The Hidden Value of Fleet Management:

Peace of Mind

According to the 2018 compensation and job satisfaction

survey from Fleet Answers, workplace stress is one of the

biggest negative factors impacting the lives and careers

of fleet managers.1 And it’s no wonder, since fleet management

involves managing staff, vehicles and schedules — not to mention

customer expectations. It’s a big job, and one that can be very

rewarding … if you can minimize the stress.

Your approach to fleet management will have a huge impact on

your stress level. While some managers attempt to handle the job

using outdated, incomplete or manual methods, that approach

can lead to significant

challenges, and expose you

to significant risks.

For those who choose to take

advantage of wireless fleet

management technology, the

potential rewards are equally significant. Use this ebook to learn

more about the risk / reward tradeoff, and learn how to choose

the right solution so you can achieve the peace of mind you

need to do your best work.

Workplace stress is real for fleet managers

What do fleet management solutions do?Fleet management solutions include two main

components: a GPS tracking device installed in each

fleet vehicle to gather data, and software that interprets

that data for you. The combination delivers route maps,

maintenance alerts and actionable insights that give

you the peace of mind that comes from being in control

of your fleet, your resources and your bottom line.

You’re talking to one customer, and you have another on hold. Both want to know where their service tech is.

SCENARIO

1

The right fleet management solution can eliminate the stress of trying to solve unforeseen

problems on the fly, by delivering the insight you need to be in control. You’ll see where your vehicles are and

get alerts when they’re not where you expected, to proactively avoid missed or late calls. You can also optimize

routes and locate the nearest vehicle as new calls come in, to provide the on-time service customers expect.

Without fleet management: You’ll have to put both calls on hold, call two drivers and

hope to get an answer. Then you’ll have to check the map

and calculate the distance, translate that to time, and get

back to each caller … hoping they aren’t even angrier now

that they’ve been on hold.

With fleet management: You know exactly where the drivers are, and you can see that

driver #1 is five minutes away from the destination. Driver

#2 got stuck in traffic, which you noted and let the customer

know in advance. By the time she calls back to check in, you

can see the driver is pulling into her driveway.

GEO-FENCE:

WITHIN PARAMETER

DISTANCE TO DESTINATION:

1 MILE

FUEL LEVEL:

HALF TANK

have stopped doing business with a brand due to a single poor customer service experience.2

60%of global consumers

You could lose loyal customers.

Risk:

of fleet management users see improved customer service.3

44%

Reward:

You elevate your customer experience.

You’re running the budget numbers this month, and fuel expenditures have spiked.

SCENARIO

2

IDLE TIME:

BELOW AVERAGE

ROUTES OPTIMIZED:

YES

AUTHORIZED VEHICLE USE:

YES

Trying to find the cause of unexpected costs can be stressful if you don’t have any data

to help you. Fleet management solutions not only collect data, but also help you analyze it instantly. Idle

time reports, driver safety reports and vehicle maintenance reports all help you build your bottom line

nearly effortlessly.

Without fleet management: You’ve run the numbers four times, but what you’re

seeing isn’t changing. Sales aren’t up by as much as

your fuel costs are, so that’s not it. Your drivers say it’s

business as usual. You’re wondering what you’re going

to have to cut if this keeps up ... but you don’t have any

clues or data to inform you.

With fleet management: You check the reports your fleet management solution

generated, and you see that idle time soared this month. The

good news is, you already know it’s not that drivers are using

their vehicles after hours, because your fleet management

solution would have alerted you. And you’re certain they’re taking

the quickest route to each job, thanks to route optimization.

So you have a quick meeting on idle time, and you begin to see

a change in the numbers.

You can’t fix what you can’t see.

