How telematics can benefit commercial fleets

By knowing the exact location and status of its vehicles, a fleet manager can make real-time business decisions. For example, businesses can reroute vehicles to avoid heavy traffic or deploy additional vehicles to a job, thus increasing productivity. This is particularly beneficial for smaller fleets, as one vehicle often represents a larger portion of the overall business. This means that one driver's productivity can have a significant impact on an organization's bottom line.⁷

Telematics can provide businesses with invaluable information related to mechanical issues with their vehicles and equipment. For instance, diagnostic devices can flag an engine fault code, allowing businesses to investigate the issue before it becomes a bigger concern (e.g., the vehicle becomes nonoperational, leading to downtime and lost revenue). When used as part of a larger preventive maintenance program, telematics streamlines the upkeep of a fleet and ensures organizations have access to functioning vehicles. Moreover, poorly maintained vehicles are more likely to break down and create potentially unsafe scenarios on the road. Strong vehicle maintenance practices can prevent this, which, in turn, can protect drivers and reduce the likelihood of potential accidents.

Fuel is a significant expense for fleets, and telematics can help businesses operate more efficiently. Telematics gives businesses the functionality they need to better plan their routes, reduce engine idling and notify drivers of excessive speeds. Cost savings such as these are critical for both small and large fleets.

Because telematics devices can provide location data, fleet managers can mobilize emergency help to a driver's location in the event of an accident. Some solutions can even alert insurance carriers of a collision, which can jump-start the claims process and help businesses get their vehicles back on the road in a timely fashion. Additionally, should an incident occur, footage from cameras installed on the vehicle can help recreate an accident, which can help settle claims and litigation quickly and accurately.

Some telematics solutions can digitize expense reports, driver performance, maintenance reports and fuel expenses, promoting more accurate and easily trackable recordkeeping. These functions help businesses save time and money. Automating administrative functions can also be particularly valuable for smaller fleets that lack the dedicated resources of larger ones and could benefit greatly from a less manual approach to data entry and record-keeping.