An effective management strategy is essential for a business’s success. The most challenging responsibility for a manager, despite the fact that there are many others, is managing vehicles in real-time.
You can provide your customers with excellent service when you have access to a real-time vehicle tracking system, as you can get reliable information on each vehicle. Undoubtedly, every type of business has dramatically benefited from implementing IoT-based vehicle monitoring systems. The use of vehicle tracking systems has many advantages.
Do you also want to track the movements of the vehicles used by your business in real-time, get alerts when a vehicle enters a control area, examine vehicle movements at any time, find out the actual mileage, and do much more?
If yes, then this blog is indeed for you!
In this blog, we will discuss IoT-based vehicle monitoring systems. We will also discuss its benefits, market statistics and businesses that can benefit significantly from such a solution.
So, let’s start with,
Table of Contents
What is an IoT-based Vehicle Monitoring System?
A vehicle monitoring system is a software product that businesses employ to keep track of the whereabouts of trucks, trailers, and other vehicles. Businesses can get real-time information about the whereabouts of their vehicles thanks to the software’s connection to the vehicles’ GPS systems.
These systems are often referred to as fleet management systems, even though they can perform more than only track the whereabouts of vehicles. A custom fleet management software also offers assistance with monitoring driving behavior, fuel usage, and vehicle leasing or finance, among other things.
Vehicle tracking is a wise investment, regardless of whether you need to monitor the business’s cars driven by your staff or manage a fleet of vehicles used to deliver goods across the country.
But what are the advantages, though, and why do you need fleet management and IoT-based vehicle monitoring system?
Let’s find out!
Why do You Need an IoT-based Vehicle Monitoring System? Top Benefits!
IoT-based vehicle monitoring systems can provide many advantages, such as increased driver safety and lower expenses. These advantages can improve a company’s production and efficiency and are helpful for fleet owners of heavy vehicle fleets.
Here are some more:
1. Easy Fleet Routing
The main advantage of using an IoT-based vehicle monitoring system is finding the shortest route for goods transit. A quick, direct route may make a negligible impact on the timely or untimely delivery of cargo. To ensure that all the products are delivered to customers by the deadline, fleet managers have a profound impact.
Fleet managers can monitor road traffic conditions thanks to vehicle tracking solutions by combining traffic congestion information with other factors, such as road conditions and weather predictions. A fleet manager can guide their drivers in avoiding routes that might cause a delay in the cargo delivery.
2. Better Fuel Efficiency
You can increase fleet mileage and make the most of your fuel resources with good drivers and a well-kept fleet. Fuel resources are depleted as a result of idling and fuel theft. Both can be resisted with an IoT-based vehicle monitoring system. Real-time fuel level monitoring is possible using sensors, and driver-facing cameras can be used to deter theft.
The fuel volume and the speed at which the engine is consuming it are measured by sensors installed in the fuel tank. By examining the data that these sensors produced. You can ensure that the trucks use fuel as efficiently as possible. And the trucks are not left idle unnecessarily. Additionally, businesses can use these sensors to monitor fuel theft or loss from the vehicle’s fuel tanks.
3. Easy Vehicle Recovery
Having access to a vehicle’s location at all times provides advantages for both your drivers and your vehicles in terms of safety and security. From the standpoint of preventing crime, the benefits are clear: if a vehicle is stolen, you can track it down and assist the police in keeping track of it and recovering it. Yet again, if a vehicle breaks down, its location can be determined in a matter of seconds, allowing for a prompt recovery. Similarly, during a crash, the driver’s precise location can be selected and relayed to the appropriate emergency authorities. This speed could save a life if the accident is severe.
4. Ensures Higher Safety
Through a mix of in-vehicle alarms, service and driver tracking, and better logistical planning, logistics tracking system software can reduce accidents and fatalities. Vehicle monitoring systems can save employees’ lives and be a useful tool for fleet management. By warning the driver of potentially dangerous road conditions and mechanical problems, in-vehicle alarms can be a crucial safety aid.
Additionally, alerts can be configured to sound an alarm if the permitted speeds are exceeded, sluggish or heavy traffic is seen, or anomalous acceleration occurs. A better communication channel between drivers and fleet management is made possible by getting custom vehicle monitoring systems from top IoT development services. Fleet vehicles can be redirected to avoid inclement weather and congested areas using advanced GPS.
