Keep things in check! Regularly ask these questions to make sure your telematics still suits your needs or if it's time for an upgrade. Let's keep it simple and efficient!.
Tech is always on the move, just like our personal gadgets. You know how you blink and there's a new version of your phone? Well, it's the same with the tech investments we make for our businesses and our fleets. Even if you commit to a solution for a while, both the telematics tech and your fleet business needs keep evolving.
So, why not stay ahead? Regularly checking in on your fleet tech investments, especially something as crucial as telematics, just makes sense. Don't wait until the last minute – do it regularly. Your future self will thank you!
But when's the right time to give your telematics technology a once-over? Ideally, keep it in your routine, and don't let it slip until your contract is about to end. Changing gears last minute can be tricky, with vendors needing a heads-up.
To make things easy, we've got a set of questions grouped into four categories. It's like your telematics tech check-up guide – let's keep your business on the cutting edge!
Connectivity and Utility
- Is the telematics solution tailored for our specific industry, like service, construction, or transportation? Different industries have unique tracking needs, so it's crucial to ensure the solution aligns with our requirements. For instance, if we're in construction, can we track not just vehicles but also smaller high-value assets like portable lighting units and generators?
- Are we able to track all our assets? (For example, if you are a construction company, in addition to your vehicles and yellow iron, you might want to install tracking hardware on your small, but high-value assets, such as portable lighting units and generators.)
Does our telematics vendor provide the right hardware for all our vehicles and assets? Is the hardware rugged enough for our work environments? - Can we effortlessly connect all our assets to the telematics platform to have a unified view of our fleet? A single-pane-of-glass view simplifies monitoring and management. Alternatively, are we currently piecing together different systems and data streams to access the necessary information? Streamlining this process can enhance efficiency and provide a more user-friendly experience. Are we having to stitch together systems and data streams to access the data we need
System Updates
- Has the telematics solution kept up with our evolving needs? Are there any features we wish our current vendor's telematics solution had but doesn't?
- Do we receive regular updates from the vendor, at least once a year? These updates should not only enhance the user experience but also improve the system's efficiency and security on the backend.
Support
- Is the support we receive responsive or too slow? Are issues resolved in a timely manner?
- Are we to contact any third-party vendors for support for any module or function of the system?
- Does the fleet customer support team have knowledge of my specific industry (e.g., construction or service)
- Do we have to talk to a new person every time we contact the vendor with an issue?
Contract Terms
- Is the current contract set to auto-renew or automatically extend?
- How much notice do we need to give if we plan to change telematics vendors?
- Is our data portable if we intend to migrate to a new telematics system?
Evaluate Potential Replacement Solutions
Of course, these questions aren’t just appropriate for evaluating your current telematics solution – you also can use them to guide you when evaluating a potential replacement solution.
As your business evolves, your telematics needs will change, too. As you gain more experience with telematics technology and develop a better sense for how it can help you manage your fleet, what you look for in a telematics solution is likely to change.
It’s why you should evaluate your technologies – and continue to do so – even when you may not be in the market to make a switch. Technology doesn’t sit pat, and when it comes to your telematics solution neither should you.