The Risk of Not Having a Fleet Tracking Solution

Running a fleet business of any kind without a fleet tracking solution can impose great risks on, not only your business, but also your drivers, vehicles, and assets. Manually running fleet operations will keep you, as a business owner, unbeknownst of your vehicles' usage, your driver's driving habits, or any valuable data and operational costs you are putting into your business that could be draining your budget and not profiting your business in any way.

The risks of not implementing a fleet tracking solution simply outweigh any drawbacks of having one. Several fleet company success stories are shared on fleet tracking solution vendors that outline how their fleet business grew as the system helped them optimize their operations, cut down on extra costs, satisfy their customers better, and reduce if not eliminate vehicle damage or theft.

The return on investment (ROI) with a fleet tracking solution is always clear, and its costs are more than just justifiable. This is why many businesses consider fleet tracking and management software as an investment for a service rather than a heavy budget load.

We will further outline the risks of not having a fleet tracking solution with your fleet business.
 

Risks of Not Having a Fleet Tracking Solution

1. You will not know how your drivers behave on the road

GPS Fleet tracking solutions are not only for live tracking vehicle locations; they can also provide you with valuable insight into your drivers' driving habits. Customizable alerts can be set up to notify you and the driver when they engage in unsafe driving habits, such as:

• Harsh speeding
• Hard cornering
• Tailgating
• Harsh Acceleration
• Excessive idling
• Route diversions
• Unauthorized vehicle use

Being alert on these engagements will allow you to encourage and incentivize your drivers for safer driving habits, reducing your fuel costs, improving their productivity, and satisfying your customers better.
 

2. Increased risk of theft

Without the ability to instantly locate your vehicles, assets, or equipment, they can be more viable for theft. Fleet tracking and management software can also help you prevent any theft before it can happen with the geo-fencing feature.

Geo-fencing allows you to create virtual boundaries on certain locations like job sites, customer areas, and out-of-bounds areas. The system will alert you when a vehicle enters or leaves your defined landmark. For example, suppose a vehicle enters an out-of-bounds area or diverts from its set route; you will be alerted, and you can directly communicate with the driver to check if it's still in safe hands.
 

3. Higher fuel prices

Without a fleet tracking solution, you will be blind-sighted to have much you are spending on fuel for your vehicles. You will also never know if your drivers are using your vehicles for out-of-work or personal errands.

Fleet tracking solutions allow you to integrate fuel cards into the system to track every penny spent on fuel and identify how much fuel each driver fills up. In addition, fleet tracking solutions will help you optimize routes for your drivers to avoid traffic, unwanted stops, excessive idling, and use the best possible route to finish their jobs or deliveries. Thus, you save up a lot on fuel costs in the long run.
 

4. Increased maintenance expenses

Without properly scheduled maintenance alerts that fleet tracking solutions provide you, your fleet is bound to experience technical difficulties and breakdowns, resulting in high maintenance costs. Most fleet tracking and management software allow you to monitor your vehicle's health and set up scheduled maintenance reminders for tasks like oil changing and inspections.

Fleet maintenance tools will surely lower your maintenance costs as you keep tabs on your vehicles' health and reduce their wear and tear as you properly utilize them.
 

5. Greater accident risks

When you are unaware of your drivers' driving habits, more accidents are prone to happen. Fleet tracking solutions will notify you when your drivers are speeding, harsh braking, or cornering hard.

In addition, some fleet tracking and management system providers offer smart dashcams that can provide you with full footage of each driver's journey, and some can also analyze obstacles on the road and notify the driver in real-time to help avoid accidents.
 

6. Reduced customer satisfaction

Your customers will be less satisfied and more frustrated as you will not be able to provide them with information about their deliveries, such as the job status, the drivers' whereabouts, and the estimated arrival time.

Some fleet tracking software also provide your customers with a mobile application that allows them to communicate with the driver directly and live-track their deliveries themselves.
 

7. Higher insurance rates

Your business's insurance rates will go up as your drivers get tickets for unsafe driving or if they have breakdowns or accidents. As a matter of fact, many insurance companies offer fleet business discounts if they have a GPS fleet tracking solution implemented.
 