5. Improves Customer Experience
You may increase service levels and adhere to legal requirements with real-time information about the vehicle route and performance. With current and accurate cargo information, you may also enhance customer satisfaction because your fleet will be better able to attend to service requests swiftly and get to customers on schedule. Additionally, it is simple to integrate with your supply chain and logistics systems to send and receive data on vehicles in transit and pull shipment details. Applications for supply chain management also let you automatically create alerts to deal with problems like vehicle breakdowns and shipping delays.
6. Easy Record Keeping
As the relevant information is automatically recorded by logistics tracking system software, record keeping is greatly simplified. Additionally, these systems assist businesses in maintaining accurate employee records of working time and vehicle mileage, which are essential for effective budgeting and reporting. These solutions are paperless, which eliminates time-consuming tasks like searching through paperwork and misfiled time sheets.
7. Lowers Repair Costs
You may closely watch driver behavior and lower the likelihood of accidents or other road calamities with the Internet of the things-based vehicle monitoring system. Better drivers result in fewer accidents, which reduces repair costs. Additionally, the vehicle monitoring system’s accelerometers can track severe actions such as sudden acceleration and deceleration. This may urge drivers to practice greater caution behind the wheel and lessen the strain on the brake discs, pads, and engine. It is possible to record times of prolonged engine idle and high RPMs, which may be signs of risky or ineffective driving.
Some other benefits of using logistics tracking system software are:
- Total command over transport on the line.
- Remote control of a vehicle.
- The logistics tracking system software shows each fleet vehicle’s health state previously, with any damage exceeding a certain threshold being highlighted.
- Control of fuel consumption.
- Recording of accidents, emergencies, and driver violations of traffic laws.
As you’ve seen, the Internet of things-based vehicle monitoring system benefits! Now, let’s move forward and discuss,
Which Businesses/ Industries can Benefit Significantly From the IoT-based vehicle Monitoring System?
Here is a look at how it currently helps various industries and where it might move in the long term!
1. E-commerce Industry
Vehicle monitoring systems are also crucial to the rapidly expanding e-commerce industry. In order to ensure the best deliveries, businesses employ such systems to track cargo locations and conditions. However, e-commerce shipment tracking gives the data to the customers and focuses more on last-mile delivery.
Today’s consumers demand complete information regarding their online orders. Most modern online buyers expect to be able to keep track of the progress of their orders at all times. Without trustworthy vehicle monitoring solutions, achieving that degree of visibility would be impossible.
2. Insurance Industry
The insurance sector is a less common but equally exciting use of this technology. Insurance based on telematics tracks the driving habits of its clients, including their acceleration, braking, turning, and speeding patterns. Insurers can use this data to tailor clients’ rates based on how responsibly they commute.
3. Agriculture Industry
Farmers can handle autonomous tractors and drones with the use of monitoring systems. They can locate themselves, determine whether they require maintenance, and identify areas of the farm that need attention. The most effective routes can also be discovered using position information from tractors and other equipment. These systems also allow farmers to rent out their vehicles while keeping track of usage and maintenance data via dedicated software. Hire IoT developer to get similar software for your agriculture business. Local farmers will find farming to be more affordable thanks to these systems.
4. Transport Industry
On a much greater scale than businesses like Uber and others, transportation networks can deploy IoT technology. They can collect crucial safety data, quickly navigate city streets, and provide passengers with real-time updates on arrival schedules.
Additionally, these use cases might increase as technology becomes more widespread. Vehicle monitoring could be used by city transit authorities to control traffic and provide drivers with real-time updates.
5. Emergency Services
Using vehicle monitoring in emergency services is another example of increasing safety. Real-time vehicle data is used by first services, including ambulance teams, firefighters, and cops, to help them reach victims more quickly. Vehicle monitoring software allows handlers to locate the nearest responders when they get an emergency call.
As you have seen, the benefits and industries can significantly benefit from IoT-based vehicle monitoring systems. Now let’s go ahead and discuss,
How to Develop a Custom IoT-based Vehicle Monitoring System?
It is essential to plan the process and hire IoT software developers for effective execution to build a vehicle monitoring system.
To build an efficient IoT-based vehicle monitoring system, follow the below-mentioned steps!
1. Consider MVP Development
IoT-based vehicle monitoring system development is a complex and challenging task. We advise releasing a minimal viable product first, then evaluating its technical and business viability. Adopting an MVP approach allows you to learn what users like and dislike about your software. After that, you can consider their recommendations and enhance your vehicle monitoring system.
