Fleet Tracking & Business Intelligence

While many people utilize our application in order to see where their vehicles are, it is just as important to see where your vehicles have been. What business intelligence can you gather from looking at historic trends?

At InTouchGPS we keep all of your data for a full year. Combining the functionality to; easily be able to export any data schedule and automate daily, weekly or monthly reports to be sent to your email; and real time alerts to notify you of driver behavior.  Our application is a veritable house of information.

Don’t let this intimidate you. The way it is structured was purposefully meant to be very easy to navigate through. The first step of any journey is first determining where you want to go or in this case what information that you are looking for.

Here are three issues that business intelligence from Fleet tracking allows you to solve:

1)      Customer Complaint of Lack of Service- Fleet tracking allows you to count for your drivers whereabouts – every minute…And in turn you can report to the client with irrefutable evidence that your people were where they said they were.

2)      “Case” for or against employee. You can showcase great habits of a certain driver for merit or bonus or if necessary for HR , show just cause for termination or use data to create an appropriate program plan with behavior evidenced on system. ( Ie Speeding routinely)

3)      America is land of laws and regulations. Driver and fleet audits are becoming more and more routine. If ever necessary, fleet managers can go back and show proof of compliance, vehicles history, maintenance history and other historical data artifacts.

Managers can now look at the long view in order to establish trends, route inefficiencies, driver performance and other aspects that allow them to become better at their job.

Contact us to schedule a no pressure demonstration of our application to learn more about what InTouchGPS can do for you today.

Fleet Tracking and Start-Ups

The start-up company is the epitome of the American dream. Take an idea and finally have the resolve and dedication to make it happen. The challenges of a start-up are different than a second stage company and completely different than a mature company.

The largest difference between the stages these companies are in is often cash flow. While profitability is incredibly important, the compliment to it- reducing costs- is equally as important.

Fleet vehicles are the backbone of so many types of companies- from service industries, to construction, energy, telecommunications and so many others. Cutting costs related to these fleets is a quick way to increase your bottom line.

Fleet Tracking

GPS Fleet Tracking allows for the ability to reduce operating and fuel costs while providing the insights that can help your business increase productivity and safety.

Business Intelligence gives you the knowledge about what is really going on in your fleet and with this knowledge the power to quickly make decisions and changes that affect your fleet.

The ROI gained through fleet tracking is powerful. Fleet tracking becomes a force multiplier and can be the defining factor between a start-up company failing or thriving.

Fleet tracking software is an investment that will prove its worth and continue to cut costs as your small business or startup grows.  As you grow, the ROI of fleet tracking grows as well- often exponentially instead of linearly.

Discover what fleet tracking can do for your organization by contacting InTouchGPS today.

At InTouchGPS, we are more than a provider of GPS fleet tracking services and fleet tracking devices.

We are GPS fleet tracking experts. After serving  thousands of clients in almost every vertical and helping them maximize ROI we understand the many challenges that a business owner or fleet manager may have to endure…but more importantly many ways our system can be used to solve these challenges. Here are some specific common problems and how InTouchGPS can solve them.

Fleet Tracking Problem #1   – Fuel costs are outrageous.

In many companies fuel is the third highest expense (behind payroll and the cost of the trucks themselves). While we can’t completely eliminate fuel costs, we can help ensure that drivers are ONLY going where they need to be. Our application also can help with minimization of fuel used by providing the dispatch a way to see which vehicle is the most appropriate to send. Lastly, you can define working hours for each day and know if a vehicle is being operated outside of those hours

Fleet Tracking Problem #2 – Proof of Service

How many times have you heard “Your driver was late or never here”?

You talk to your driver and he says he was there at the right time.

Do you give a credit or refund of some type? Discipline the driver? Believe the driver? Tell the customer they are wrong?

How about this conversation instead?

“Your driver was late or never here?

“Ma’am/Sir, in order to provide better service to you our company has invested in the use of technology called GPS fleet tracking. This technology allows us to pinpoint where our vehicles are and were at any given time. The vehicle in question stopped at your house  at 1:57 and stayed there until 3:04 and then left.

