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Global Positioning System or GPS tracking technology has come a long way from simply being dots-on-the-map to advanced software with multiple capabilities. It has emerged as a crucial business tool to enhance visibility and offer detailed insights into each aspect of your fleet operations.
Four types of GPS trackers are available – personal trackers, asset trackers, vehicle trackers, both cell-based and satellite-based, and cellular trackers.
It is a solution that can help you in accomplishing the business objectives by improving efficiency and providing savings that directly add revenue to the bottom line.
On that note, here are the top ten advantages Of GPS tracking that can work wonders for your business.
1. Reducing Fuel Costs Through GPS Tracking
GPS tracking can reduce fuel costs in several ways, though the foremost among them is to curtail idle times.
You can use the software to send alerts to your driver to shut down the engine after a specific amount of time has passed when the vehicle hasn’t moved.
It will help you in actively training the drivers on techniques that can significantly reduce your fuel costs. Your GPS tracking system will also keep an eye on the amount of fuel used by the driver.
2. Increasing Productivity And Eliminating Distractions
Repeated calls to the drivers for simply asking, “where are you right now?” is not only distracting to the driver but also means a major headache for your staff. Imagine the amount of time you will waste this way if you have a large fleet of vehicles.
A much easier way to solve this issue is to learn more about GPS tracking and implement the necessary software. You can keep track of the vehicles in real-time without calling the drivers.
3. Enhancing Customer Services With Vehicle Tracking
Giving approximate times to your customers is never a good idea because it just ends up irking them. It’s much better to respond with “the driver will reach within 15 minutes” rather than “the driver will reach sometime around afternoon.”
You get to track your vehicles’ movement in real-time and pass that information directly on to the customers. So, your customers know when to expect deliveries, and this accuracy of time gives you a competitive advantage.
4. Faster Vehicle Recovery And Reduced Insurance Costs
In the unfortunate event that one of your fleet’s vehicles is stolen, the GPS tracking software will help you pinpoint the exact location of your vehicle. Thus, you can recover your valuable asset in time before it gets damaged or vandalized.
Even your insurance companies know the benefit of faster vehicle recovery, so you can expect them to offer you a discount on your insurance premium. Assuring Samsara safety could also help your case and bring down the premiums drastically.Â
5. Consistently Improving Driver Accountability
It would be wrong to assume that fleet tracking solely benefits just the company. GPS tracking can also be instrumental in improving employee retention and rewarding good driver behavior.Â
You can use telematics to track driver behavior and reward them accordingly to reduce idle time and avoid rash behavior.
Telematics is the merger of informatics and telecommunications, which is enabled through the GPS systems. You can read more about telematics on Samsara.com to understand the ways of improving driver accountability.
6. Improving Back-Office Efficiency And Saving Time
Most GPS tracking services also come with robust APIs that allow them to communicate easily with other important business platforms. It is this functionality that lets you monitor and manage all your data from one convenient location.
This kind of integration includes timecard management, parts management, vehicle maintenance software, and so on.
As a result, you get enhanced visibility into your business operations, increased revenue, and better control over your personnel costs. You will also get to manage salaries and vehicle specs more effectively.
7. Monitoring The Health And Safety Of Your Staff
The whereabouts of your drivers and other field staff are a major cause of concern during adverse weather conditions. Being unable to contact a driver for a long time when the weather goes bad to worse gets you worried about their health and safety.
Thankfully, by looking at their location on the GPS tracker and knowing how long they have been stranded at a place, you can understand their situation and send help.
8. Receiving Automatic Notifications
Your vehicles can now be left safely in the depot, yard, work premises, or other frequent parking areas. After all, you can heave a sigh of relief by knowing that you will get automatic, instant notifications by email or SMS text if the vehicle leaves its designated spot.
You can quickly inquire if your staff has moved the vehicle for some reason or if it has been stolen.
9. Reducing Administrative Paperwork
The GPS tracking software sends frequent location logs at intervals of three to four minutes. Keying on and off information is rather easy, thanks to the report function.
It lets you know about the distance covered each day. It effectively replaces the need for those conventional paper logbooks.
You can get all the reports, such as long stops, speeding, total hours traveled (daily, weekly, or monthly), and mileage at the click on a button.
10. Lessening Liability And Risk
GPS tracking helps in supporting new or current policies that come with real consequences for not following them.
Your safety policies have to include the data used from GPS tracking devices and a clear outline of the behavioral expectations. You can even include speeding violations, harsh braking, and rapid acceleration norms tracked by the GPS software.
Gathering crucial data such as these will help you take prompt action and set disciplinary regulations within your organization.
The Bottom Line
With this information, you can go ahead and implement a GPS tracking system at the earliest to begin enjoying its benefits and solving your business challenges.
By instantly offering improved visibility into the operations and improving productivity and efficiency, GPS ensures a competitive edge for your business. So, start using GPS tracking software now if you have not already!
