By: Mike Haney
Your daily operation requires the right tools. When it comes to your office none are more important than dispatch software and GPS tracking. Fortunately todays options offer you some effectivesolutions. Most of the leading software companies have integration with your top GPS providers. The level of tracking will determine your price point, and return on investment.
In many cases software and GPS integration is for tracking only. This means the dispatch software can pull a signal from the tracking unit installed by your GPS provider. Other options offer one or two-way communication with your drivers. This means job information can be sent to dash mounted units in your fleet. In the case of two-way, vital job information can be returned to dispatch as well. Options like this are more expensive because they require two pieces of equipment in each vehicle.
Your dispatch software may offer its own tracking. Beacon Software’s Dispatch Anywhere allows you to track your driver’s smartphones or tablets when you’re dispatching to a mobile app called DA for Drivers. This can also be paired with a tracking only GPS solution to give a crisp field response. Lately this has become a more popular choice. There are several reasons for this. Mobile apps have become more advanced by offering payment options, paperless tickets, signature capture, adding photos from the field, providing tow specifications, and recording existing damage. These tools aren’t available from a GPS solution. However, the tools provided from a good GPS tracking device can exceed in other areas. Reporting is a powerful tool when determining your ROI. TomTom’s Webfleet solution not only gives you tracking, but also reports on driving behavior, maintenance, history, Logs/hours of service, fuel ups, and geo-fences. These are items that are not always available from a dispatch package.
You can usually find a GPS solution that has some dispatch function or a dispatch software that has a GPS function, but pairing the best of both worlds has proven to deliver the highest quality solutions. GPS solutions require hardware that is built for one specific purpose with higher performance. Software solutions using mobile applications are always evolving. This means you have a constant refresh on vital tools for the job. Your business needs will determine what the best solution is for you. A premier software paired with a proven GPS solutions will deliver the highest quality.
