benefits can be found in how you leverage the data to help conduct your business.