Vehicle & Driver Tracking for Efficient Fleet Management Systems
Telematics-based tracking has helped fleet owners overcome different traditional challenges of fleet management. Initially, Telematics based Vehicle tracking was all about placing tracking devices inside the vehicle.
This telematics-based fleet management system helped know the position and condition of fleet vehicles but fell short when it came to answering questions around trip quality and driver capability.
In a fleet, a single vehicle can be driven by multiple drivers. Similarly, a single driver can drive multiple vehicles. It makes it challenging to extrapolate driver performance purely based on in-vehicle data.
For optimal fleet management, it is not just essential to track vehicles, but also necessary to track drivers’ performance. Accordingly, drivers can be matched to the correct trips, eventually helping the fleet management company optimizes revenue & profit.
The need for tracking drivers led to the adoption of smartphone-based telematics tracking. Today, most drivers are equipped with smartphones connected to the internet. This makes it possible to create telematics apps using the basic tracking capabilities of the smartphone.
When it comes to adopting smartphone-based telematics apps, fleet management companies can either use a readymade app or build their own app. In this article, we will look at all the options in detail.
At first glance, it may seem that building its own app is too daunting for a fleet management company (after all, their core business is about shipping products, not software). However, the advent of ready-to-use APIs & SDKs for building your own app (such as the suite provided by Damoov) – has made it possible for firms to evaluate & consider the strategy.
Top Telematics based Apps for Fleet Management Systems
Here are some ready to use Telematics Apps for Fleet Management –
Teletrac Navman Mobile
With Teletrac Navman Mobility, fleet managers can keep their workers on the go. Available for Android and iOS, the app offers insight into where vehicles and assets are, and what they’re doing. It is a cost-effective solution for your fleet management and is used by 40,000+ companies worldwide.
Contigo GPS Fleet Tracker
The Contigo GPS Fleet Tracker is a convenient way to keep tabs on your fleet of vehicles right from your mobile phone. There are 2 solutions available:
- Ridalong: For GPS-based asset tracking
- AlertAssis: Keeping field workers safe & helping employers with compliance
You can oversee your fleet in real-time no matter where you are. There are multiple levels of detail to view the location of your vehicles: all on one map or zoom into a single-vehicle.
MyCarTracks
MyCarTracks is a fleet tracking solution that makes it simple and affordable to solve fleet management-related problems in your organization. It lets you keep track of all of your vehicles, drivers, and trips in one place. This app has had over 80,000 downloads, along with thousands of active users.
TSO Fleet Pro
All TSO Mobile customers would want to get this mobile app, which gives another way to access your data and track your fleet while you are on the road. The app can track units in real-time on a map that offers three views: street, satellite, and hybrid. TSO Mobile users can zoom in on any vehicle by clicking on that particular vehicle’s icon and get the most up-to-date information about the location. Historical data can also be viewed by selecting the relevant date range and sending messages to vehicles equipped with Garmin devices.
Fleet 101 K2 Mobile
Fleet 101 K2 Mobile is a mobile companion to the Transportation Management System Fleet 101. It allows drivers to navigate routes and delivery addresses on their mobile devices. It can be used to submit proof of delivery signatures, send GPS positions to dispatchers, create damage reports with images, see shipment addresses on maps, and other similar functions.
MiX Fleet Mobile
MiX Fleet Mobile is an app for MiX Telematics’ FM-Web customers. This mobile app can track all your vehicles on a single map. You can also do a quick site search to see what vehicles are nearby, and get updates in the blink of an eye.
GPS Insight
Whether you manage your fleet on the road or out of the office, GPS Insight enables you to keep in touch with your vehicles from anywhere. You will be able to see vehicle locations, drivers, statuses, odometers, and other data. The iOS version of the app also features the ability to talk to drivers via Garmin, get directions from and to your vehicles, and create landmarks and points of interest with just a single click.
Benefits of Using a ready to use Telematics App
The top benefit of using a ready-to-use Telematics app is that its effortless to adopt without any time needed for development. Moreover, these apps are built for GPS fleet management & thus they cover most the routine business cases. It is also easy in terms of maintenance as the software provider will maintain it.
Disadvantages of Using a ready to use Telematics app
Despite the conveniences mentioned above, quite a few disadvantages have led reputed fleet management companies to look for a more flexible solution than the ready-to-use ones.
Some key disadvantages of ready to use telematics apps are:
- They don’t work in the background. In other words, users need to keep the app on for it to be able to measure the driving performance.
- As a result of the power-up, these telematics apps consume a high amount of power.
- In terms of data quality, there are limitations for applications beyond asset tracking (such as driver behavior capture).
- In some cases, the requirement is for a telematics feature on an existing app rather than a completely new app.
- Lack of provision for applications like car crash detection, engagement features (driving leaderboard), compliance data, and eco-driving calculations.
- The data is owned by the third party provider & not the fleet management company. Thus, if there is a software change required, historical data is lost.
- In some countries, there are limitations concerning storing data at foreign locations. When you use a ready-to-use app, you don’t have the flexibility to decide where you want the data sent.
Building your own Telematics based Smartphone app for Cost-Effective Vehicle Tracking
Due to the disadvantages mentioned above, many companies are considering building their own Telematics based smartphone app or a telematics feature on their existing enterprise app.
Earlier, this option was daunting due to the amount of technology and data science capability required. However, with the advent of companies like Damoov, the option to build your own app has become a feasible one.
Damoov provides data APIs (for collecting and processing data) and SDKs for building the app. Using Damoov, companies have successfully launched their own branded apps or integrated telematics features in their app.
There are a few significant advantages of using a service like Damoov:
- The app can work in the background while consuming the minimum power.
- It is suited for even the most data-intensive corner case applications when it comes to data quality. Some examples would be Driver Behavior Scoring, Engagement & Leaderboard scoring, Eco-Scoring, Compliance Scoring, and crash detection.
- You have the flexibility of using only the features that you need. There is no need to build a heavy app with all possible features.
- Interoperability is another tremendous advantage. Using an API service implies that only the endpoint details must be changed to migrate from one service to another without disturbing the main app.
- In terms of data, you have more control. You own the data, and you can store it at per convenience.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is fleet tracking and management?
Fleet tracking is a management system that uses GPS tracking to monitor the activity of fleet vehicles and assets (e.g., workers, equipment). It is often referred to as vehicle tracking or AVL.
Is fleet management smarter with GPS tracking?
GPS tracking has given fleet management professionals more control and information, so drivers may not experience as much stress. They can be more effective at their jobs in the process.
Why is vehicle tracking important?
The vehicle tracking system can bring the advantage of better financial management. This is thanks to the information on fuel consumption and better fuel management, eliminating unwanted behavior from drivers such as speeding and better management of idle and maintenance time.
Useful links
- Company website: https://damoov.com
- Open-source telematics app: https://damoov.com/telematics-app
- Telematics SDK: https://damoov.com/telematics-sdk
- Telematics API: https://damoov.co/api-services
- Developer portal: https://docs.damoov.com
- Datahub: https://app.damoov.comm
- Github: https://github.com/Mobile-Telematics
