Telematics ROI: Small & Medium Business Case Studies

It’s no secret small and medium sized businesses with fleets can benefit from telematics yet people often don’t see where the ROI can come from when they only have a few vehicles.

Let’s take a look at two case studies specifically for those in doubt, and see just how small and medium businesses are using telematics to increase productivity and save money.

Usually the key performance indicators (KPIs) for small and medium fleets are the same as larger fleets. Focusing on specifics like lowering fuel consumption, eliminating fuel theft, and improving driver behavior to reduce risk and increase safety.

However, every fleet is different and will have their own specific goals. Let’s look at the following two examples of how two different businesses use telematics:

Case Study 1: Food Production Company Saves Money on Mileage

Challenge: Company Abc is in food production and uses multiple contractors to transport their products. The contractors are paid by mileage, and drive their own trucks. The mileage is paid for trips from the factory door to the farm, and the mileage inside the factory facility is not included in the calculation.

Solution: A starter solution with a custom daily report to highlight the mileage of each truck. This report shows the mileage inside the factory perimeter as well, so the customer can measure exact savings in mileage – adding up to hundreds of kilometers saved per day! The higher level plans were not necessary at this time but, if they wish to expand their solution to include driver behaviour and fuel consumption details, it’s easy to do so.

Case Study 2: Company Verifies Accuracy of Vehicle Testing with Telematics

Challenge: Company Xyz has a small fleet of hybrids and is engaged in testing vehicles. Their main goal is to measure driving behaviour and compare fuel usage versus electrical usage. The company also needs to verify the accuracy of the data for speeding and other harsh driving events.

Solution: A custom dashboard report to allow the customer to easily view the percentage of fuel consumption versus electrical usage. The high quality of data we provide gives the customer confidence that all their testing measurements are accurate.

These examples demonstrate how important it is for your telematics solution to be flexible. A platform that is user-friendly is also essential for maximizing the telematics value for the customer.

Tips to Selecting the Best Telematics Solution for Your Business

Ask Questions Now to Avoid Problems Later

There are a ton of telematics providers that promise great functionality at very low prices. In our experience, we’ve seen far too many of these providers suddenly vanish, leaving their customers with useless hardware installed in their vehicles.

In many of these unfortunate cases, customers were attracted by pricing or an enticing sales pitch. When looking at different suppliers, they never asked some key questions such as:

• How stable is this company’s technology?
• How much revenue do they spend on developing future technologies and services?
• What measures does the company take to protect personal data?
• What security do they deliver on the device and cloud sides?

And most importantly:

• What value will this solution bring to my business?
• Can this solution be scaled regionally and globally?

Although these questions may seem obvious. We’ve seen far too many small businesses implement telematics without considering these crucial topics, only to later discover that the solution did not always fit their needs.

Top Features to Have in a Telematics Solution

Some of our customers were already using a telematics solution prior to GoFleet, so they ask directly for specific improvements that their previous fleet solution did not offer.

Examples of key added value features:

• Reliability and Service Availability
• Good Customer Support
• Cost-effective
• Quick Install/Uninstall
• Easy Report Customization
• Wide Engine Parameters
• Scalability

Source:
Small to Medium Business Case Studies by: Antonio Venutelli, Solutions Engineer at Geotab
https://www.geotab.com/blog/small-and-medium-business/