Transport, logistics, service and asset-heavy businesses are under more and more pressure to operate with clarity.
Supply chains are quicker, customers expect to know more about when deliveries will arrive, and any disruption to how something was “planned” to happen has an even greater financial cost. To compete, businesses are exploring best-fit solutions to help them have greater visibility over how their vehicles, assets, and day-to-day operations happen.
As more sophisticated digital platforms develop, systems like operational mobility solutions (fuel cards, telematics, leasing, telecoms services, tracking apps, etc.) are increasingly becoming table stakes for organisations looking to stay as efficient and reliable as possible. Having a better understanding of where elements like asset tracking come to play a critical role in providing the right level of structure and visibility is essential.
The New Expectations for Transport and Operations More Generally
Transport businesses, mobile workforce firms or any operation that involves a lot of assets have to do two things: be faster to respond when something’s not where it’s meant to be, and they need to increase their productivity by becoming more reliable in the way they operate.
For operations today, that means a greater awareness of areas around:
- How and where assets are being used
- When vehicles need to be taken off the road
- What areas are causing delays
- How different locations work together
- Where money is being spent — and it doesn’t have to be there
How Telematics Can Help You Make Better, More Decisive Decisions
Telematics has really grown in its ability to help businesses understand what’s happening in and around their fleet or mobile workforce operations. Like https://www.radius.com/en-us/, telematics is able to surface real-time data that allows for spotting patterns that you otherwise wouldn’t have seen from just trying to look at it manually.
Telematics tools help businesses to develop a stronger awareness of:
- Working against fuel-guzzling habits out on the road
- Fuel consumption that doesn’t have to happen
- Making better use of the ton of data now available at your disposal for planning
- DP your assets based on how they’re actually performing
- Putting figures in place where “blanks are expected to “blank”
And all-in-all, the more of this information gets integrated into systems and programs your business uses already (like fuel card programs, EV charger options, vehicle leasing providers or telecoms choices that are now available through various platforms), the more impressive the bigger picture other businesses develop into how your operation really works. Instead of trying to get on with managing multiple things in silos, you pull them together and make better decisions for them. Properly, in front of you, lead them.
How Asset Tracking Makes Your Operations Fulfill More Needs
In addition to vehicle details, organisations are also turning to asset tracking so that they have clear visibility on where tools, equipment, and transferable assets are located from one day to the next. It removes some of the complexity of daily logistics and minimises the chance that something could go missing, be double-used or lead to unexpected downtime.
It helps businesses to:
- Uncover underutilised tools and equipment
- Remove unnecessary replacements
- Identify regular patterns of operation at different locations
- Improve resource allocation
- Make faster decisions during peak periods
This wider visibility is most valuable for businesses that need to manage multiple locations, changing inventory counts or equipment that is expensive, needs to be returned and cannot be easily replaced. Telematics and tracking in combination provide the richest source of information to plan for operation.
Informing Planning With Trusted Information
In addition to internal data, many organisations look to third-party resources and operational information to help inform their decision-making. Sites like the Bureau of Transportation Statistics provide forms of data such as information on transportation trends, safety reports, freight movement and general operational behaviour.
Organisations use these insights to measure their own metrics against the market and to spot areas where behaviour has changed or customer expectations are evolving, and use that to guide operational planning.
A More Unified Approach to Operational Performance
As businesses start to rely increasingly on new technologies, they need to leverage tools that amplify their capabilities and that do not create new issues. By leveraging technologies that are integrated and that work seamlessly — between telematics, communications tools, timestamps, tracking, fleet and mobility — businesses can cut down on the chances of operational error and introduce a more accurate system of operations.
By working with an integrated capability, like the combined approach that Radius offers organisations, businesses can prepare and plan for a more trustworthy system that will serve them reliably in the long term.
