Top Strategies for Maximizing Your Telematics ROI

You're not alone if your company uses a telematics system and suspects it's not getting the best Return on Investment (ROI). Even though these systems have become industry standards, only a small percentage of business users have mastered their use to make better strategic business decisions. Worse, they may rely on multiple disparate (and frequently siloed) systems while still needing more essential features to make operational improvements.

Fortunately, advanced technologies that use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are opening up new avenues for benefiting from telematics technology. This article will discuss the most recent telematics trends and challenges. We will also include specific steps for measuring ROI from your telematics system before explaining how AI technology can supplement its features and help businesses maximize their telematics ROI.

What Are the Benefits of Telematics?

Over the last decade, telematics systems have grown in popularity worldwide. Their ability to track and monitor company assets, employees, vehicle status, location, and other important factors has provided businesses with increased visibility and control over their assets and mobile workforces.

Telematics systems offer several advantages, including increased driver safety and compliance, improved customer service, and lower operational costs. However, benefits vary depending on available system features and a user's ability to navigate and manage multiple systems, respond in real-time, review large volumes of telematics data, and find new ways to incorporate large amounts of data back into daily operations to maximize their telematics ROI. 

What Is the Future of Telematics?

Telematics technology, specifically systems incorporating GPS and dashcam technology, can provide obvious benefits for businesses transitioning from manual recording and monitoring processes. However, these systems are notorious for producing massive amounts of data and relying solely on human analysis, oversight, and prioritization.

The future of telematics data is redefining how businesses analyze and use big data. However, relying solely on human data analysis is error-prone, time-consuming, and frequently overwhelms operational staff. Systems that can analyze data, generate actionable insights, and act on those insights will easily outperform traditional telematics data and reporting.

Technologies incorporating artificial intelligence, machine learning technology, automation, and prioritization like Tourmo AI, are making extracting insights from large volumes of telematics data and various systems more accessible and faster. This efficient AI-powered technology produces predictive insights and incorporates them into operations to immediately maximize telematics’ ROI.

Overcoming Challenges of Telematics Systems

If you're looking for a more efficient and cost-effective way to make operational changes, or if your current telematics solutions aren't delivering the benefits you expected before signing on, you should consider whether functionality gaps in your software and hardware, or the use of siloed systems are preventing you from making critical operational changes.

Optimizing the use of your current fleet management solutions or introducing new features to supplement your current solutions may be key to significant improvements. 

A few features that can dramatically improve ROI include:

• Automated reporting and alerting
• A system capable of consolidating data from multiple sources
• Systematically generated prioritization items to do “today”
• Positive recognition programs for high performers
• Automated workflows and progress updates
• AI and machine learning
• Video camera capabilities, such as livestream video
• Driver notifications and gamification

How to Maximize Your Telematics ROI

We've listed the best ways to get the most out of your telematics investment by monitoring and recording KPI’s over time. Setting ROI goals and tracking gains and losses will be necessary first to see what progress has been made and tweak your program as needed.

Focus on specific and prioritized areas of improvement when determining your ROI goals, such as safety, fuel and operating costs, and customer service levels and identify applicable KPI’s to each ROI goal. Then, when you monitor KPIs over a few weeks or months, you can identify areas for improvement and optimize your strategy to maximize your telematics ROI.

Before implementing a telematics system, it is critical to first document your fleet's current operation and select specific metrics to guide your analysis. This will establish a baseline and allow you to compare how your fleet performs to where you started.

Valuable metrics for tracking the success of your telematics system are listed below for your consideration.

Improved Safety

Safety should always be prioritized because it reduces accidents, lowers insurance premiums, and is a social responsibility of all fleet operators.  Also, prioritization and automated reporting eliminates manual tracking and monitoring processes.

Monitoring safety metrics can assist you in identifying new ways to reduce safety incidents and make your telematics system and data work for you.

Key safety metrics to track include:

• Normalized Accident Rates 
• Downtime
• Accident-related repair, replacement, and legal fees
• Speeding, hard cornering events, and swerving
• Rapid Acceleration and harsh braking
• Average MPG per vehicle (as an indicator of aggressive driving)
• Seatbelt usage
• Costs of insurance coverage

Reduced Fuel Spending

Telematics systems are an efficient way for businesses to reduce their fuel costs. But unfortunately, even when equipped with these systems, many businesses need help to reduce or eliminate fuel theft, improve fuel efficiency, and create a workable fuel efficiency program.

Monitoring driver behavior, like speeding, aggressive driving, and idling events, can help eliminate unnecessary fuel spending. Further, tracking fuel spending per vehicle and miles per gallon can be a helpful way to maximize your telematics ROI. 

Key fuel cost metrics to track include:

• Monthly, quarterly, and yearly fuel costs
• Vehicle Idle times
• Fuel spend per vehicle
• MPG per driver and/or vehicle

Improved Service

When innovative trends continue to disrupt the market across industries, meeting and exceeding customer expectations should be a top priority, as emphasized by trailblazing companies like Amazon and Uber. In fact, service and communications have been identified as key areas for improvement in recent years.

Telematics technology can help companies improve customer experience by increasing visibility and transparency throughout the delivery process.

Key service metrics to track include:

• On-time Performance
• Planned vs Actual route adherence
• Levels of customer satisfaction surveys and trends

Lower Operating Costs

With rising inflation and fuel prices, more businesses are concerned about cutting operating expenses this year. Telematics technology can assist a company in lowering operational costs and increasing its ability to operate more efficiently over time.

If you want to maximize your telematics ROI in terms of lower operating costs, keep an eye on the key metrics listed below:

• Total ownership cost
• Service fines or liquidated damages
• Fleet utilization
• Costs of Re-routing Activities
• Maintenance per vehicle (preventative and non-preventative)
• Breakdown-related repair costs
• Vehicle downtime cost per hour/day

Tourmo AI-Powered Video Operations Solution

Dashcams are used in the best telematics systems on the market to increase visibility and provide comprehensive telematics data. These systems can improve driver coaching while reducing risky driving behavior and accidents. In fact, by implementing a video telematics system, a fleet could see a 50% to 80% reduction in collision costs and up to 15% reduction in fueling costs.

Unfortunately, many businesses struggle to collect, analyze, and monitor telematics safety data and delivery events even with these high-priced systems. If you have a telematics and dashcam system and need help collecting and verifying key safety and delivery events, or you’re struggling to make the most out of large amounts of data from disparate and siloed systems, Tourmo AI can help. 

Tourmo’s AI-powered Video Operations solution can enhance your current fleet management software with AI and machine learning technologies combined with automatic response to help you capture relevant events and take the necessary action in real-time.

We understand that camera systems can be costly when hardware, installation, and vehicle downtime are considered. Rather than replacing them, we can work with your existing cameras to expand their capabilities, allowing you to get the most out of your investment with features such as:

• Accuracy-boosting data reprocessing
• AI-powered false positive reduction
• Contextualized event evaluation
• Accurate camera health analysis
• Partner service verification portal

Partner With Tourmo — Maximize Your Telematics ROI

Once you've identified and tracked key metrics over time, you'll be able to determine whether you've taken the necessary corrective action and maximized your telematics ROI. You'll be able to push progress even further once you've identified key areas of improvement. You will also be able to determine if your telematics system is underperforming and understand exactly why.

Demonstrating the value of a telematics system will help guide your overall strategic efforts and determine whether you spent your money wisely. Tracking the performance of these systems is essential for determining where their inefficiencies and limitations exist, as well as developing best practices to overcome problems as they arise.

If you’re having trouble achieving the savings and competitive edge you envisioned before implementing your fleet management solutions, Tourmo can help.