Tracker is urging fleet managers to focus on the relevance of telematics data rather than being 'seduced by the volume of data'.

The company, which is part of the Tantalum Corporation, said that the emphasis should be on usability and that telematics must provide insight that can be evidenced to support a business and its operational needs.

David Wilson, chief operating officer for Tracker, said: “From talking to all of our fleet customers, both large and small, we have found that there has been a desire to move away from the ‘bells and whistles’ telematic solutions to those that deliver meaningful and therefore, usable, data.” 

Tracker believes that fleet operators need to be selective about the amount and type of fleet telematics data their company needs – and have the resources in place to interpret it to give it meaning.

By implementing the right solution from the outset, businesses can benefit from immediately usable data.

Wilson said: “Our partnership with Express Parcel Services is a prime example of how fleets need to work more closely with their telematics provider to get relevant information that is going to benefit them.”

Tracker’s partnership with Express Parcel Services (EPS) spans more than 20 years. It has a fleet of more than 150 vehicles and trailers, ranging from vans to 44 tonne tractor units and every vehicle or tractor unit is fitted with either a Tracker Stolen Vehicle Recovery (SVR) or a Tracker Fleet unit.

Over the past eight years the business has been victim to seven van thefts, all of which were recovered by Tracker, saving the business more than £175,000 as well as the value of the stock that was also saved. Furthermore, one of the director’s Range Rover Sports was stolen and successfully recovered, resulting in a saving of around £80,000

In more recent years, EPS has increasingly utilised the telematics data available to the business through Tracker Fleet.  This has helped it gain an understanding of its fleet efficiencies and cost implications, which in turn has improved business practices and boosted its bottom line.

Jamie Carr, fleet risk manager at EPS said: “Although we have worked with Tracker for over 20 years, it’s only in the last year or so that we have fully recognised the value of the fleet management data available to us.  

"In particular, we have looked much more closely at driver performance data.  Indeed, this has become a crucial tool for our managers when analysing their fleet’s efficiency and ways to improve it.

"We are also now looking at geo-measuring and fuel integration information, to see where we can cut any further unnecessary costs.  By putting all the data sets together and analysing a complete picture we’ve been able to tackle some of the issues that all fleets face, such as fuel efficiency. By working more closely with Tracker we have implemented a truly effective telematics solution that doesn’t require hours of deciphering large amounts of data."

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