Top Fleet Tracking Solution Providers

These are just some of the risks your fleet business can encounter with a proper fleet tracking solution. To help you choose through the hundreds of fleet tracking and management systems in the market, we will present you with our top three recommendations, with their key features and prices.

1. Samsara

Samsara is our top pick for one of the best fleet tracking solutions providers in the market simply because it supports businesses of any size across a variety of industries with customized pricing that suits their vehicle types, numbers, and requirements.

Some of Samsara's fleet tracking software top features are:

• Integrated routing and dispatch tools
• Custom reporting
• Fuel management
• Maintenance workflows
• Mobile fleet tracking application
• Dash Cameras
• Integrations

As we previously mentioned, Samsara does not advertise any plans or prices for its fleet tracking software or hardware, and it will rather customize its prices according to your business's needs. It's best to reach out to their team and provide them with information about your company. You can reach them at [email protected], or you can click on "Get Started With Samsara" on their official website.

Get Started With Samsara

2. AUTOsist

For our second recommendation, we present you with AUTOsist. AUTOsist is another highly rated fleet tracking solution provider, which was dubbed 2022's Best Fleet Management Software by Forbes Advisor. AUTOsist provides an intuitive fleet tracking solution that is packed with feature-rich solutions that include the following:

• Maintenance tracking 
• Web Portal
• Offline Use
• Automated maintenance scheduling
• Fuel management
• Real-time communications with drivers
• Detailed trip log
• Customized reports

AUTOsist gives you the option to subscribe to its services either by the number of vehicles you want to track or by the number of users you want to have on your system. We will briefly mention two plans, one from each type. In addition, you also get a 14-day free trial out of its fleet tracking software with no commitments or obligations before subscribing.

1 User Plan: $149/month, plus two free months with annual billing.

The 1 User plan will provide you with the following features:

• Up to 1 User and Sync 2 Devices
• Manage Unlimited Vehicles/Assets
• Unlimited Records & Storage
• User Permission Control
• Inspection Checklists
• Parts Inventory Management
• Mobile App Access
• 24/7 Email and Phone Support

5 Vehicle/Assets Plan: $59/month, plus two free months with annual billing.

This plan will provide you with the following:

• Manage up to 5 Vehicles/Assets
• Unlimited Users & Devices
• Unlimited Records & Storage
• User Permission Control
• Inspection Checklists
• Parts Inventory Management
• Mobile App Access
• 24/7 Email and Phone Support

3. Azuga

Azuga is our last pick for one of the best fleet tracking solutions providers that will, without a doubt, eliminate your business from facing any of the risks we mentioned earlier. Customers praise Azuga's fleet tracking software for its friendly user interface, customizable real-time alerts, and driver rewards incentive program.

Azuga Fleet™'s top features include:

• Asset Tracking
• Route Optimization
• Field Service Management
• Scheduled Maintenance
• Driver Safety Rewards as a Service (RaaS)
• ELD Compliance

 

Get Started With Azuga Now!

Azuga will offer you three subscription plans with prices customized to your business needs. Each plan offers a package with a set of features that your fleet business could make great use of. Its plans are:
 

BasicFleet Plan

The BasicFleet plan includes core vehicle tracking features plus driver scoring and rewards. Its features include:

• GPS Tracking
• Alerts and Notifications
• Driver Scores
• Driver Rewards
• Reports
• Geofence
• Unlimited phone, email, and web-based support
• Dual-facing HD camera
   

SafeFleet Plan

This plan includes everything in the BasicFleet plan, plus the must-have safety features and efficiency-boosting tools, such as:

• SpeedSafe
• Distracted Driving
• Panic Alert
• Vehicle Diagnostics
• Scheduled Maintenance
• Trip Logs and Tags
• Fuel Card Integrations
• API Integrations
• TrackMe
• Occupant Recognition
• Messaging
   

CompleteFleet Plan

The Complete plan includes everything in the previous plans, in addition to:

• Azuga Coach
• Fuel-Saver
• One-minute Tracking
• Custom Reports
• Quarterly Fleet Review
• Concierge Support