“Oh, okay, thanks for checking”

There are more fleet related problems than we can list, however we have never been dealt something that we couldn’t help tremendously with through the aid of our GPS fleet tracking experience.

What fleet related issue(s)  are you trying to solve?

Contact the fleet tracking experts at InTouchGPS today to learn how we can help.

Enterprise Fleet Tracking

InTouchGPS prides itself on being the right solution for any size fleet, regardless of the number of vehicles or their types. We work with fleets with one vehicle to fleets with several hundred vehicles in almost every industry. Every company has its own reason for considering fleet tracking, however many of the benefits of fleet tracking are universal. The challenges and deployment of fleet tracking in a small company differs from those in a large company.

Large organizations usually have many moving parts to their organization. Often large companies are defined as an enterprise. In the industry a common term is enterprise fleet tracking, referring to a larger entity.

Listed below are some of the challenges and how our software answers those challenges.

Challenge- Large number of vehicles to import/assign into system

Answer- Our software allows you to name each device assigned to each vehicle. There are filters set up through the application to allow you to search by name, IMEI number, as well as group/division assigned

Challenge – Different management for different drivers and territories

Answer- You have the ability to assign vehicles to specific groups and also edit permission levels in the background to the access level granted to any specific user.

Challenge- So much data to sift through

Answer- Our system has dashboards that are customizable per user to their goals. This allows a quick easy visual snapshot of the fleet activity that is important to that user.

Challenge – Software takes up resources

Answer- Our application is Cloud based. No software to download or update or roll out- accessible from any web enabled device.

Challenge- Data takes too much time to pull

Answer- For every report our application offers, we also have an automated feature where we can have it sent to your email daily, weekly, monthly for the data that you want.

There are other features that allow large fleets to be successful in addition to the ones above.

What challenges are you facing?

Contact InTouchGPS today to learn how we may solve those as well.

At  InTouchGps, we often write and discuss the advantages of fleet tracking from the perspective of the business owners and fleet managers; frankly because they are the ones using our system.

However, our system has incredible benefits for the fleet drivers as well.

8 Ways Drivers Benefit From Fleet Tracking

Your drivers are the foundation of your business and the lifeblood of your growth. It is important that your drivers know and understand how GPS fleet tracking benefits them. Your drivers are the backbone of your business. It is important for your drivers to understand the benefits that GPS fleet tracking offers to them. Instead of the “Big brother” and “you don’t trust me arguments” you can show them how it benefits them. You can enhance employee work satisfaction and create an even better work environment by now having the ability to:

1. Validate with proof that they were where they said they were.
2. Keep all employees at the same work level, since no one can “cheat the system”
3. Reward and potentially incentivize driving behavior that now that it is measurable (for example lowest idle time per month gets Itunes gift card)
4. Still be able to produce accurate trip and time log if they forget to write down their hours
5. Dispatch is able to see where they are and provide ETA to customers without having to continuously call or interrupt driver.
6. Quickly provide directions to lost drivers to where to go from current location
7. Better chance of keeping a job if their company is fiscally stronger
8. Weather and traffic features allow for a more optimized dispatch so less “windshield time” for the drivers

Fleet tracking has strong advantages for the company, for the fleet managers and for the drivers themselves.

Contact us today to discover what GPS fleet tracking can do for your company.

Fleet tracking offers many benefits to the drivers. (The one we hear about most often is that drivers are not having their routines or days interrupted by numerous phone calls asking ETA’s for customers that called in.) With the integration of GPS Fleet tracking, many companies have increased profit and reduced costs so much that they can now reward and incentivize their drivers to continue to drive even better. Now that they can track fleet related actions, companies can measure and reward actions that are beneficial to the company’s bottom line.
Whether using our custom dashboard or having automate reports providing the data, here are three ways to incorporate incentive ideas to the backbone of your fleet- the driver.

