Applying Fleet Management Systems Through the Eyes of Customers

If you are currently going through the process of researching fleet management systems, and wondering how you are going to tackle the various components of implementation such as purchasing a solution, installing devices, training on the software, and ongoing support, then you’re in the right spot.

We took the opportunity to speak with a few of our customers in person to gather some best practices from them on their journey from looking at fleet management systems all the way through implementing one.

Here are some of those best practices for implementing fleet management systems, as shared by our customers (we are keeping them anonymous for the purposes of this blog).

Purchasing Fleet Management Systems

It can be overwhelming when looking at a variety of potential solutions. This is what one customer felt when looking at the myriad of options.

Taking the lead from reviews they read, they tested out GPS Insight as a potential provider for their fleet management system. They felt a seamless and effortless process in the purchase phase of the solution. The main reason they felt this was because of how all of their options for devices were laid out and what would work with their specific pieces of asset equipment, along with installation options. Once they verified that the devices would support the equipment they had, they were able to move forward with focusing on the software.

Best Practice: It’s important to test out providers to see what the options are for devices and to make sure that they will work with the types of vehicles and/or assets you are looking to track.

Installing Devices

The big question with installing devices for fleet management systems is whether to self-install or have professionals do the job. There are certainly pros and cons to both and the answer will vary depending on the business.

For one customer, the decision to use professional installers was easy because of their small team. What made the process easy for them was being able to pick and choose times and locations that worked for them (non-peak hours for business, etc.) and having GPS Insight work with the network of installers to make that happen.

Best Practice: Weigh the pros and cons of professional and self-installation. Will it cost more man-hours than it’s worth to have your guys do the job? Do you want the peace of mind (and warranty) from professional installation? For this customer, having professional installers made it smooth and gave them confidence that the job was done right.

Training on Fleet Management Systems

It’s never a good feeling being left to your own devices with a new product. Training is a crucial aspect of becoming successful with fleet management systems.

The initial learning curve of new software. They loved the flexibility of being able to call their Account Manager to set up one-on-one training to better understand different aspects and features of the solution and also the capability of bringing their employees into the conversation to ask questions of their own.

Best Practice: Find out what kind of training and support your potential providers of fleet management systems offer. If it’s important to you to have someone you can reach out to when you have questions or technical issues when it’s convenient for you, then factor that in when looking at different providers.

Ongoing Support for Fleet Management Systems

Several months into using their new fleet management system with GPS Insight, one customer commented how after that time, they found the system to be an indispensable part of their workflow.

Having an Account Manager that provides quarterly insight into fleet performance and utilization along with how much they have saved to the bottom line has given them the confidence that they could never do business without a fleet management system.

Best Practice: Much like the training aspect of fleet management systems, it’s important to find a provider that will give you the ongoing support that you need. Piloting a solution and testing out the support of fleet management systems can be invaluable to see what it will be like as a customer.