Business Benefits Drive Fleet Management Systems Growth

(Business News & Technology News, 22 Aug 2008)

The first GPS-based fleet management systems focused primarily on asset location and tracking. The basic application was adopted initially by large companies hauling high-value cargo in industrialized countries. Recently, similar companies in emerging markets in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America have begun to see the importance of such capabilities. But newer, more capable systems can provide information of much wider utility to the enterprise.

"As new features have been developed for fleet management systems, the focus has moved from simply providing data for fleet managers to the addition of summary reports for senior management," says ABI Research principal analyst David Alexander. "For example driver performance monitoring, electronic documentation, and engine monitoring all add value to the basic systems. As new features such as these have been added, the benefits support more aspects of running a business."

The availability of concise business information is likely to interest C-level executives, and over time it will begin to reverse the buying process from bottom-up to top-down. The new capabilities allow, for instance, a large company to compare the performance of its local fleets, identify and spread "best practices", and reallocate resources.

Already, companies that have implemented fleet management systems are reducing fuel consumption via optimized routing and monitoring of both vehicles and drivers. Better feedback for drivers can also help reduce accidents, reducing repair costs, lowering insurance premiums, and even leading to new or improved business relationships.

"New fleet management systems now coming onto the market are linking into CRM (customer relationship management) and supply chain management software solutions," adds Alexander. "This integration will help improve efficiency right across the corporation, not just in the operation of the fleet vehicles."

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