Introduction
If you have a lot of drivers and vehicles, it means that you have to manage all of your drivers, routes, and millions of dollars in assets. As a fleet manager, the ability to check on your drivers at a moment's notice is vital. Vehicle tracking apps can help in a scenario where there are last-minute changes to shipments or when a reroute is needed. Such vehicle tracking apps aim to make fleet management incredibly easy and save your company both time and money.
What is Vehicle Tracking and Why Is It Important
Vehicle tracking allows fleet managers to track their vehicles at all times. This means you can see the routes taken by each driver as well as where each driver is at any given time. One method of vehicle tracking involves installing a GPS device in each vehicle. The device works by gathering information about the vehicle’s exact location and sending it to the tracking app. There are a variety of reasons why vehicle tracking can improve your business, including:
- Prevent wasted idle time
- Halt unauthorized vehicle use
- Pinpoint your inventory’s exact location to better communicate with customers about expected arrival times
- Take advantage of discounts on insurance premiums
- Encourage drivers to be more responsible by driving within speed limits, which also reduces fuel consumption. The U.S. Department of Energy states that aggressive driving lowers gas mileage by 15 to 30% on highways and 10 to 40% in traffic.
- Recover stolen or lost assets
Best Vehicle Tracking Apps for Fleet Managers
With so many vehicle tracking apps on the market, how does a fleet manager know which to trust? Here are a few of the major players in the commercial fleet tracking app market.
Onfleet
Onfleet advertises its vehicle tracking app as the “delightful last-minute delivery service.” They help analyze and manage local deliveries through simple software. With Onfleet, you can enjoy real-time tracking, optimal dispatching, intuitive routing, last-minute deliveries, and in-depth analytics. This app prides itself on being accessible for drivers to use to collect proof of delivery and contact the receivers of the delivery. New users can try their software for 14 days free. Their primary features include an intuitive and comprehensive dashboard, filters and search bar, color-coded statuses, real-time alerts, monitor key metrics, accurate ETA’s, automatically-delivered text messages to customers, international support, route optimization and a variety of integrated apps. Onfleet focuses on increasing customer satisfaction through better on-time rates and real-time visibility to their customers.
DIRECTOR Fleet Software by Teletrac Navman
Teletrac offers real-time analytics and vehicle visibility to improve fleet operations. This software works for fleets of all sizes and functions across multiple sectors including trucking and transport, construction, service and trades, retail and manufacturing, and government and public sectors. DIRECTOR gives fleet managers the benefit of checking in on drivers. Some functions include GPS asset location data, mapping of vehicle location, traffic updates, geofencing, hours tracking, and two-way messaging between drivers and dispatchers. This is a comprehensive program that improves the effectiveness of both drivers and fleet managers.
Geotab
Geotab offers precise and fast updates with active tracking. Fleet managers can view their vehicle locations in real-time and a completed list of their trip history. MyGeotab fleet management software syncs with their GPS vehicle tracking. With this feature, you can compare planned routes vs. actual routes. Fleet managers can lower fuel consumption and vehicle mileage by creating routes and zones for drivers. MyGeotab also provides coaching tools and driver feedback to manage the behavior of drivers.
US Fleet Tracking
US Fleet Tracking has a mobile app where fleet managers can examine their fleet on the go. One advantage of this app is that it will alert you about driver or vehicle issues. This app offers alerts for speeding, geofencing, maintenance, ignition, and excess idle times. These alerts help fleet managers know if a driver is speeding or leaving the inventory warehouse’s proximity or simply lounging around instead of working. US Fleet tracking also provides a comprehensive set of data tracking features such as starts and stops, aggressive driving, speeding, excessive idling, mileage for vehicles, vehicle mileage by state, geofence activity, and device input activity. In case of legal disputes and job completion, there is a playback feature of up to 90 days.
Azuga
Azuga is an all-in-one system that harnesses the power of vehicle diagnostics, GPS tracking, driver safety rewards, and asset management. They have their tracking device called the Azuga Tracker OBD II, plugged into the vehicle’s OBD II port. This is a plug and play system and does not require any installation. The tracker captures all diagnostic data that is transmitted into the software. Fleet managers can view granular data from the tracker, such as analytics and GPS location tracking. The software offers everything from vehicle maintenance and fleet efficiency tools to safety, accountability, and driver rewards.
Azuga monitors fleet drivers without feeling like “big brother” is watching. Instead, Azuga gamifies its software, allowing drivers to compete with each other for the best safety scores. 81% of users say that Azuga has reduced driving citations and tickets. With Azuga Fleet Mobile, fleet managers can track commercial motor vehicles and gain insights on the go. Drivers can view driver safety scores, simplify time cards, log trips, and limit their distractions. Azuga aims to be good for drivers and great for business.
Conclusion
Azuga is the best vehicle tracking app in the market today. 76% of users in the trucking and delivery industry say that Azuga has saved their company money and reported an average of $19,833 in savings per year! When deciding on any fleet tracking app, it’s important to find one that is easy to use, tracks location, provides other vehicle data points, has geofencing capabilities, and improves driving behavior.
Check out Azuga Fleet Tracking for the most comprehensive and easy-to-use vehicle tracking app to boost your business’s bottom line and improve your drivers’ safety.