 Some
companies eschew global positioning systems (GPS) simply
because they survived so long without them. Certainly many
companies do just fine without using GPS for their trucks.
Yet the fact is, no matter how efficient your company is,
installing GPS in your trucks and using it to track those
trucks are two steps that increase your efficiency, making
your business more streamlined and improving profits.
Faster Trips
The most obvious way to increase efficiency with trucking
GPS is simply by giving your drivers the ability to find
locations more quickly. This is especially true during the
training process, when drivers are learning the details of a
particular area. Thus, adding GPS serves as an excellent
training tool for new drivers.
In industries such as the heating-ventilation-air
conditioning (HVAC) and plumbing industries, drivers are
often instructed to go to addresses on small streets that
are not well-known. While a driver might have no problem
getting to the correct side of town, the time spent tracking
down the exact street and address can easily add up. GPS
makes up for these small gaps in knowledge, allowing your
employees to save time searching for a specific location.
Better Customer Service
One of the best ways trucking GPS increases efficiency is by
providing better customer service. With tracking on your
trucks, companies are able to provide real-time information
to customers on issues such as:
• Inventory
• When a service person should be arriving
• Which vehicles are closest to a client's location
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This
up-to-date, immediate-gratification customer service
distinguishes your company from your competitors. At the
same time, this type of service is something that consumers
are quickly growing to expect. From pizza companies to the
postal service, consumers are accustomed to finding out
exactly what's going on with the product or service they are
expecting. GPS helps your company stay on top of this
growing trend and giving your customers what they want.
More
Efficient Employees
Intentionally or unintentionally, employees sometimes
perform their jobs in ways that don’t support company
profits, such as when they spend too much time with the
engine idling and wasting gas or when they speed frequently,
wasting gas and incurring driving tickets and causing higher
insurance rates. GPS allows you to know exactly what your
employees are doing at all times, giving you "eyes"
everywhere your company goes.
GPS tracking also reduces liability and increases work
productivity by staying on top of what's going on in the
field. Being able to track changes in each vehicle’s speed
means that you can identify and address dangerous driving
behaviors before they cost your company money. Getting
real-time updates means you ensure that your employees stay
on track, get to locations on time, and avoid spending
unauthorized time not working.
Efficiency Affects a Lot
GPS improves the efficiency in a variety of ways for
trucking companies. What's more, each of these improvements
has subcategories, so making small tweaks to your efficiency
has a bigger impact than you might expect. For example, GPS
increases trucking efficiency in the following ways:
• When your
drivers spend less time searching for locations, they also
save on gas.
• When drivers save time, they are able to take more calls
or perform more deliveries in a day.
• When you're able to have the closest truck respond to each
call, you save money on gas as well as employee time.
• When you provide great customer service, you retain more
customers and build a stronger reputation.
• When you reduce your liability with safer driving, you
save on liability insurance.
• When your drivers stick to a safe speed limit, their gas
mileage improves.
The increased efficiency that GPS technology brings to your
company goes far beyond getting drivers to destinations more
quickly. Using GPS is a sensible business choice for any
business that uses trucks to provide a product or service.
Both customers and employees expect access to this
technology, and businesses that provide it thrive. This
increased efficiency is quantifiable -- many companies
quickly see an improvement in their bottom line.
About the author:
Robert J. Hall is president of
Track Your Truck, a leading provider of vehicle GPS
tracking devices and software for small and midsized
companies.
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