Not exactly a great Shakespearean quote, by virtue of it being definitely better to track than not, but we’ll let CarTrack explain why.
According to Johan de Wet, general manager of CarTrack, vehicle tracking as part of fleet management is a simple and smart investment, likened to buying anti-virus software for your computer.
“At one time,” he explains, “you bought a computer that you used it a little bit. Then someone came to you and said you should buy anti-virus software. But because you only used the computer a little bit, the return on investment wasn’t there. There was no need for it that you could see, and anti-virus software systems just couldn’t recoup the investment.
“Today, anti-virus software is practically built-in to every computer and if your business systems aren’t running anti-virus protection, check your head for rocks inside it.
“It’s the same thing with vehicle tracking and GPS. Back in the day, it was a perceived as something too expensive to contemplate: $800 or so for the GPS unit then another $40-$50 per month for the monitoring. The return on investment equation, was not as startlingly one-sided in favour of tracking, because of this relatively high outlay.”
Today however, the cost of the GPS units is right down, as is the cost of the monitoring, while the penalty for inefficiencies are much higher.
But that’s not the only progress that’s been made: installation is now faster, the roll out a lot smoother and the objections for not having GPS tracking systems on your vehicles or plant are considerably reduced.
Which is all good advice, but even Johan admits you still have to be careful as to who you appoint as your GPS partner.
As with anything involving a business and its fleet, you need to do due diligence as there are still those out there supplying less than quality equipment.
The real cost of a bad choice of tracking provider, is not just the wasted investment of time and energy, it is the lost opportunity of benefiting from this essential tool.
So what do you look for in a GPS partner? Happily, there are a number of key indicators.
Stability first and foremost, how long has the company been doing what it does?
In the case of CarTrack New Zealand, that would be four years, but internationally, CarTrack has been in the business of GPS tracking for 20 years, pretty much about the time GPS tracking first came on stream.
Secondly, look at the number of customers your GPS partner has on the books. Why?
Customer numbers are an obvious indicator that the business has credibility. Also, tracking companies use the data from their customers to constantly update and improve their product offering.
Thus, the more customers there are, the better the quality of the end product.
In New Zealand CarTrack’s footprint is reasonably humble with 5000 vehicles on their system and 600 clients.
Globally, CarTrack has over a million customers in 24 countries, which means the company here has a great deal of GPS tracking experience to draw from, in addition to its own native experience in this market.
Johan believes now is the best time for fleet managers to revisit the idea of fleet tracking.
“There is a great deal of change happening in the fleet world today, and if your fleet is not using all the tools available, then it’s not being an effective fleet,” explains Johan.
So, what has changed? As far as CarTrack is concerned, while the mechanicals of GPS systems have improved in terms of what the devices are capable of doing, that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Still it is worth mentioning that the physical size of the unit is considerably smaller than it has been.
CarTrack also has access to an integrated GPS tracking system with monitoring camera system which keeps an eye on the outside world in relation to the picture GPS can paint.
All CarTrack devices carry a life of the device guarantee and can be installed by CarTrack’s installers in two hours per vehicle, on-site at the client’s location and convenience.
The monthly service charge is $20, which buys a full suite of fully customisable historical reports and live alerts as well as reminders for WoFs, CoFs and Road User charges.
“GPS tracking is a tool,” says Johan, “which will make a fleet manager’s life easier in terms of reporting, efficiencies and compliance with health and safety, and will in many cases lead to improved behaviour by mere virtue of its presence.”
