Do you want your business to be more productive? Do you want your customers to be more satisfied with your service? If you do, then your last mile delivery optimization software has to include GPS tracking.
According to the leading research firm Aberdeen Group, GPS fleet management solutions lead to fuel savings of $1,055 per vehicle per year, and they improve work order completion by 27-42%.
But there are many options for GPS tracking out there… how can you be sure that you pick the best one?
Here are seven tips that will help you decide:
#1 Route Optimization
GPS tracking is a great tool for staying organized, but all your route planning efforts be in vain if your routes are not well-optimized.
When you only have one or two stops to make, you can just pull up Google Maps and figure out the fastest way to reach your customers. But as your business grows and you have dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of stops to make, you’re not going to be able to figure out the fastest way on your own. Google Maps just sorts routes in the same order that you put your destinations in. It won’t help you figure out which order would save you the most time.
That’s where last mile delivery optimization software like Route4Me comes in. No matter how complex your route is, our software will take all your destinations and give you the most efficient way to visit all your customers. The best part: it’s able to produce these 100% optimized routes in 30 seconds or less.
Want To See For Yourself How Route4Me Can Boost Your Profits?
Read the following article to learn more about the benefits of final mile delivery optimization software:
8 Ways You Can Benefit from a Vehicle Route Planning Software
#2 Analytics
You should analyze your fleet’s movements regularly to identify areas in which you could improve.
A GPS fleet management solution makes it easier to identify these areas, as it allows you to sort through different metrics and timeframes and generate custom vehicle statistics.
Such statistics will help you see key performance data, which often reveals inefficiencies. Knowledge truly is power.
#3 Web-Based Trackers
The world is going mobile, and so too are your customers. They expect fast service with zero hassles. Investing in a web-based GPS tracking platform will allow your customers to see where their package is at all times. That’s what they want; that keeps them happy.
#4 Geofencing Alerts
You don’t have time to just sit in front of your computer all day to make sure your drivers are getting to where they to go.
With geofencing alerts, you can go about your day and get alerts sent to you whenever a drivers enters and leaves a pre-defined area. Geofencing zones can be used to confirm that drivers made it to your customers on time, and they can also be used for unauthorized areas you want your drivers to avoid (such as a street that is often blocked by construction). It’s a convenient way to keep track of your team.
#5 Custom Reporting
If you want to really improve your delivery operations, you should look beyond basic reporting capabilities. An ideal GPS tracking solution would also allow you to create fully customizable reports with metrics such as fuel consumption, distance traveled, fleet idle time, service mileage, and routing details. The tracker should also give you the ability to generate reports on demand or automate them on a periodical basis.
#6 Access Restriction
A high-quality GPS tracking solution comes with an access restriction feature that you can use to set permissions for specific users. This way, only selected users can view certain details on certain routes, so you can avoid information overload and ensure stronger data security.
This’ll help you delegate responsibility. For example, the fleet manager can assign drivers to one fleet team, set one driver as the leader, and give the leader permissions. The manager can also be the only one who has access to vehicle data analytics, such as daily fuel consumption, the number of cars which need maintenance, total odometer readings, and idling time. It’s important to keep this information under wraps as much as possible, as you don’t want it slipping into the hands of your competitors.
The ability to set read-only restrictions for some users – rather than only having the choice of blocking someone completely or giving them complete control of the data – is another feature you should look for.
#7 Easy-to-Use Interface
You pay for software to make your life easier – so it’s important for your GPS tracking software to be easy to use. Look for a GPS tracking solution that allows you to zoom in and out of vehicle locations on demand, while using various data segmentations and map views to stay connected to your overall operations. Everything should be available to you on a powerful yet user-friendly interface.
Are there any other GPS tracking software features that are important to you? Let us know in the comments section below.
Want To See For Yourself How Route4Me Can Boost Your Profits?