Risk: Reward:

Fleet management helps you problem-solve.

of its annualbudgeted dollars — the biggest portion of that amount on preventable fuel expenditures.4

An average fleet wastes

5–10% It also helps reduce idle time, which can save up to

gallonsof fuel each year.5

600

SCENARIO

3

Vehicle theft can cause a major budget crisis — and being unprotected from this risk can cause major anxiety. Fleet management gives you the ability to rest easy,

knowing your fleet is safe. With all the tools you need to make sure your vehicles are where they should

be, when they should be, you’ve got one less thing to worry about.

Some insurance companies offer discounts for fleets equipped with

tracking.7GPS

annually.6

Equipment theft for the construction industry totals more than

$1 billion

Without fleet management: You’ve got six vehicles parked at different job sites. You’re

going to send someone out to each job site just to put your

mind at ease — even though that will mean extra man-

hours. But you’re distracted by the thought, and hoping

nothing is missing … because who knows how long it’s been

gone, and when — or if — the police will find it.

With fleet management: Your day proceeds like any other, with no extra distractions,

because you already know all six vehicles are there. Geo-

fencing lets you establish location-based boundaries, and

unauthorized ignitions trigger a warning. In a scenario

where a vehicle was taken, you’d be alerted instantly so

that you could alert the authorities.

ALERT — VEHICLE OUTSIDE

PARAMETERS

LOCATION:

6th and Main St.

The police department warns that a number of vehicles have been stolen from local job sites.

You have limited defense against vehicle theft.

Risk: Reward:

You prevent risk by keeping tabs on your assets.

Without data, there’s no way to take a firm stance.

Risk: Reward:

You’re in a position to advocate and protect safety.

Someone just called your 1-800 number to report that one of your drivers is going 90 miles an hour on the expressway.

LOCATION:

RED STAR HIGHWAY

SPEED:

60 MPH

RAPID ACCELERATION:

NONE

SEAT BELT:

ON

SCENARIO

4

5% of drivers develop

legitimately unsafe driving behaviors that you can’t afford to ignore.8

About Fleet management solutionscan reduce the cost of accidents by just over21%9

Lack of data doesn’t just affect you — it affects your employees. Features like driver

scorecards and alerts help you keep drivers safe, and allow you to advocate for them when warranted.

Many companies that use fleet management solutions also find that just the existence of driver safety data

is all it takes to motivate employees to develop more efficient, safe driving habits on their own.

Without fleet management: This is one of your best drivers, so you’re surprised. You

wish you had proof one way or the other so you could

follow up with complete confidence and take disciplinary

action if necessary.

With fleet management: You haven’t gotten any speeding alerts from your fleet

management system, and you confirm your driver wasn’t

over the speed limit by double checking his driver safety

report. Word about the incident has gotten out to the

fleet, and without a word from you, the reports show

everyone’s driving more safely.

It’s late on Friday, and you have to finish payroll before the day is over or your drivers won’t get paid on time.

SCENARIO

5Without fleet management: You’re scrambling to finish, and you’re wading through a pile of

handwritten time cards. Two of them seem to be missing entirely, and

others are barely legible. Some of what you’re seeing doesn’t match your

memory of the job, but there’s not enough time to check. So you hunker

down and hope you’re not writing off your profits for the month.

PAYROLL:

DONE

INVOICING:

DONE

MAINTENANCE REPORTS:

DONE

With fleet management: All the time is already entered electronically. There’s no handwriting to

decipher and no worry that the time is inaccurate, because it all matches

up with the GPS locations of the vehicles. Payroll is a breeze, you’re out

on time, and it looks like you’ve cleared a nice profit this month.

Customer Spotlight: When it comes to fleet

management, time is literally money.

And while the value of a minute

differs for everyone, the results

can be dramatic. The president of

Hasheider Roofing, in Prairie du

Sac, Wisconsin, knows firsthand

how much fleet management

solutions can help you save.

“ I ran the numbers, and it sounds ridiculous, but I figured out that if each guy is off on his time reporting by only 10 minutes per day, that’s costing us $100,000 per year.”

His decision to implement a

solution that helps the company

capture every minute has given

him the peace of mind that

comes with knowing his payroll

and invoicing are accurate.