Examples of Fleet Driver Incentive Programs

1) Institute an objective based activity.
An objective based activity can be anything. The Virtual Fleet Supervisor application tracks speeding, idle time average trip time, total trips and so many other things. Define the objective and timeframe and have a contest. For example, the driver with the lowest average idle time this month wins….The reward doesn’t have to be much, just a symbol of appreciation. A gift card somewhere, small cash, a half day off, small plaque- how much does wanting to win that make every driver reduce costs through following best driving habits?

2) Draw game
Every driver who is qualified gets name in hat. Pull name, person gets reward. To be eligible to put name in hat, the driver had to be above certain criteria set by the fleet manager. ( no speeding events that month, at least 20 trips, etc, ) Some people like the randomness of this game and others think it doesn’t reward the best person- that decision is up to you.

3) Customer Recognition
Your fleet drivers are your brand ambassador. With the integration of GPS fleet tracking, customer service can be enhanced and there are more opportunities for drivers to arrive at houses or service calls with a happy customer than an angry anxious one. Set forth a policy that if any calls or comments made about a specific person from a customer call in and are positive then there is a small reward. Including customers in employee recognition programs also allows your business to gather valuable customer feedback as well.

The Ultimate Benefit of GPS Fleet Tracking
The best of all benefits to the drivers is that through GPS fleet tracking costs have been reduced and profits maximized so there is a company for them to be employed at. Over and above any knickknack or swag, this is the best thing that you can give a driver- company stability and still having a job tomorrow.

Have you considered encouraging positive driving habits, but had no way of knowing what really goes on when they leave your warehouse or shop? Well, now you can.

Contact InTouchGPS today to learn more.

Think You Are Too Busy For Fleet Tracking?

At InTouchGPS we understand that as a fleet manager you have a ton of responsibilities.  The purpose of our application is to make your life easier by making a more efficient use of your time while increasing your bottom line.

Let’s look at just a few of the many ways our fleet tracking system saves you time.

Driver Communication

Instead of calling drivers to find out their locations a simple glance at our application will tell you where your drivers are at and how long they have been there.  You don’t have to waste your driver’s time or your time with unnecessary phone calls.

Automated Reporting

With our automated reporting functionality you can schedule reports to be sent to you automatically-You chose what report and the frequency at which it is to be sent. You save time by not having to go into the system every time you want to find certain data and pulling data that is constant.

IFTA Reporting

Our system reports mileage by driver by state and provides the information that you will need to provide for IFTA.

Maintenance Scheduling and Tracking

Create and schedule maintenance tasks through our system. Once the tasks are created you will see a color coded screen that shows all of the created tasks. You can also choose to receive alerts via text or email when a maintenance task is coming due.

Dispatch Tool

With a simple click of the button on a map you can see how far all of your drivers are from a certain location (or a landmark or an address you input) . You can then choose to dispatch that vehicle to that location. Our system will send the driver a message through text or email with the address, directions and any other notes you may want to include.

With these and many other features, the GPS fleet tracking application from InTouchGPS was built with you in mind.

To find out how InTouchGPS can help you maximize your time contact us today to schedule a demo of our software and see how we can maximize your output while minimizing your time.

Managing By Exception

This is a management philosophy that focuses on dealing with issues that deviate from the expectation or the norm. The advantages of this style of management are numerous, however the one that stands out most in regard to fleet management is how much time it saves you.

Historically a manager would have to go through tons of data. He or she would have to look through every bit of driver data looking for any anomalies and even then there is still the opportunity for to miss something due to human error.

The InTouchGPS application has multiple real time alerts. These alerts are sent to the user based on driver behavior. The user can determine which alerts to receive and whether they want them delivered via email or text.

There are six real time alerts. Find them and their definitions below.

Idling- Our system will send an email if the vehicle has been idling greater than 10 minutes or later if you choose. You can select to receive it once or continue to receive the notice as the vehicle continues to idle.

