Thursday, 2 June 2011

Improved Profitability With Truck Tracking Systems


Running a transport business with a fleet of trucks needs constant monitoring with an online truck tracking system in order to ensure that operational and maintenance costs are kept under control. Since this business involves extensive capital investments and high operational and maintenance costs, any laxity on the part of the owner can result in reduced profitability and even considerable loss.

If the business involves a large number of trucks, it might be difficult for the owner to monitor their movements and control the operations. The best way to manage this business is to contact an online agency and obtain a truck tracking system in order to optimize operating and maintenance costs and protect the capital investments.

What is a Truck Tracking System?

A truck tracking system is a combination of a number of elements. The main component of the system is a GPS satellite system that orbits the earth and provides essential location information to a small GPS receiver that has an integrated RF cellular modem. The location data is constantly being transmitted by this device to servers that assimilate and present the data to the owner. The communication uplinks used to be available with the help of satellites, but the latest technology uses the GPRS data system on the main GSM networks, which are extensively used throughout the USA. The truck tracking system is inexpensive to use because it uses a highly competitive terrestrial wireless network.

How a Truck Tracking System Helps

Besides protecting the capital investment, a truck tracking system helps to save on maintenance and operational costs. This system gives information about the location of the truck at all times and as such, it is possible to keep track of its movement at any point of time. By being aware of the location, the dispatcher can manage the deliveries in a much better way. Moreover, if the truck is stolen, it will be very easy to locate and recover it. If the truck makes any unauthorized stops, it will be very easy to identify and manage the same.

Apart from the above advantages, truck tracking systems afford the ability to monitor idle time to reduce operational costs. Any idle time over 5 minutes can be identified easily and necessary action can be taken to control such a situation in the future. Moreover, the system can be very helpful in monitoring the vehicle speed so the driver can be advised to reduce his speed and thus save on fuel cost. The maintenance manager can also keep track of the mileage being driven by each driver. With the virtual odometer of this system, the GPS coordinates can be monitored all the time and the distance traveled from one point to the other can also be monitored. The device records the change when any distance threshold is met and all subsequent changes are also recorded in the virtual odometer.

By checking the total odometer reading, which is fed into the truck tracking system periodically, the manager can note the distance covered during a certain period of time. He can then decide about oil changes, fuel efficiency parameters and monitor fuel thefts, if any.

Truck tracking system helps in minimizing losses and by routing the drivers more efficiently, maximizing more service calls of each vehicle every day and reducing fuel costs and downtime of the vehicles. The greater the monitoring with this system, the greater will be the customer satisfaction and profitability of the business.


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