Determine Your Fleet Tracking Needs

Making the wrong decision is an expensive, stressful and binding mistake that should be avoided always. During the buying process, there are five key criteria to keep in mind: highest ROI, customer service quality, reporting capabilities, customizations and integration capabilities. By measuring potential solutions against these key points, you will be confident in your final decision on a GPS fleet-tracking provider.

1. The Greatest ROI

The fleet-tracking software you choose should be able to provide the highest possible return on investment. If you are only looking for dots on a map, then a less expensive solution may be the right choice for your business. If you are looking to get a comprehensive look into all fleet activity and get the most out of your investment in GPS tracking, you will need a solution that is highly configurable and can measure a wide range of data.

When administered correctly, a GPS tracking solution should easily pay for itself. It is recommended to go through a free trial with potential solutions to see the benefits first hand. This process is important because it will show you the true value, in turn helping you build a business case to propose to peers and upper management, and to hit the ground running once the trial is complete. If you find that a platform you are testing costs more than you are getting back, it may not be the right solution for your business.

2. Get the Information You Want

Advanced GPS tracking solutions now have the capacity to customize your fleet data to fit your business needs. Most application data consists of a dashboard overview of fleet activity, reports, alerts, maps and administration information. You have the ability to design customized interfaces to include only the applications that are important to each user and save as many as your team will need.

Every business is different and one size definitely doesn’t always fit all. If there are customizations that you think would benefit your business, industry-leading solutions should be able to make them, either as a one-off for your business or as an addition for all customers who might benefit from the same functionality.

3. Look for Customizable Reporting Capabilities

During the buying process, look for a solution with on-demand reporting that provides the exact information you are looking for, when you need it. GPS fleet-tracking reporting should have the capability to pull important data from all aspects of fleet management to help improve efficiency, reduce operating costs, improve scheduled maintenance procedures and make fleet management less complicated overall.

Data interpretation is the important variable that differentiates GPS tracking solutions. How the data is interpreted and whether the reports offered are applicable to your business can make or break the decision between providers. It is important to choose a provider that can make reports as specific as they need to be for you.

Prior research is important when analyzing the report differences because you need to ensure that the data pulled is valuable for your business needs. You may be looking to reduce fuel costs for your construction trucks, so you will want to make sure that the potential GPS tracking solution is able to monitor this metric. For example, are they able to generate fuel card reports to flag fraudulent fuel purchases?

If your needs are greater than what is offered, make sure to ask the provider if they are willing to create custom reports to give you the exact data you need. Some companies do charge for custom work, so find out if it comes at an additional cost.

4. Choose a Trustworthy Partner

When choosing a partner, bear in mind that not all GPS tracking solutions are created equal. It is far better to go with a solution that costs a little more with better software than to choose a GPS solution solely based on the price. Although it may seem like you are saving money up front by going with a cheaper provider, you will be paying much more in the long run. Making the initial investment in a trustworthy solution will benefit your business in the future because you can count on the reliability, superior usability and consistent improvements to software features.

Also, many GPS tracking solutions don’t stand the test of time, meaning there are many fly-by-night businesses out there that will eventually fizzle out, forcing the users at some point to choose another provider. If you are focused on your long-term strategy in the beginning of the buying process, you will make a better decision.

5. Customer Service Experience

Industry leading GPS tracking solutions provide technical support 24/7/365. Look for a U.S.-based support team that will talk you through any issues from installation to troubleshooting or software instruction.

During your trial, call in to the support team and get a feel for their professionalism, organization and ability to answer your questions. You will want to choose a company that can solve your issues on the first phone call. If you find yourself completely stumped on any issue within the system, there should be a support team available to troubleshoot until the problem is solved.

It is incredibly important that installations are done correctly and by a trained professional installer. One of the biggest mistakes made by fleets is trying to install devices without assistance. When installs are done incorrectly, it will result in bad data and it may even seem like you have faulty devices. Working with a company’s support team to set up installations will get the job done right the first time so you will be up and running as soon as possible.

Ongoing training should be provided by account management teams to make sure that you are getting the most out of the solution. Account managers provide ongoing training that goes beyond showing you how to administer the solution and how to set up applications: they show you why to do it. To be successful with GPS tracking, it is important to understand which features to use for your specific business goals.

Account managers should also provide account reviews for you that go over trends observed and analyze areas where your business could improve.

There are many GPS tracking providers to choose from and selecting the best company for your construction business can be a challenging decision.

By focusing on the key criteria, you will be able to make an informed decision and choose the best GPS tracking solution for your business needs.