Capital Equipment News July 2017

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FLEET MANAGEMENT
CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS JULY 2017 12
As capital equipment-driven businesses
fight to reduce operational costs and
maximise efficiencies, fleet manage-
ment solutions can provide significant cost
savings and operational efficiencies. The
benefits of a fleet management solution are
many and might vary upon the nature and
area of expertise from company to company,
but there are generally some major pros that
occur when the technology is adopted. These
include lower fuel costs; improved route
planning; increased employee productivity;
improved cost control; and important data
collection, among others.
While these benefits are clearly defined,
there are still some issues around
fleet management solutions, which are
hindering uptake of this technology. At the
heart of this is that fleet managers don’t
realise that this technology, and the big
data that can be derived from it, is more
than just a device that spits out a whole lot
of information. It’s an end-to-end solution –
implemented in close collaboration with the
service provider – that makes continuous
improvement possible. The main challenges
for local fleet managers as far as fleet
management solutions are concerned are
costs and management of data, as it is
important for fleet managers to get the
right data out of the system that is relevant
to their business.
However, the logistics industry seems
to be one fleet-driven sector leading the
adoption of fleet management and tracking
solutions with little concerns. With the
Internet of Things (IoT) seemingly taking
over and the number of connected devices
increasing (research predicts over 46 billion
devices will be connected to the internet in
2021), service delivery in many industries
has improved significantly as fleet
management and tracking has become a
lot easier and much more interactive than
in the past, according to Adam Orlin, head
of Investec Import Solutions.
Orlin says the use of IoT connected
devices can help manage risks that the
transport and logistics industry are faced
COMPREHENDING FLEET
MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
Every mile logged in a company truck goes against the company’s bottom line
in the form of fuel expenses, tyre wear and eventual maintenance costs, to
mention a few. While the benefits of acquiring a fleet management solution are
well documented and some industries have gone further down this route, there
are still some concerns around this technology, writes Munesu Shoko.