What is vehicle tracking and why do you need it?

Vehicle tracking technology helps businesses take extra care of their fleet to boost safety, reduce costs, and optimize operations. Vehicle tracking, also known as GPS tracking, is used by companies that operate fleets for efficiency purposes.
Any business that depends on the use of vehicles to develop its activity should consider vehicle tracking software that brings a host of functional features to ensure that the fleet is under proper care.
Read this article to learn what vehicle tracking is, what functionalities it brings to businesses, and why so many companies are now investing in vehicle tracking software.

But first, what exactly is vehicle tracking?

GPS tracking is a type of technology that brings together the tracking functionality (which displays the location of a vehicle) with software interface (which displays other vehicle data). Companies can later use this business intelligence to make more informed business decisions and build a better strategy for growth.
To capture vehicle data, the software provider installs a tracking device inside vehicles that are to be tracked. These devices collect vehicle data of different kinds – for example, the turning on and off of the engine, fuel consumption, the functioning of connected devices, the driver’s behavior on the road, and many others. All the data is then matched to the location data.
Most of the time, the location data comes from the GPS (Global Positioning Service) radio navigation system. That’s why vehicle tracking is often called GPS tracking. This type of tracking software may take advantage of other location technologies – for instance, the GLONASS satellite navigation system from Russia. Still, GPS remains is the most popular tracking technology on the market today because of its wide availability.

Here’s how vehicle tracking works

Vehicle tracking software collects vehicle data and then transfers it to a software user interface available in the form on the computer program or cloud computing service.
Once all the vehicle data is collected, it can be made available for a desktop application, smartphone application or downloadable in the form of reports in Excel or PDF formats. The vehicle tracking system can also be set to create alerts that notify about specific vehicle positions or vehicle activity.

Vehicle tracking software features

Most vehicle tracking systems offer different features depending on their completeness or complexity. The most basic GPS tracking software includes:

• Real-time location of fleet vehicles on a map (often integrated with map providers such as Google Maps).
• Driving history presented in reports and tables with the option of replaying the trips performed by vehicles.
• Summary reports that underline the activity performed by a single vehicle as well as altogether as a fleet. These include stop reports, alerts, schedule reports, journey reports, and even heatmaps that show where most activity takes place. That type of information is essential for planning.
• Organizations can set up alerts for specific driving behaviors to ensure full driving safety (preventing drivers from speeding, hard braking, or rapid acceleration).

Now that you know what vehicle tracking software is all about, here are a few reasons why your business needs that type of solution for optimization and growth.

• Cost savings – a vehicle tracking system helps organizations to save money in many different ways. It reduces the administrative time required to track vehicles, decreases fuel consumption, and lowers insurance premiums.
• Accurate fleet information – such solutions allow companies to know what is happening to drivers and vehicles. Thanks to vehicle tracking software, fleet managers know where the drivers are, what their current location on the route is, how they are driving, and more.
• Vehicle use reports – this smart technology allows detecting improper or dangerous driver behaviors. Companies can also implement driver identification add-ons to ensure that only authorized drivers are permitted to use vehicles. All of that helps to maintain greater control of the fleet, even if it’s far away from the company headquarters.
• Greater organization – vehicle tracking software helps fleet managers to plan routes, detect which ones are more fuel-efficient, and where the drivers are going to experience less traffic. The software also helps to track working hours and job assignments when necessary. It’s a must for organizations that want to have a full view of the operations of their fleet and streamline their processes to optimize its use.
• Automating compliance – advanced types of vehicle tracking software allow users to record all the information required for compliance purposes. By automating compliance, organizations can save time and dedicate more resources to developing strategies for growth.

Using vehicle tracking software is a smart move for companies that have fleets of vehicles and want to keep them under full control. Are you looking for a company that provides quality vehicle tracking software? Get in touch with us; we can help you make the most of innovative technologies for monitoring of your fleet.