Working Hours- You can define the times that are authorized for that vehicle to be moving. If it is operated outside of that window the user can get an alert. This helps with preventing theft and with moonlighting.

Maintenance- Our system allows you to create, assign and track maintenance tasks and you can be made aware when those tasks are coming due.

Speed- This is not related to the posted speed limits but rather speeding thresholds you define. If a vehicle goes above what you authorize you will be notified.

Offline- This is about the device itself. If for some reason it stops reporting you will receive and alert.

First Movement- Our system can notify you the very first time that vehicles moves. You can choose to have this sent every day or only if the first movement occurs after a certain time ( denoting they were late)

Our application is specifically designed to save you time through automation and multiple exception management methods.

To learn more, please contact us today by calling us or filling out the form on the right to schedule a no pressure quick demonstration of our software.

Even though fuel prices have come down slightly over the last year, it is still a huge concern for companies that operate a fleet of vehicles.  Fuel is in the top three expenditures of fleet-centric companies ( the other two items  are vehicle cost and personnel). While fleet tracking can’t completely eliminate fuel costs there are four areas in which fleet tracking can help with fuel management.

Four Ways Fleet Tracking Reduces Fuel Costs

Let’s first list the problem and then how fleet tracking can solve the issue. 

1) Excessive Idling

Idling is defined as when a vehicle is in use, but is not moving. Fleet tracking can reduce fuel costs by notifying you when a vehicle is idling for greater than a threshold you define. Especially as we approach winter and the vehicle is potentially used as climate control, it is imperative to know if the idles are legit or not.

2) Dispatch

The fleet tracking application that InTouchGPS provides includes a dispatch feature. You can enter any address in the system and it will tell you how far a vehicle is from that location. You can take this a step further by sending a dispatch to include the fastest directions to the driver of your choice. This makes sure that fuel lost during routing inefficiencies or human error is taken out.

3) Weather

A relatively new feature to the fleet tracking party is the Weather Feature. With a click of a button you can see current weather status for any location. This visibility allows you to dispatch accurately, avoiding dangerous weather and increasing safety and fuel efficiency.

4) Traffic

Our easy to use traffic feature shows a color coded overlay – green things are going pretty smooth, yellow- slight congestion and red/black- significant traffic or a serious traffic event. Once again allows you to dispatch more effectively and to see trends that you can plan around- saving valuable money and time. Can you think of other ways that fleet tracking has helped you save money? To discover how much you can save and learn about other benefits of fleet tracking , contact us today.

The term “the cloud” or “cloud based software” has been around for a while. So what does it mean and why is it beneficial to you? Simply put, in the cloud means that there is nothing to install, nothing to load- all of your data is accessed using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server…

This means that your company does not need computers in your office to run software programs. Instead of installing a cd or downloading a program authorized users go to a secure website that has a username and password and run the program through your web browser. This means you can access Virtual Fleet Supervisor from ANY web enabled device.

Three Benefits of Using A Cloud Based Fleet Tracking Software

1) No installation is necessary

You start off with one or two authorized users and from there, you can create unlimited user accounts -even with different access levels if you would like. There is no cost in adding additional users.

2) Automatic Updates

When it’s time to update traditional software, every computer needs to be touched again.  Every single rollout, new feature, even bug fixes would require man hours to fix every single device. When the application is hosted by your vendor, the updates just happen. InTouchGPS has built a framework with the thought in mind that it would always continue to be upgraded as new technology and design builds became available.This adds up to frequent improvements and leading edge features. While we believe we have the best GPS tracking system on the market, we still love making it better.

3) Accessibility 

Want an update on your fleet? You no longer have to go to the office to get the data from a software siloed computer. Access the data from any web enabled device to include your mobile device- we have built a simple to use, yet powerful app for that. Once again-no extra charge.

There are numerous more benefits to using cloud based fleet tracing, but at the end of the day, it all boil down to one main element- It makes you more efficient by saving you time and money.

To learn more about fleet tracking and what InTouchGPS can do for you, please contact us today.