What is Geofencing and Why is it Important for Fleet Managers?

What is Geofencing?

Geofencing boasts a wide variety of benefits across many industries. Construction crews, city planners, and warehouse managers are just some of the people who use geofencing on a regular basis to do their jobs.

But what is it exactly? Geofencing is a software feature that allows users to set up a virtual perimeter around a map.

This perimeter could span the area of a worksite, warehouse, or any larger geographical area. Geofencing uses GPS, Wi-Fi, data, or RFIDs to monitor the indicated geozone. Any activity entering or leaving this indicated zone will trigger an alert or notification on the corresponding app. Fleet managers can set up multiple geozones at the same time to accomplish a variety of business goals.

Logifleet Geozone Types:

Benefits of Fleet Geofencing

Fast food restaurants, coffee shops, and even hospitals are just some businesses that may use geofencing to push out advertisements and notices to their subscribers or nearby visitors. But in addition to its marketing applications, geofencing is a major tool in the fleet management industry. Here are just some of the reasons why fleet managers use geofencing technology.

Track Your Vehicles

Project management can be an absolute nightmare if fleet managers don’t know which vehicles and assets are entering and leaving work sites. A lack of visibility could result in delays, miscommunications and it might even increase fuel and wage costs.

GPS telematics and geozones help fleet managers track their vehicles. For example, managers can mark service areas or work sites as individual geozones. They can set up alerts anytime someone enters and exits the area. This helps managers track work progress and driver performance. It also prevents unauthorized trips and better enforces company policies. Geofencing also makes it a breeze to collect equipment hours at construction sites for faster billing!

Improve Customer Service

In the past, if customers wanted to know ETAs, fleet managers would have to call the drivers. This was distracting and potentially dangerous. With geozones, fleet managers can find out at a glance how far away the service vehicle is, and the ETA. The route optimization tool also ensures managers and drivers alike can make last-minute route adjustments (i.e. extra stops, detours). This means companies can better accommodate customer requests and answer their questions faster.

Increase Dispatch Efficiency

Setting up fleet tracking and corresponding geozones improves fleet productivity. Fleet managers can use fleet management software to improve their asset utilization rates. They can assign certain vehicles and drivers to specific zones to minimize travel time and downtime. This also means no more heavy equipment languishing in storage. No more unnecessary vehicle rentals. And fewer headaches too! Fleet assignments and dispatch will become a breeze.

Comply with Carbon Emission Reduction

Many companies are focused on sustainable initiatives in 2021. However, it’s difficult to determine the best way to protect the environment. Fortunately, setting up fleet tracking and geozones not only saves you money but makes your fleet greener, too.

The EU’s ambitious new climate law aims to cut carbon emissions by 55% or more by 2030 (Source: BBC). Violations could lead to fines and other penalties for your fleet.

One of the easiest ways to remain compliant is by tracking fuel consumption and idling times. Both can be done with fleet management software like Logifleet. Interested to learn how that works? Read more about how to improve fleet sustainability here.

Prevent Theft

In 2019, there were more than 3500 recorded incidences of cargo theft from trucks. The European Parliament estimated that cargo theft costs European businesses €8.2bn a year (Source: The LoadStar).

Cargo, vehicle, and equipment theft can put a huge dent in your bottom line. Without the right precautions in place, it can be difficult or even impossible to recuperate your losses. One of the top reasons fleet managers use telematics and geofencing is to prevent theft and loss. This handy solution alerts managers about after-hours use and other suspicious activity. This way, fleet managers can respond faster during emergencies. It’s also easier to recover stolen assets with the help of the installed GPS hardware.

Did you know? Geofencing is just one facet of fleet management best practices. To learn more, check out our Ultimate Guide to Fleet Management.

How to Implement Fleet Geofencing

Setting up fleet geofencing is easy and simple. It’s a painless way to improve fleet productivity and reduce costs at the same time. Simply log on to Logifleet’s desktop app and select the geozones tab. From there, you can manually create multiple geozones, each with its own unique labels, descriptions, and even contact information.

You also have the option to import your own Excel files or use an API to link your tracking platform with your ERP route planning tools.

Steps to Integrating Logifleet

Logifleet works together with many of your other software. By integrating your existing software like Baubit Pro, Visual Planning, A3, Abacus, Sorba with Logifleet, you can automate processes and save money, all without any coding! It becomes easier to sync and share important data across multiple departments. The software is updated automatically, so the entire system is “plug-and-play” from day one.

Should you need additional assistance, our team of experts is always happy to help!

Examples of Fleet Geofencing

The following are just some of the common use cases for geofencing.

Track when vehicles reach clients and how often they visit. This can help with proof of delivery and work logs.

Answer questions such as:

• “How much should I charge for this morning's troubleshooting?”
• “How long did the technician stay with my client?”
• “This week (or month, or year), how much time per job was spent on each machine or equipment?”
• “Who worked with which client and for how long last month?”
  
  

2. Work Sites Inventory Logging

Monitor the location of all your most expensive heavy machinery to prevent after-hours use or theft.

Get notified in the event drivers leave their indicated work areas during work hours. Organize and tag all job sites by location and track asset activity without extra manual work.

Keep track of which vehicles are entering, leaving, or remaining in the warehouse for faster assignments and dispatch.

Set up geozones for areas of the city that have different regulations when it comes to vehicles and emissions, so you don’t accidentally break the law.

Still unsure about how geofencing works or how to set it up? Contact our specialists today for a free, 30-minute training course! At Logifleet, our dedicated staff wants customers to succeed every step of the way.

Sources:

https://www.fleeteurope.com/fr/connected-manufacturers/united-kingdom/analysis/how-geofencing-can-help-reduce-penalties-can-drive?curl=1

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56828383

https://theloadstar.com/ec-urged-to-listen-to-tapa-as-cargo-theft-from-trucks-hits-record-levels/