Top 3 Misconceptions About Telematics

According to business and consumer data provider Statista, the global vehicle telematics market is expected to grow to about $103 billion by 2022. A growing number of fleets are recognizing the need to tap into that market now to ensure they remain competitive in an economy—and therefore customers—that will increasingly demand digital maturity.

If you’re still on the fence about whether fleet tracking will benefit your business, it’s time to clear up some misconceptions before you’re too far behind to catch up. If that sounds overly dire, it’s not. Experts predict that organizations failing to keep up with rapidly advancing technology will be forced out of business by forward-thinking competitors. In fact, the MIT Sloan Management Review warns that digital transformation is not a question of if a company should do it but rather how and how soon. Doing nothing could be disastrous, leading to a “slow death of a thousand cuts.” 

Allowing any of the following false ideas about telematics to delay your decision-making could be a big mistake.

Misconception #1: Our fleet is too small to benefit from fleet tracking.
Whether your fleet consists of three vehicles or three hundred vehicles, telematics can help you reduce costs and increase productivity. Though an enterprise organization may use telematics on a larger scale, smaller fleets have the advantage of making the transition more easily and quickly, therefore seeing the benefits much sooner. With fewer decision-makers involved, less people to train and a smaller up-front investment, some of the most common hurdles to implementation can be avoided. 

Small businesses, in particular, are most vulnerable to the events that telematics can help address, even prevent, through monitoring, such as fuel waste, unanticipated maintenance issues and accidents resulting from unsafe driving behaviors. They also stand to benefit most from opportunities for growth afforded by telematics, potentially becoming industry leaders by making the right moves at this critical economic and technological crossroads. 

Operations of every size are likely to be swallowed up by the competition if they refuse to keep up with the times, so there’s no time like the present for a small fleet to make a big change.

Misconception #2: Fleet tracking solutions are too expensive.
Technology is an investment in the future of your fleet. Deciding against making this investment can be costly when you consider what it will take to succeed in an increasingly connected and technological world. 

To the contrary, the potential for savings associated with telematics is well worth the up-front costs. Consider the value of the ability to know where fuel is being wasted, prevent an unexpected maintenance issue, which drivers are contributing to wear and tear on your vehicles with harsh braking and acceleration and how to identify and reallocate underutilized vehicles. 

Telematics solutions give you a priceless window into every nuance of your fleet operation and how to run it more efficiently. The right provider can work with you to find a scalable solution that will fit your current budget constraints and expand as your business and unique needs grow.

Misconception #3: Legacy systems will stand the test of time.
We may not like it, but change is inevitable. What worked before—and even what works right now—may not work in the future. A digital transformation is happening across all industries, and you can either resist it and get left behind or embrace it and emerge as an industry leader. 
Deloitte Insights reports that many legacy systems can’t integrate with the connected components of newer solutions, making it imperative for organizations to have a strategy for modernizing methods of conducting business. For fleets, telematics provides that solution, addressing immediate challenges while providing a foundation for weathering future disruption.

It’s true that telematics will overhaul the way you do business. This may seem intimidating at first, but digital transformation opens the door to exciting opportunities for expansion. Follow the lead of early adopters and discover how telematics can help your fleet experience growth, a positive ROI and a strategy for success as technological innovations continue to revolutionize the industry.