Fleet management technology is an important tool for ameliorating costs, which have risen with inflation, according to a survey of U.S. respondents conducted for Verizon Connect by Bobit Business Media.
The “2024 Fleet Technology Trends Report,” based on a survey of 2,500 people, found that 80 percent of respondents use at least one form of fleet technology. These technologies are helping organizations contain costs, as well as tackle other challenges.
The No. 1 challenge faced by organizations that operate fleets in the survey was increasing costs, cited by 79 percent of respondents. They face other tough issues, as well, including driver shortage/lack of quality workers (53 percent) and meeting customer demand (52 percent).
To help them tackle these and other challenges, survey respondents are using technologies such as GPS tracking, used by 70 percent of fleets; field service/workforce management (scheduling, dispatch, communication), used by 50 percent; asset/trailer/equipment tracking, used by 32 percent; and in-cab video (including front-facing and driver-facing cameras), used by at least 31 percent.
Those using fleet technology achieved savings. For instance, 77 percent of respondents using video technology were able to protect themselves from false claims, 48 percent achieved reduced accident costs, and 44 percent saw reduced insurance costs. Organizations using GPS fleet tracking solutions were able to cut fuel costs by 10 percent on average, accident costs by 17 percent, and labor costs by 11 percent.
Additionally, GPS fleet tracking improves productivity, noted by 55 percent of respondents, up five percentage points from last year’s survey.
Asset tracking usage is steadily growing, increasing from 23 percent of survey respondents in the 2022 report to 32 percent in this report. Sixty-five percent of respondents who currently use an asset tracking solution find it extremely or very beneficial.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are part of fleet management’s future. The report found that 22 percent of survey respondents have EVs in their fleet, but three-fourths of those respondents indicated that EVs make up less than 5 percent of their fleet.
Verizon has long had an interest in fleet management solutions. In 2016, the carrier entered into an agreement to acquire Fleetmatics. The acquired company was put into Verizon’s Media and Telematics Group.
