Considerations When Choosing Fleet GPS Trackers
Before jumping into the fleet GPS tracker market, commercial trucking company will have questions involving costs relative to benefits, contractual obligations, customer support and long-term ease of use. To provide exceptional clarity before buying your next commercial GPS tracker unit, we’ve debunked many commercial management questions and myths. So, before purchasing the wrong units, ask yourself these questions, then gauge them against fleet GPS tracker technology services we provide.
Are provided features considerate of your ROI?
If your Fleet GPS Tracker Device is missing features, it essentially hurts your bottom line. When your bottom line is adversely affected, your business will suffer and you may have to sell-off your assets to make up the difference. Having essential tools, like geo-fences, wireless dispatching, segmented alerts and fuel economy tracking are essential in staying out of the ‘red’, and posting positive gains. Check thoroughly with your current company and see if the tools yield high ROI; then measure that against the diverse array of profit-generating and business-friendly services that we offer. We always have your business in mind.
How simple is the GPS tracker operation?
Unfortunately, many scalable and powerful systems are not user-friendly and are hard to operate. Anything that takes longer than 30 minutes to learn in GPS tracker nomenclature is way too long; many companies write their user manuals with technically-proficient people in mind. Not all commercial trucking companies will employ techies that are able to quickly navigate user manuals and explain flagship features of fleet GPS tracker devices. You must emphasize simplicity while providing flexible and feature-rich services fleet GPS trackers must have. The marketplace is ripe with fleet GPS trackers that are rather cumbersome and difficult to learn, whereas ours remains both scalable and simple.
How often is the vehicle position updated?
Being overwhelmed with too many updates could create driver chaos, or company confusion. Having updates spread too far apart could mean missing key pieces of vehicle or driver information which may cost you loads, excessive downtime or even poorly kept logbooks. Industry normal update times are roughly 120 seconds when vehicles are in motion, and 1 hour when vehicle is off. Most monthly-based companies that require long-term contracts will send updates 6-12 times per hour, and only when vehicle is in operation. Since this does nothing for productivity, make sure you stick with Fleet Tracking that is around the industry norm, which we offer to our commercial clients.
Are some other company’s GPS Tracker units being resold?
Commercial companies understand the difficulty of servicing products that do not fall within their scope and under their umbrella. Fleet GPS trackers may eventually need remote servicing, or live maintenance that secondary sellers cannot provide which, of course, impedes trucking company progress. Checking with sales representatives to make sure your chosen company brands their own fleet tracking apparatus would save loads of time, both in a presale setting and later down the road when maintenance is necessary. Moreover, going with direct manufacturers of these fleet GPS tracker devices may drive down costs whereas resellers will upcharge.
Will the system work when you’re not logged in online or near a computer?
Unless automatic updates or concurrent status alerts are provided through an app, a trucker’s Qualcomm or text messages are given, fleet GPS trackers require loads of personal attention. Managers have bigger fish to fry, and have little time to print daily reports. Your chosen GPS tracker should have automatic report scheduling, some method to receive frequent updates and have the capacity to run whether you’re there to oversee its actions or not. These updates should come at intervals you preset; where many systems fail, our fleet GPS tracker solutions are transparent in their ability to provide quick updates, useful information when it’s needed most and report scheduling at your convenience, not ours.
Is customer support able to answer my questions via telephone or chat?
With the economy in a whirlwind and wallets becoming empty, commercial companies are struggling to find fleet tracking customer service, literally, in any nook or cranny they can. Although it seems as though the well has run dry in the fleet tracking market, there are still fleet services available around the clock when you need them most. The most difficult job for most tech companies to handle is also one that is still in abundance: customer service. Dealing with an entire fleet of commercial delivery trucks is enough of a headache; your customer service personnel should add to those headaches. Besides, your equipment is essentially useless when nobody helps with troubleshooting; if any company tells you that every model is self-booting or comes with self-help features with minimal customer service, run. Run quickly. Then check out how our customer service works.
Will there be extensive contracts to enter into?
Fleet managers aren’t keen on being surprised; most fleet GPS tracker companies will slam commercial trucking outfits with ridiculous monthly fees, and then add unknown contract stipulations that hurt your prospects to grow. If you’re locked into an extended contract, the level of service diminishes over time. Clearly, in other words, there’s no incentive for the GPS tracker company to keep providing great products or generous customer service. No extended contracts, hidden fees or surprises will come from us.
Want to learn more or try GoFleet’s GPS trackers free for 30 days? Contact Us!
