How Fleetx is Using Geofencing for Fleet Management.

Fleet management has been a little behind when it comes to using new technology as most companies believe in manually tracking their vehicles and drivers. From maintenance and inspection records to calculating or tracking driver location, estimated time of arrival, Hours of Service (HOS), and more was all done without the use of a standardised platform. The process of calling the driver for each detail soon become redundant and unreliable, leading to a shift towards telematics and GPS-based software.

Now, with the use of fleet management software, businesses can easily track advanced logistics without having to rely solely on the driver’s word. One such very important and necessary feature is Geofencing.

What is Geofencing?

Geofencing is an extremely valuable tech for businesses that helps in managing a fleet of vehicles. It works as a virtual perimeter that has been set around a physical location. By creating virtual boundaries around specific areas like delivery locations, warehouses, storage facilities, distribution centres, and more, you can then track various actions and logistical elements that offer efficient operations and complete transparency. To create a geofenced area, you need to draw a perimeter around a virtual map and create a configuration that is the response you want the geofence to have.

Geofencing works in tandem with a fleet management software or application via GPS and cellular data to trigger alerts and notifications to the user. Depending on how your geofencing is configured, when a vehicle enters or leaves the set perimeter, an alert or push notification is sent out to the user so they can access any required data on that vehicle or driver.

Geofencing is a big leap in technology for fleet management and offers a new and more efficient way of tracking. Read below for the numerous benefits geofencing has to offer.

Track each vehicle

Vehicle tracking is one of the foremost requirements for managing a business that requires the movement of materials from one place to another. Keeping track of them in real-time using geofencing helps in eliminates phone calls to the driver wondering where they are. Setting a virtual perimeter around the required areas also reduces the burden of constantly updating each other on their whereabouts and allows drivers and managers to focus more on what’s important. Auto-status alerts allow your whole fleet to stay on track without the manual headache of doing so.

Reduce downtime for vehicles

Vehicle breakdown and repair is something that is impossible to avoid overtime and thus downtime becomes a big problem in fleet management processes. Creating a geofence around your vehicle’s repair shop allows you to instantly know when the vehicle has been fixed and moved from the repair shop to your parking lot. Such an instant view of movement allows managers to reduce downtime and take action without wasting any more time and put the vehicle back in rotation.

Theft prevention and increased safety

The theft of a vehicle can be a big setback for any company and unfortunately, this is a huge concern for fleets. Geofencing works as an effective solution by ensuring your important assets stay right where they are meant to be. Whether you want to increase the safety of vehicles in the parking lot or assets that are in storage for a long time, geofencing will instantly alert you when it is moved from a perimeter. This allows you to take instantaneous action and also provide more details to the police and insurance companies to help with recovery.

Better customer service

Customer service has become a top priority for companies as consumers have more expectations and demands these days. Fleet management features such as geofencing helps provide that by sending delivery notifications to customers expecting a package. This way they can stay updated on their parcel’s estimated time of arrival and accurate location details. For businesses, geofencing allows fleet managers a proper platform to view how the drivers are doing and whether they are staying on task to meet the required delivery objectives.

Optimised time management

With automatic updates and notifications, the usage of geofencing has greatly reduced the time it takes fleet managers to handle everyday tasks and processes. There is complete elimination of menial yet time-consuming tasks such as making phone calls to drivers, individually sending ETA notifications to clients, logging Hours of Service (HOS), and more. When using geofencing, you can view virtual time cards, get automatic alerts, and ETAs without having to constantly track it yourself. This helps significantly lower the amount of time that managers spend on doing unnecessary and mundane tasks.

Maximise utilisation and deployment of all assets

Most companies acquire a wide range of assets during their years of operation but don’t actually need to use all of it all the time. This is why much of it is stored for months, without fleet managers being aware of its existence. With the use of geofencing, managers can keep an eye on each asset and thus track how much of what is available. This reduces the chances of purchasing excess equipment and keeping a track of assets for complete utilisation and productivity.

Implementing Geofencing for your fleet

Quality fleet management software with geofencing features is the need of the hour for businesses. It helps in reducing costs, increasing visibility, and improving overall productivity. Monitor vehicles and assets in real-time to improve your fleet with the right management software.

Choose FleetX as a way to optimise fleet management with real-time tracking, geofencing, fuel card integration, easy-to-read reports, and much more. Get in touch with us to know more.