BUSINESS RESOURCES + TOOLS e Continued from p 82
reliability and financial stability. Look at providers that offer a strong value and not necessarily the lowest price.
Tip No. 6: Consider your capital and operating expenses. A capital expense (CAPEX) is
usually an up-front cost that you need to pay at the time of ordering or implementing a fleet management solution. These include the following: • In-vehicle hardware captures
GPS location data and sends it to the data center via high-speed wireless connection. • Data center hardware includes
Can the solution help you manage
your work schedule and mobile workers' activities? Most companies who have mobile workers must manage driver schedules and customer commitments. These may change on a daily basis or even during the day, when emergency jobs become necessary. Some fleet management providers offer location information or scheduling but require a third party service to create schedules or track vehicles. You want to consider solutions that have integrated scheduling capabilities with optimization and in-day planner functionality.
that works with all, or most, major wireless networks will give you the most widespread coverage, both for your existing and future communication needs. As your business expands, you want to have access to a wireless network in every region where you might have drivers or field technicians (including your international business).
Tip No. 10: Determine whether you need data integration capabilities. Does your business have ERP
84
(Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), accounting or other back office applications that you’d like to integrate with your fleet management solution? If so, choose a provider with an experienced in- house professional services group that can evaluate your needs and develop the best course of action for integration. Through its professional services group, they should be able to offer APIs (Application Program Interfaces) and direct data feeds, as well as have the ability to create custom integrations, so that you can use your fleet data in your existing applications.
The GeoManager cloud computing platform integrates in-vehicle hardware, GPS, vehicle diagnostics and wireless technologies for exceptional performance.
servers that host and process the information coming from the in- vehicle hardware. • Enterprise and supporting
software turns data into easy-to-read reports, maps and schedules for use in managing mobile workers. The number of capital expenses
can seem overwhelming, but some fleet management services offer a monthly payment program for hardware and software. An operational expense (OPEX) is
a longer-term expense that is paid as part of the ongoing cost of running a business. These include • Monthly service costs,
subscription fees for on-demand solutions that have a pay-as-you-go model. • Financing, if hardware and
service have been broken down into a monthly expense rather than an up- front capital expense. • Data storage for companies with
large amounts of historical data that must be saved longer than a standard 90-day period.
Tip No. 7: Weigh your company's need for scheduling and dispatch.
Tip No. 8: Evaluate your company’s safety record. Driver safety telematics solutions
are capable of helping organizations identify safety risks, monitor driving behavior, coach drivers and measure the results, enabling both driver accountability and significant cost savings. Some fleet management providers allow you to track your vehicles, but getting tangible information about driving style may not be available. Does the solution allow you to identify risky driving activities, such as harsh turns or hard braking? Can you get immediate alerts to both drivers and managers when risky driving behaviors occur? Can you gather and collate reports about individual drivers and their behaviors over time?
Tip No. 9: Consider your company’s wireless coverage needs. Every GPS tracking solution works
with a wireless network for the high- speed transfer of GPS data between the in-vehicle hardware or handset to the fleet management data center and software. Choosing a solution
Summary A fleet management solution can
be a great asset to your business, helping you lower fuel costs, maintenance, overtime and other expenses while improving customer service and maximizing the productivity of your drivers and field technicians. The degree to which your company realizes these benefits will depend on the quality of your fleet management solution. Once you’ve weighed these 10 tips
and interviewed the solution providers you’re considering, you can choose a fleet management solution with greater confidence in its bringing about the desired cost savings and mobile workforce productivity benefits promised. l
R. Wayne Johnson is the general
manager, Trimble, for mobile resource management. Trimble Fleet Solutions (
www.trimble.com/fleet) provide visibility into fleet operations so businesses can increase fleet productivity, improve safety, streamline scheduling and reduce fuel use and emissions. Trimble solutions are hosted on the GeoManager cloud computing platform, which integrates in-vehicle hardware, GPS, vehicle diagnostics and wireless technologies for exceptional performance.
phc august 2011
www.phcnews.com
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