Field Force Automation: Asset & Fleet Management

Once your equipment is on a work vehicle, or you’re out of the work area, your level of control over it is diminished. But there are ways to keep track of your fleet and assets in real-time. And there are good reasons for doing so.

Instead of using traditional methods – which can be inefficient, delay jobs and lead to poor communication among workers – to keep track of assets, more and more Canadian businesses are seeing the value in automating asset and fleet management. In fact, ABI Research predicts that fleet tracking system subscriptions will more than double from 13.3 million worldwide in 2012 to 30.4 million by 2016.

If you’re looking to learn more about asset & fleet management, we’ve got you covered. Some of the many ways that businesses can benefit from automating asset and fleet management are outlined below:

Tracking for efficiency & safety. Monitor fleet data like speed, idle time and location to ensure vehicles remain within a predefined geo-fence perimeter. With a system like Fleet Freedom, reports can be examined to avoid inefficient routes or unnecessary detours. The trickle-down benefits can be tremendous, from ensuring driver safety (receive an e-mail or SMS if a vehicle is speeding or idling too long) to saving on gas and maintenance, potentially lowering insurance costs and eliminating extra overtime.

Reducing the risk of theft. You can receive alerts if unauthorized movement of equipment has been detected. Using technology like GPS locators and RFID tags, you can always have a handle on where your equipment and vehicles are, versus returning to a job site to find that equipment has been stolen or tampered with. Don’t think it can happen to your business? 5,000 BlackBerry PlayBooks, valued at $1.7 million, went missing in Indiana after a company’s truck, which did not have tracking equipment, was stolen.

Receiving real-time notifications. Whether it’s large construction equipment, trailers or high-value products, you can remotely keep track of assets using a desktop computer or mobile device. A system like Bell’s Fleet Freedom solution provides instant notifications; maybe it’s to tell you when a high-value delivery has arrived to a job site, or if there’s been a temperature drop in the truck that could impact assets inside.

Enhancing real-time communication. Communication among workers and with customers can be vastly improved and result in greater efficiencies. An example might be re-routing a truck if unexpected roadwork is on the regular path, or notifying a customer about a delivery delay. You can react immediately, minimizing downtime and ensuring that jobs get done on time.

Reducing downtime. Seeing real-time and historical reports on machinery and vehicles makes it easier to budget for – and keep on top of – maintenance and repair needs. This can help reduce downtime and unnecessary costs as a result of failing to keep up a proper maintenance regimen.

The bottom line
In automating fleet and asset management, workers have more time to focus on the tasks at hand rather than worry about inefficiencies, downtime and unnecessary costs. Which will make both them, and customers, happier in the long run.

Have you automated your fleet and asset management yet? Let us know via the comment section below.