Improve Your Customer Service, Understand Your Delivery Patterns And Use Geo-Fencing

Improve your customer service, understand your delivery patterns and use geo-fencing.

As telematics systems improve this can have a knock on effect to your business and the customer experience you deliver. One feature that we have promoted to our customers that have contact with regular clients (Vending, Security, Homecare sectors etc) or have a delivery arm is that of ring-fencing off each customer/client. Imagine that you are delivering goods that don’t need to be signed for on a daily basis, how do you know that your vehicle went to that address and actually carried out their duties?

Through our Points of Interest (POI) or geo-fencing feature we have the ability to ring-fence off every single address that your vehicle will visit, meaning that when your delivery driver visits POI’s you will receive a location stamp detailing date and time of vehicle entry and exit.

Our system allows up to 10,000 POI’s to be uploaded at one time and these can be imported via our support team at Business Vehicle Tracking giving you improved customer service and the historical data to help you resolve customer disputes and queries.

A number of our customers have used this feature to streamline their delivery routes, they realised that each vehicle could carry out more drops than they originally thought due to drivers finishing early or taking unnecessary breaks during the night. The company looked at how they could reduce the vehicles on the road and increase each delivery route and via the reports from the telematics system they were able to take 25% of their fleet off the road, meaning fuel bills were reduced as well as staffing hours saving them £150,000 in the first year of having a vehicle tracking system installed.

Another way in which we can use the POI or geo-fencing feature is to ensure that vehicles do not leave locations, we operate our telematics system on a number of the UK seaports and all their vehicles are not allowed to leave site unless authorised so you can see that this type of feature can help many different types of companies. We also have set this up for a Gritter company, they wanted all customers they spread salt for ring-fenced off so they could prove that the vehicles entered and exited their premises each night they were required.

For more information on how we can improve your business call us on 08444 120560 or visit www.businessvehicletracking.co.uk

Stay Safe This Winter: Tips For Driving In Wintery Conditions

Brrrr! winter has certainly arrived, and to help you stay safe on the roads, we’ve put together our Top tips for driving in wintery conditions.

Before working at Business Vehicle Tracking, I spent my winters working in a number of ski resorts across Europe, driving customers to and from the airport and quickly learnt that driving in the snow in the UK is nothing compared to driving in the mountains of Switzerland or France. 5cm of snow in the UK brings us to a halt, 1 foot of snow overnight in the Alps and its business as usual! You get in your vehicle drive to the airport and come back. The journey may be twice as long, however no gridlock, no sleeping in your vehicle overnight and far fewer weather related accidents, especially when compared to the UK.

European roads and vehicles are far more prepared for the winter and the infrastructure they have in place for main roads and airports puts the UK to shame. I witnessed 4 gritter lorries on one road, two pushing the snow off the road and the other 2 spreading huge amounts of salt and apparently, this is standard practice. There are however, things that you can do in the UK that can potentially save lives and avoid accidents. Just completing simple checks before setting off could save many lives and avoid unnecessary pile-ups on the roads:

• Make sure your vehicle is clear of snow – How often do you see vehicles driving with several inches of snow on the roof? The windscreen’s clear so everything is ok, right? No! If you have to heavy brake the snow on the roof could slide down onto your windscreen blocking your view and making it extremely dangerous. The weight could stop windscreen wipers working and if you are travelling at high speeds this could be potentially life threatening. Make sure all snow has been cleared.
• Winter-proof your windscreen - With all the salt and dirt on the road, you get through so much screen wash when out on the roads, so take extra care to ensure they are working and that you have plenty of anti-freeze de-icer fluid. It’s always sensible to keep spare reserves in the car too. Once during an airport run in Switzerland, I didn’t check before the journey and, of course, ran out. My windscreen was so filthy I had to stop, get out of the car and rub snow on the windscreen to clear it until we came to a garage. I can assure you, my passengers weren’t too pleased about stopping every few miles!
• Think about where you park overnight - If you know it’s going to drop below 0° overnight think about where you are going to park your vehicle. If you can put it under shelter then do so as this will save you having to de-ice your vehicle. Also avoid having to reverse out of tight spots. When you park up at night in winter, you should always ensure your first trip in the morning is an easy getaway.
• Make sure your tyre pressures are correct - Lack of grip can cause you to skid on the winter roads and you want to be confident that if you need to heavy brake, your car will respond as expected. You could even invest in a Tyre Pressure monitor, like this one from Maplin to ensure you’re always meeting regulations http://www.maplin.co.uk/wireless-tyre-pressure-monitoring-system-390208.
• Keep your vehicle in a high gear - If you drive in a low gear (i.e 1 or 2) you will cause the vehicle to wheel spin when pushing your foot down. Use 3 or 4 and crawl around dangerous roads and up hills. You will be surprised how much easier it is to get around.
• Make sure you can see through your misty windscreen – It is common sense all year round to make sure you have optimum visibility whilst driving, but it is especially important during the winter months. Low light levels and difficult conditions make even a short journey with a partially obstructed view, treacherous. Using the air-con will clear your windscreen much quicker than a normal heater.
• React properly when skidding - If you find yourself skidding on ice and you don’t have and an ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) in your vehicle, take your foot off the brake. It seems a silly thing to say however if you keep your foot on the brake you will continue to slide & your wheels will fail to turn. Take your foot off and try and gain control of your car. Once this has been achieved, pump your brakes until you come to a standstill.

I hope the above will help you all out on the road this winter, drive carefully and stay safe!

5 Ways To Cut Costs On Your Fleet Insurance

5 Ways to cut costs on your Fleet Insurance

1. Driver Training – Insurance companies can offer driver training and will take into consideration defensive driver training if undertaken.

2. Telematics System – More insurance companies are taking into consideration that you have vehicle tracking units installed within your fleet, always notify insurance companies and tell them that you have trained your drivers on what you will be monitoring to improve their driver behaviour.

3. Keep a close eye on your young drivers – Drivers under the age of 20 are two times more likely to put in a claim, therefore manage young drivers closely, their claims are normally 3 times more than other drivers therefore good training of young drivers on speed and road attention is vital.

4. Provide adequate vehicle security – Vehicle security can be improved through immobilisation systems, alerting the owners when vehicles are moved without authorisation, all these can be added through a telematics system.

5. Renew policies in good time – always allow yourself to research the market so you don’t just jump at the first quote you receive, sometimes they may sound good but look at the excess, windscreen and legal cover.

The majority of the above points can be monitored or improved through using a telematics system, whilst you may be paying around £20 a month to monitor a vehicle, the Return on Investment that you can get will out-way all the unnecessary claims that you may face each year!

For more info contact us via www.businessvehicletracking.co.uk

BVT Update

Business Vehicle Tracking are proud to announce the release of their new website www.businessvehicletracking.co.uk, in moving with the expansion of the business and recent move of premises we thought that the website would like to have a much needed makeover.

With our new report and features section you can now view all the data that you could potentially receive through one of our vehicle tracking systems, along with all the add-ons that you can get to tailor make your tracking product to suit your requirements.

Why not take the time to have a nose through and let us know what you think!