Insights and key trends of fleet management in the UK and Europe for 2023

The 2023 Fleet Technology Trends Report Europe revealed for the second year in a row, that customer service was the top area of improvement realised by fleet management professionals after implementing a fleet tracking solution.

Also, researchers reported that the percentage of fleets using GPS tracking technology stood at 71% in 2022, 3 percent more than last year. This shows that it’s a consolidated and growing solution for businesses in Europe.

The report is based on a survey conducted by Verizon Connect in collaboration with ABI Research Media. More than 1,300 British and European fleet managers, executives, and other mobile-business professionals ranked their preferences and priorities when making the all-important decision of investing in a GPS tracking solution. Let’s dive into some of these telling results.

Embracing the benefits of GPS fleet tracking

We asked fleet management professionals to elaborate on the benefits they’ve been experiencing as a result of implementing a GPS fleet tracking solution. A majority of respondents across industries (76%) consider GPS fleet tracking very or extremely beneficial to their business.

Customer service emerged as the top area of improvement for GPS fleet tracking users. It was closely followed by improvements in routing (62%), regulatory compliance (61%), productivity (59%) and lowered fuel consumption (54%). On average, they also ‘reported a 46% decrease in accident costs and a 27% decrease in labour costs’.

Fleets who use GPS fleet tracking also saw improvements in routing and other areas. Here are the top 4 goals achieved by industry after implementing GPS tracking:

General Freight 

• Improved customer service: 69%
• Improved routing: 67%
• Tachograph/regulatory compliance: 63%
• Improved productivity (for example, number of jobs, vehicle utilisation): 61%

Services

• Improved customer service: 67%
• Improved routing: 65%
• Tachograph/regulatory compliance: 63%
• Decrease in fuel consumption: 60%

Construction

• Improved customer service: 67%
• Improved productivity (for example, number of jobs, vehicle utilisation     ): 61%
• Tachograph/regulatory compliance: 57%
• Improved routing: 55%

Passenger transportation 

• Improved customer service: 73%
• Improved productivity (for example, number of jobs, vehicle utilisation): 65%
• Tachograph/regulatory compliance: 64%
• Improved routing: 64%

Government

• Improved customer service: 74%
• Tachograph/regulatory compliance: 59%
• Improved routing: 54%
• Decrease in fuel consumption: 53%
• Improved productivity (for example, number of jobs, vehicle utilisation): 50%

How fleet management improves customer service, productivity, and maintenance

Given that customer service, routing, productivity and maintenance emerged as top areas of improvement for fleet management users, here are some of the key platform features that make these benefits possible. 

• Streamline fleet management and get more done with fewer resources. Better fleet visibility helps you take stock of what you have and how it’s being used. A GPS fleet tracking solution can help you uncover hidden costs while revealing potential for greater productivity and efficiency.
• Activate smarter dispatching to boost customer service. The ability to quickly locate and dispatch the nearest worker with the right skills and vehicle for the job is essential for a positive customer experience. Respond to customer requests with greater visibility of job status and communication with technicians, using one login to avoid patching together separate calendars and spreadsheets.
• Help drivers stay on track. Easily look into your fleet’s daily operations using high-resolution maps with smart clustering and detail on demand. GPS-verified vehicle locations can help confirm delivery or arrival at a job site. Customisable dashboards make it easy to review progress towards KPIs or budgets, as well as important trends by team, department or across the entire fleet.
• Keep vehicles on a proactive maintenance schedule. Get alerts for diagnostic trouble codes to help improve vehicle health and performance. Set up service reminders for vehicles based on calendar or mileage intervals to reduce the likelihood of unnecessary downtime.

To learn more about how your peers view and value GPS fleet tracking technology, download the full 2023 Fleet Technology Trends Report for the UK and Europe.

Find out how our platform gives you the visibility you need to get more done.