Payroll takes longer, and lost paperwork costs you.

Accuracy, no paperwork to track, less work.

Risk:

Large organizations lose one document every 12 seconds.10

Reward:

98%of fleet management users

say that the system has been beneficial to them.11

Conclusion

©2019 U.S. Cellular

It all adds up to peace of mind Managing a fleet without a fleet management solution can be a

risky — and stressful — proposition. Fleet management solutions

deliver the data you need to feel in control. Data that can help

you reduce stress by delivering actionable insights that yield

higher profit, allow more efficient use of resources and promote

streamlined operations. Features like vehicle tracking, maintenance

and safety alerts, route optimization, and automatic reporting

combine to deliver peace of mind.

Customer support — and the right network — make it easyIn order to keep stress levels in check, making the transition to

a new fleet management solution can’t feel complicated. That’s

why U.S. Cellular® business customers get the added benefit of

continuous support, provided by your local Business Solutions

Expert who is only a phone call away. And it’s all backed by our

powerful network, delivering the connectivity you need today and

the 5G innovation you want tomorrow.

The benefits of fleet management — the time and money that can

be saved, and the peace of mind that can be gained —

make it a solution that can help you do your best job without

sacrificing your sanity. Understanding the differences such a

solution can make is the first step on the path to choosing the fleet

management solution, and the solution provider, that are right for

your business.

All U.S. Cellular solutions for business are backed by the

reliability of the U.S. Cellular network to keep you covered

in urban and rural areas, and by the support of your local

Business Solutions Expert to guide you through implementation

and everyday use. We’re committed to helping you navigate the

new 5G landscape, as we build your next-generation network to

deliver enhanced connectivity and wider in-building coverage.

References1. FleetAnswers.com. “Are fleet managers satisfied with the workplace?” 2018.

http://www.fleetanswers.com/content/are-fleet-managers-satisfied-workplace

2. Microsoft. “2018 State of Global Customer Service Report.” 2019. http://info.

microsoft.com/rs/157-GQE-382/images/EN-US-CNTNT-ebook-2018-State-of-Global-

Customer-Service.pdf

3. GPS Insight. “2016–2017 Fleet Management Technology Report.” https://www.

gpsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Fleet-Management-Technology-

Report-2017.pdf

4. Antich, Mike. “Estimated 5–10% of Fleet Dollars Wasted Annually.” Automotive Fleet,

2019. https://www.automotive-fleet.com/323886/estimated-5-10-of-fleet-dollars-are-

wasted-annually

5. NexTraq. “Five Ways to Reduce Fuel Consumption Using GPS Tracking.” https://www.

fieldtechnologiesonline.com/download/Retrieve?FileId=dee5ef8d-fc21-4448-9b7c-

dab58114a711&url=five-ways-to-reduce-fuel-consumption-0001&showCaptchaForm=F

alse&id=8485b105-ce41-4ad5-8cf0-4e3eebc0ca35

6. Fleet Management Weekly. “How GPS Tracking Can Protect Construction Fleets

Against Theft.” Accessed June 27, 2019. https://www.fleetmanagementweekly.com/

gps-tracking-can-protect-construction-fleets-theft/

7. Prevost, Chad. “Top 5 ways fleets can save on insurance.” FreightWaves, 2018.

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/insurance-and-risk-management/top-5-ways-

fleets-can-save-on-insurance

8. Embark Safety. “Driver Observation Program.” http://www.embarksafety.com/hows-

my-driving.html

9. Nolan, Kelsey. “How to Increase Fleet Productivity Using Telematics.” Automotive

Fleet, 2015. https://www.automotive-fleet.com/156386/how-to-increase-fleet-

productivity-using-telematics

10. Device Magic. “What Paper is Actually Costing Your Business.” https://www.

devicemagic.com/what-paper-costs-your-business/

11. GPS Insight.

To learn more about fleet management, call 1-866-616-5587

or visit uscellular.com/business/fleetmanagement