Fleet management software: what are its uses and how can it improve fleet operations

Fleet management software: how do you use yours and what developments would help improve your operations?  

The main point of pain aired by a debate on the question at the recent Fleet200 Strategy Network meeting is the consolidation of data combined with systems integrations, plus

• Cost of integration is sometimes prohibitive within systems
• For compliance, multiple systems may need to be used to get the required data resulting in manual manipulation and being very time consuming.
• When using an outsourced provider of a particular service within fleet, getting data into the system is particularly troublesome.  Some of these providers are paper based, even those that use a system, the issue is data aggregation and conformity to allow any kind of integration or import.
• Data entry is further exacerbated where different systems give different answers to the same question.  Odometer readings are a good example where telematics could give 1 reading, the entry made at the fuel pump a different value and the actual vehicle odometer giving a third.
• Any free-form fields are particularly troublesome when it comes to data reporting.  Uniform data (such as Haynes Pro data and vehicle reg lookup) is required, along with limiting the options through radio buttons or drop down selection. 
• Limiting the number of touchpoints for end users would also help greatly with data integrity and entry
• The system must give operational and process efficiencies which isn’t always the case.
• Software and processes need to be implemented across the fleet – some vehicles with telematics, some without, some automated driver checks in place, others not causes a headache to the fleet manager trying to bring everything together.