Telematics saves costs during Covid-19 pandemic

July 14, 2020

This has probably been the most challenging year for most businesses – ever! MD of Legratron Electronics, Itumeleng Matshego, says fleet operators therefore need to do what they can to reduce costs.

He says: “One way in which to do this is to use telematics, which can save costs in a number of ways. The data provided by telematics can reduce fuel costs. It allows for better planning of routes to reduce unnecessary travel and gives an indication of which drivers are not driving fuel-efficiently.

“Additionally, telematics indicates the precise driving behaviours that are costly to fuel consumption and which employees need training. Businesses can also use telematics to monitor diesel theft.”

Maintenance costs can also be reduced with the help of telematics. “It can provide timely reminders of when maintenance is required. It can help companies navigate the more complicated field of maintenance in an era where vehicles may be used for longer. This requires getting more out of the vehicles. In order to achieve this, one needs to know which drivers are operating their vehicles harshly and rectify this quickly,” he points out.

There are a number of other small ways in which telematics can save costs. “One example is if the company’s insurer provides a discount for making use of telematics. In addition, data from telematics can paint a picture of the current demand versus the size of the fleet.

“The only way to accurately determine if a company is properly capitalising on its fleet is to look at the telematics data. This can reduce total spend on fleet costs. It can also be seen which vehicles in a fleet are used more often than others and use this information to inform future buying decisions,” he explains.

As companies navigate an uncertain future, Matshego says telematics will be a vital tool. “Telematics provides the data needed to make important decisions based on hard evidence, rather than suppositions or assumptions,” he concludes.