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Copyright
© 2001 FleetWatch magazine and FleetWatch On-Line.
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part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written
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In November last year,
FleetWatch took an in-depth look at the state of vehicle tracking and fleet management systems. The report segmented the industry into three distinct categories: vehicle tracking and recovery, vehicle and driver monitoring and fleet management. The upshot of the report was that fleet managers have varying needs. One may even go as far as to say 'unique needs' because no two transport operations are alike. For this reason, providers of fleet management services have had to listen to their market and deliver products that provide real logistics solutions rather than simply the now ubiquitous 'dot-on-a-screen'. This special interest report is a 'snapshot' of what commercial transporters are currently looking for in a fleet management system and what suppliers of fleet management systems have to offer to meet these needs, writes
Paul Collings.
Horses for courses
Transport operators come in all shapes and sizes and when it comes to hi-tech digital communications with their trucks and drivers, the spectrum of needs is enormous. For some, a two-way radio is sufficient to keep the fleet manager informed of where his vehicles are. For others, a plethora of instrumentation is necessary to transfer data via wireless communication platforms to ultimately end up in the company's BIS (business information system). These high-end, back-office computerised systems enable fleet managers to deliver reports that give the operation real business intelligence - information about their fleet and drivers that enables them to stay ahead of the competition.
Technology - Dreams and nightmares
Most of us have a love-hate relationship with technology. We love it because it enables us to do things we once only dreamed of (think cell phones, the internet etc). We hate it because it so often stops working or or becomes obsolete so rapidly that we are unable to get our money's worth from it. The fleet management systems game is plagued by this very dilemma. Operators have been burned in large numbers by technology vendors who either haven't delivered on their promises or simply have gone insolvent. The challenge for both buyers and sellers of fleet management systems right now and in the future is to offer long-term service excellence and really add value to the products they install in commercial vehicle fleets. The following pages will highlight a spread of offerings that are striving to satisfy these imperatives.
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