This article was originally published by Marc Horwitz.
Due to its impact on their accounts and their competitiveness, companies are increasingly "sensitive" to the financial, social and ecological weight of their car fleet. It must therefore be permanently "monitored". This is made possible by on-board telematics.
Buyers are persuaded that on-board telematics is today an invaluable tool for the proper management of a fleet. It offers the ability to transmit a large amount of information about the vehicles, but also about the people who drive them. As all market drivers tend to develop the same functionalities, the "right" choice is never clear-cut. Is it always necessary, at the end of an invitation to tender or an "in-house" study, to choose the most economical system? It's not certain: the key factor here is that the solution should be the most suitable for what can be expected of it, knowing that the small telematics box, installed as original equipment, by the manufacturer, or possibly as a retrofit, provides a lot of services. Via a secure platform, it transmits all the information required for the regular - not to say daily - monitoring of a vehicle fleet.
Fleet managers can, if they wish, consult them directly on their computers through the dashboards proposed by the various specialists and which, generally accessible from their portal, are integrated into the companies' IT systems. This enables the data to be analyzed and used in excellent conditions for at least two reasons: the data is highly reliable, there are no more data entry errors, and the manager saves a considerable amount of time, a significant advantage compared to processing the information manually.
Monitoring the vehicle's condition and driver behavior as closely as possible
Offers are varied and generally "on drawer". It is thus possible to decide on the only services that are considered necessary, those that cover the real needs of the fleet manager. But is this the best solution? We think so at Coyote. However, the "all-in-one" Coyote Business offer has the merit of combining "the company's historical know-how in the field of driving assistance and expertise in fleet management". "Designed for fleets of 1 to 100 vehicles, our solution integrates driving and geolocation with Coyote Fleet, fleet security in case of theft with Coyote Secure and employee protection from road hazards with Coyote Driver Assistance Assistants," explains Coyote, adding that "companies can choose one, two or three services to choose from. It is a powerful, intuitive and customizable tool that allows you to drive a fleet of vehicles in real time". Coyote Fleet appears, in this triptych, as the essential module insofar as it includes a piloting interface dedicated to the fleet manager who can know which driver is using the vehicle thanks to a unique identification badge, a magnetic key.
Masternaut is a leading operator in onboard telematics in Europe, now part of the Michelin Group's Services & Solutions department. Its Masternaut Connect application, dedicated to businesses, is much more than a geolocation application. Made up of different modules - available on demand - this application provides real-time visualization of fleet activity, but can also have many other functions such as mileage and fuel expense reports or even driver behavior studies.
Using a single platform, the Masternaut Connect application allows "close" monitoring of each vehicle and the driver. This is an asset to ensure optimized customer service and to respond as quickly as possible to an emergency, for example, since it is possible to deploy the nearest vehicle or the immediately available technician. It is also an incentive to drive responsibly, which has an impact on consumption and, more generally, on the vehicle's condition. Interesting at the time of return.
The respect of privacy is guaranteed
We understand that on-board telematics needs to be explained to all those who are entrusted with a vehicle that is going to be equipped with it. Ocean - Orange Business Services has known this for some twenty years and its expertise in supporting businesses is unquestionable. The Orange subsidiary has been involved in more than 6,000 projects and its key account managers keep repeating that "setting up a fleet management project is not a long quiet river".
The connected "little box" raises a lot of questions from drivers, who still too often see it as a means of monitoring. It is consequently mandatory to point out that it is non-intrusive, i.e., as required by law, it respects privacy even when the company chooses a system with geolocation. Moreover, this system can be deactivated on previously defined time slots and an option in the Ocean system gives the opportunity to activate a "Privacy" button. What matters first and foremost is to explain how the information is used, for what purpose and by whom.
Transparency is a fundamental virtue of the social acceptance of on-board telematics, and its positive aspects for the company must be emphasized: better control of TCO - which is not without consequences for the company's overall results -, progress on claims issues, a guarantee of improved customer service quality, compliance with CSR commitments, etc.