Technology plays an increasingly important role in keeping supply chains running. Today, the majority of fleet managers and those in other crucial positions at trucking fleets – such as dispatchers, route planners, drivers, and safety and terminal managers – rely on technological solutions to optimize the day-to-day operations of their companies. As the industry continues to evolve, however, choosing the right fleet management software can prove daunting.
HERE Technologies teamed up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and ABI Research to conduct a survey and publish a white paper dedicated to understanding how industry leaders view fleet management software, as well as the benefits and challenges that come with adopting these technologies.
Over 80% of the fleet managers HERE surveyed said that at least half of their fleet operations are already digitized. This illustrates a continued march toward greater technological adoption across the logistics industry as a whole.
One of the key benefits of digitization is gaining better insight into overall performance via operational data. With a significant amount of digitization already happening in the industry, most respondents indicated that they already have access to large amounts of data.
The current usability of that data is lacking, however. Survey respondents indicated that it often comes from disparate sources and is not integrated to provide fleet managers a holistic view of operations. This undermines the usefulness of fleets’ existing solutions.
“As a result, data analytics is a key area of current investment. This can give fleet managers a better understanding of how to use the data to optimize operations,” said HERE Senior Manager of Market Intelligence Nina Hallquist.
In addition to data analytics tools, fleet managers, leaders and other employees are keenly interested in adopting fleet management software that directly helps them improve their operational performance.
HERE’s research uncovered the most in-demand fleet software capabilities. These features include real-time tracking, demand/load planning, route optimization and fuel management.
These key capabilities are popular for a reason. They have an outsize impact on day-to-day operations and cut to the heart of what matters most to companies across the industry: improved efficiency and increased profitability.
“We are hearing the top reasons for investing in fleet management software are increasing revenue and improving operational efficiency,” Hallquist said. “So, using those two goals as a guide when choosing software is important for fleet managers.”
While different fleet managers tend to have similar goals, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving them. Because each organization is unique, fleet managers should seek out flexible solutions that can be configured to meet their needs.
Technologies that offer a configurable approach can help fleets improve important key performance metrics like on-time delivery and lower fuel costs per vehicle, ensuring compliance and maximizing vehicle utilization.
“The solution should incorporate attributes the fleet managers and other key users view as particularly important,” Hallquist said. “Those include truck-specific map attributes, truck-specific routing and the ability to integrate the company’s own data into the fleet management software.”
There are a plethora of technologies on the market, and keeping configurability in mind can help leaders better assess their options. Once a fleet manager finds the right solution to adopt, however, there are often still challenges along the way.
In HERE’s survey, fleet managers identified a lack of internal expertise and resources to implement solutions as the top barrier to adopting new software. The cost of the solution and the accompanying fear of potentially revenue-losing disruption to existing operations were also key concerns.
Software providers need to offer solutions to these common challenges in order to drive increased technology adoption. This means providing fleet management software that is easy to use, can be integrated into a company’s existing system and delivers benefits quickly. It also means ensuring substantial support surrounding implementation.
“The solution provider should provide support with implementation, onboarding and integration with existing systems, as well as ongoing technical support,” Hallquist said. “Customers should also ensure their vendors are providing reliable, justifiable value propositions and return-on-investment projections for their solutions.”
HERE will dive deeper into the nuances associated with acquiring new fleet software in its upcoming webinar, “Examining key fleet trends and buying insights.” The event is scheduled for Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. EST, and registrants will receive a link to the recording afterward.
This conversation will be informed by the findings included in HERE’s recent white paper and will feature relevant voices from across the industry.
Speakers include FreightWaves Staff Writer Grace Sharkey, HERE Senior Manager of Market Intelligence Nina Hallquist, PCS Software CTO Yusuf Ozturk and Maven Senior Product Manager Alex Sciuto.
Click here to learn more and register for the webinar.
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