With the start of a new year, many people will look back over the previous year to assess what went well and what the major challenges were. Without a doubt, 2020 presented some unique and unprecedented challenges. The rise of a global pandemic meant major changes were necessary to keep businesses running for many. Often, those changes were accompanied by technological integration. It’s no surprise that fleet management software became an invaluable resource for navigating uncertain times and allowed companies to adapt to a rapidly changing industry. The field service arena saw an uptick in the number of companies using fleet management software with the overwhelming majority seeing positive results and cost savings. As the industry continues to make changes, the tools must adapt and change as well. So what changes can we expect to see in 2021?
Comprehensive Cost Monitoring
While there are many components to fleet management and fleet tracking software, the cost analysis and savings opportunities will be critical in 2021. With the economic impact of the global pandemic in 2020, the need to manage and reduce costs is expected to lead to more advanced cost savings options built into fleet management platforms.
More specific algorithms in route optimization and monitoring systems for adverse driving behaviors will provide more specific ways to reduce fuel costs as well. Tracking the analytics on individual vehicles will translate to reporting with more timely preventative maintenance suggestions, allowing companies to prevent costly repairs.
Tracking Systems and Telematics
The new year is expected to see an overall increase in the number of businesses utilizing fleet management tracking systems. With US safety regulations mandating the use of electronic logging devices (ELDs), these are becoming mandatory for demonstrating compliance with industry mandates on active-duty and rest times for drivers. These software options are trending toward wider availability and ease-of-use, with onboard telematics systems coming standard in many new fleet vehicles.
Operational Cost Analytics
With budgets being stretched thin throughout 2020, managers are looking to their fleet management software to provide more data collection and analysis that can translate to improvements to field service companies’ bottom lines. As fleet vehicles become more specialized, managers will need to be even more aware of secondary operational costs. GPS fleet tracking systems are now expected to monitor the vehicles themselves for preventative maintenance and repairs as well as the hard driving behaviors that can add cost to a field service business’ operations. Even incremental savings in these areas can lead to a significant reduction of cost over time.
Advanced Analytics Capabilities
GPS fleet tracking management software is expected to become more and more advanced in translating the data that it collects as we get further into 2021. Simply having the information on-hand will no longer be the accepted standard. The translation of analytics into reports that recommend action will become the new expectation. Using fleet tracking software with advanced analytics makes it easier to assess the ideal preventive maintenance schedule and makes it possible to increase the overall uptime of fleet vehicles.
Dual-Facing, AI Dashcams
With an ever increasing emphasis on safety as a component of a healthy budget, the use of dual-facing dashcams is expected to rise. Add the benefits of embedded artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology to the mix, and it’s easy to see why this technology is expected to improve and become more widely used.
The benefits of the dashcam haven’t been a question for quite some time — it’s well known that dashcams are useful for demonstrating fault in accidents and in being able to detect unauthorized use or abuse of fleet vehicles. The option of the cab-facing portion of the dashcam combined with the analytic power of AI is now becoming highly sought-after. With this new perspective, behavior in the cab can be reviewed and analyzed for potential cost-saving improvements. And, as any field service business owner knows, improved safety translates to reduced cost and a healthier bottom line for you.
Are you ready to start taking advantage of all of the improvements that are already here and up-and-coming later in 2021? Azuga has the most powerful GPS fleet management software in the industry. With our simple and affordable fleet GPS tracking system powerful enough to run a fleet of any size, you’ll enjoy increased safety, efficiency, and productivity, all while reducing cost.
Want to see what the projected savings will be with the use of Azuga’s tools? Just plug your business’s demographics into the Azuga ROI calculator and begin calculating your potential savings. Improve operations, safety, and your bottom line with Azuga.