2. On-board a Development Team
Hiring a team to develop software is your second step. The development team needs the following roles:
- UI/UX designers
- IoT software developers
- Front-end developers
- Back-end developers
- Project managers
- Business analyst
- DBA
Hiring members individually can be super expensive; it’s better for you to partner up with top custom software development company. They can help you to build your project from start to finish promptly and also within a defined budget!
3. Design UI/UX
Any good design ought to be straightforward, practical, and essential. Therefore, you need to hire UI/UX designers to simplify the software. It’s a smart idea to become familiar with competitors’ software so you can determine what features users enjoy or dislike.
Also Read: Top 7 Tips to Hire the Best UI/ UX Designer
4. Choose Right Features
Keep in mind that features can make and break your software. A thorough list of the features you want your software to include is essential.
Apart from basic features, we’ve mentioned some must-have features of the vehicle monitoring system below. So, take a look!
a. Behavior Analysis
This feature aids in tracking and analyzing driver behavior. A driving behavior analysis module can assess acceleration, harsh braking, speeding, and excessive idling. After that, you can provide drivers with specific feedback to help them change habits and keep out of accidents. As a result of drivers driving more effectively, fuel costs will also be significantly reduced.
b. Report Incident
Your vehicle monitoring system should have an efficient incident reporting feature that allows you to swiftly and thoroughly report accidents, making it easy to pinpoint dangers. Businesses can stay ahead of risks by keeping all accident data in one location. They can also get instant visibility into repairs and downtime to ensure their assets are back in operation ASAP and safely.
c. Alarms
Alarms are an excellent tool for businesses to have so they can respond quickly to any unexpected event surrounding their vehicles. Alarms can be programmable to meet your unique needs, such as one set to look out for speeding. Maintaining awareness of changes is essential if you want your vehicles to operate efficiently and correctly.
d. Track Fuel
With this feature, you can keep track of fuel levels 24/7 and monitor how often vehicles get filled and emptied. This will allow you to determine if there have been any thefts or leaks. An accurate reading of the fuel level in the tanks over time can be obtained, and alarms may be set up to alert you and the driver as soon as draining starts. Every vehicle’s and period’s fuel consumption is tracked.
e. Vehicle Maintenance Schedule
This functionality helps identify new maintenance problems, take quick action to fix them, and ensure that preventative maintenance is planned for and carried out on time. If one or more of your vehicles are out of action for an extended period, it may have a negative impact on your business.
f. Data Processing
This functionality decodes all additional sensors and the GPS device’s signals. Processing modules are responsible for generating and showing valuable insights, such as the vehicle’s geolocation, speed, status, and other characteristics.
g. Route Planning
The fleet management decisions will be supported by this functionality, which will help you analyze routes and anticipate events, reduce fuel use, and boost output. Customers will receive the orders more quickly and have a better overall experience.
5. Choose the Tech Stack
The technology stack comprises programming languages, front-end & back-end frameworks, APIs, databases, and others. Choosing the right technologies for your development task is very important. Matellio, a leading provider of the best IoT development services, uses the advanced technologies to build custom logistics tracking system software.
6. Test & Launch
Have your QA team thoroughly test the vehicle monitoring system when it is finished and ready to deploy the first MVP. It will be advantageous to include experts from transportation and healthcare in the process. Launch your Internet of things-based vehicle monitoring system once everything has been verified and improved.
Also Read- IoT Product Development: Use Cases and Development Process
Conclusion
Fleet management has changed dramatically due to vehicle tracking technology through IoT technology and its analytical and cognition abilities.
One of the best tools for businesses aiming to boost their fleet’s safety system, cost-effectiveness, and productivity is the IoT-based vehicle monitoring system. These systems enable executives to make analytically driven decisions to make the most of their fleet’s vehicles and personnel by gathering and organizing the data.
Suppose you are an owner of a business in any industry, such as courier and delivery, food delivery, medical and pharmaceutical, and so forth., and you want to increase deliveries and tracking. In that case, using an IoT-based vehicle monitoring system is the best choice.
Early IoT adoption might give businesses an advantage in their specific markets. Matellio provides customized IoT development services to large and medium-sized businesses worldwide. To explore an IoT-based fleet management solution that will work for your business, get in touch with us today!
