7 Reasons telematics are crucial for Electric Vehicle Fleets

Fleet management can interlink with many other elements of a business – whether that’s providing data to support health and safety, enabling the effective maintenance of vehicles or supporting with customer service.   

In fact, there’s a lot more to fleet management in electric vehicles than simply ‘knowing where a vehicle is and what it’s doing’. With data available via intelligent fleet management technology, companies can reduce costs, improve customer service, cut time consuming processes, as well as improving employee engagement. In fact, we would go as far as saying that the data provided by fleet management technology can put companies a cut above their competitors and transform the way they work.  

It's time to throw out the outdated view of fleet management as simply the tracking of physical assets with combustible engines. It’s time to look at how fleet management for an electric fleet can be so much more than that and delve into the real reasons why telematics are crucial for electric vehicles.

1. Fleet tracking 

The tracking of vehicles to provide visibility of where they are and the vehicle’s status. GPS and telematics technology are often used to track vehicles and pinpoint their location, and whether they are driving, parked, or idling. 

2. Electronic logging of journey and driving data 

Fleet management can also involve the logging of hours and mileage covered in vehicles by employees and drivers. Telematics technology can help companies to record this information in a compliant way, for both driver safety requirements and HMRC. We explore the multi-fold benefits of electronic logging a little later in this blog, so keep reading... 

3. Route optimisation 

Whether a utilities, breakdown, haulage or logistics company, optimising routes can bring obvious time and cost saving benefits. Effective fleet management will factor in route optimisation so that vehicles can take the quickest (or most cost-efficient) route to their destination. Alternatively, route optimisation can mean that nearby vehicles or assets can be delivered to a customer more rapidly – for example, in an emergency breakdown situation, the nearest recovery vehicle could be called to attend.  

4. Supply chain management 

Fleet management and supply chain management often go hand-in-hand. Ensuring good control and management of a fleet will also help to smooth supply chain logistics – helping companies to monitor the progress and delivery of goods, potentially across borders and passed between different companies.  

5. What technology can be used to enable effective fleet management? 

Now that we’ve covered the fundamentals of good fleet management you might be wondering how it can all be achieved. The good news is that there are very effective solutions available that won’t break budgets either.  

Thanks to GPS and telematics technology, effective fleet management can be at the fingertips of any business - and that means the data available via this technology is also available to those businesses too. And it’s this data that can really make all of the difference.  

With the right fleet tracking technology in place your business could improve productivity of fleets, save time, reduce risks and cut costs. And that’s exactly what the ABAX solutions offer. Whether you’re sending out drivers to carry out deliveries or you have a sales team visiting offices, ABAX fleet management products and software help you know where your vehicles are, how they’re being driven, and when they need servicing. 

6. Cost reductions 

Good fleet management can lead to a multitude of cost reductions. For example, businesses can see reduced insurance premiums, perhaps thanks to improved driver monitoring and safety, or through usage-based insurance such as our partnership with Zego.  

As we explore later, fuel costs can also be cut. Vehicle maintenance can also be kept on top of and potentially costly jobs rectified sooner rather than later. All of that means the fleet is kept in top condition and businesses can have their full workforce on the road. 

7. Driver safety compliance  

Ensuring safe driver behaviour is important but can be difficult. Fleet tracking technology can monitor driving behaviour and spot any trends and ensure drivers are driving in a safe manner. This enables you to identify drivers who may be driving harshly and provide additional training or constructive feedback where required. 

Safe and responsible driving can also help reduce vehicle maintenance and servicing costs.

Another point is all of the above can lead to... Improved brand perception and positive business results! 

Those benefits combined can be extremely powerful. 

According to Curatti, 73% of consumers love a brand because of friendly customer service – so equipping your customer services team with useful data could make a real difference to your customer retention and recommendations.   

If you’re like many businesses trying to shine a light on their sustainability credentials currently, then you would be right to do so – and saving fuel and choosing efficient routes will need to factor in to that. In fact, Customer Thermometer even state that 13% of consumers would pay 31-50% more for products or services if they were under the impression that the business is making a positive impact on the world. So, not only will you be making a difference to the world we live in, but you will be saving money and potentially supporting your bottom line too.  

The data you can access through the right fleet management and tracking technology can be transformative.  

At ABAX, we’re passionate about not only providing intelligent, quality fleet tracking technology – but we’re passionate about the insight it can give businesses too. Fleet tracking data can help with optimising routes, giving despatch teams unrivalled fleet overviews or helping to assess where lost revenue happens frequently, due to wasted time or fuel or even lost or stolen assets. All in all, that can all be instrumental in making your business run more seamlessly, with an improved brand image, cost-efficiency and productivity.  

If that all sounds like something that could benefit your company and its bottom line, get in touch with the ABAX team on 01733 6698888 or visit our quotes page and tell us what you want to track.