Verizon Connect joins driver safety and the fleet’s bottom line

Like anyone in a managerial position, Fleet Managers are under a great deal of pressure to keep costs low. As the business grows, so too does the danger of spiraling costs because managing every aspect of a fleet’s overheads gets increasingly involved with scale.

Vehicles can easily be a significant cost center for a growing business due to excess mileage, damage, wear & tear, and complete loss of vehicle due to theft or severe accident.

Excess mileage has additional costs – there’s wasted time, when drivers make unscheduled detours, or extra ticks on the odometer when a company vehicle is used outside of working hours.

All those occurrences are a source of significant headache for fleet managers under the cosh to control their budgets. There’s good news though — technology — in the form of fleet management applications — helps contain the problems. Furthermore, these same applications create added-value as a source of insight: vast amounts of vehicle metrics and other associated data can be sifted by software to produce evidence of behavior, uncover trends, and suggest changes to operations that will benefit the wider business.

Keeping costs on the right path

The market leader in fleet asset tracking and associated technologies like remote immobilization hardware is indubitably Verizon Connect. Its fleet management suite goes beyond vehicle location tracking, allowing companies to map out authorized travel routes or permitted zones. When identified drivers leave these geofenced areas, managers get near-real-time alerts via SMS, mobile app, or to their email.

The same facility and the use of Driver ID technology helps spot and stop the theft of vehicles, and the company stays in control. When a company asset veers off-course, the driver can be quickly contacted to establish why; if the vehicle has been stolen, its whereabouts can be tracked.

Fleet insurers reward companies that deploy trackers with lower premiums, and with the Verizon Connect immobilization hardware a vehicle’s ignition can be stopped from functioning once the keys have been turned to “off.” Effectively stranded, the recovery process can begin without extensive collateral damage.

While company drivers’ unauthorized use of vehicles may seem like a less serious situation, its financial implications are significant. In fact, the UK government estimates that a quarter of road miles comprise of unauthorized travel in company-owned vehicles, both outside and during working hours.

The costs of this includes wasted employee time and fuel, and also the added repair costs and depreciation thanks to everyday wear and tear. With Verizon Connect, your vehicles will be in for repair less often and need fewer maintenance downtime periods.

The data advantage

Digital information has the power to change the way businesses work, and it’s here where fleet managers can use collected data to drive future efficiencies, in addition to cutting existing costs. With on-board metrics that go beyond “traditional” telemetry, managers can plan better maintenance schedules around the business’s needs and identify cost centers, too (like drivers who would benefit from training — or quiet warnings).

The information helps companies identify where driving style negatively impacts the bottom line — for instance, aggressive braking and acceleration. That paves the way to better, more focused driver training, and over time, lower costs as maintenance and fuel bills tumble.

For every staff member, from the workshop technician through to the Head of Logistics, the Verizon Connect suite of technology helps companies get the best from their vehicles, equipment, and people. Staying safe and keeping assets on the road is just the start as software and dedicated in-vehicle hardware make differences that benefit the equipment, the business, and its employees.

To learn more about Verizon Connect, get in touch with a representative to discuss your needs and the available options.