Fleet Management Software 101

Fleet Management Software Systems

Fleet management software systems work hand-in-hand with GPS units to provide an integrated approach to vehicle tracking and fleet management. Fleet management software typically is comprised of the following elements:

1. Vehicle GPS Unit
All modern fleet management software systems come with a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) unit for each vehicle that allows the vehicle location to be tracked.

2. Vehicle History Logger
Vehicle travel history is recorded in a hardware "black box" unit in each fleet vehicle. Information is transferred from the vehicle to a central server computer over a wireless connection. Typically the information is collected every 5 minutes, but this can vary from fleet management software vendors. Vehicle information collected includes speeds, accelerations, decelerations, turns, etc.

3. Fleet Mapping Module
These show geographical regions and vary in detail and cost. Map providers can supply maps that are very up-to-date for regions that are growing. You should inquire how often the maps are updated and whether they are included in the initial software cost or if you pay for them as updates are available.

4. Fleet Reporting Module
Reporting is a critical function. At a minimum, you want fleet management software to be able to produce the following reports:

:: Start-Stop Report: These show daily vehicle activity, including driving times, max speed, moving times, stopped times, locations where stopped, and miles travelled.

:: Detailed Route History Report: Shows the route segments that each vehicle took correlated against a map.

:: Begin-End Day Report: Shows the beginning and end driving times per day along with the number of miles travelled that day.

:: Maintenance Report: Prints a preventative maintenance record for each vehicle based on odometer readings and estimated time to next vehicle service date.

:: Alerts Report: Shows the number of times the speed limit has been exceeded, if the vehicle has been stopped for longer than a predefined amount of time during the day, or if the vehicle has strayed off route or entered into a region that is considered off-limits. Some fleet management software systems will email you in real-time each time an alert is triggered.

5. Fleet Administration Module Fleet management software systems can handle anywhere from a few vehicles to many hundreds of vehicles. Enterprise-level fleet management software can allow you to segragate vehicles according to function (commercial, residential, service), geographic region, and user level.