New mobile phone technology provides greater opportunities for fleet operators and their drivers to record important fleet information while out in the field and on the move thanks to enhanced connectivity and modern web-based fleet management solutions.
That’s the view of Andrew Leech, business manager at Mycompanyfleet, who believes that advances in mobile phone technology, particularly the advent of 3G-enabled handsets, has opened up a huge number of opportunities for fleet managers.
Many of the new generation of mobile phones have inbuilt applications or ‘apps’ that cover a whole variety of services and solutions, including road traffic congestion avoidance, the latest offering from motoring organisation, the RAC.
Andrew Leech: "advances in mobile phone technology have opened up a huge number of opportunities for fleet managers.
But you don’t need a smart iPhone with a multitude of ‘apps’ to get the full benefits of the connectivity between 3G hand-sets and current web-based fleet management systems, says Andrew Leech.
“Web-based fleet management systems can be accessed by mobile phones and are great for functions such as mileage capture and verifying vehicle condition. Previously these jobs had to be carried out using a dedicated unit such as a PDA, but now it can be done on the same phone that you use for everyday business use.
“There are considerable savings to be made because the need for a dedicated unit has now been removed, and the function can be performed perfectly well by a 3G handset. The saving comes by removing the need for a dedicated unit.
“These web systems are more and more uniform so there’s no longer the need to use a standard phone across your workforce and there’s no need for a particular ‘app’,” continues Andrew Leech. “You can do it all on a phone’s browser –most, if not all, 3G phones can now readily access web-based systems.
“Using mobile phones in this way is far more efficient and effective for companies with large numbers of employees out in the field, such as fleets of mobile servicing engineers or field sales forces. They can remotely enter critical information into the fleet management system, such as mileage data, location, vehicle condition or time of next job – all from their existing handset.”
Andrew Leech also believes there is a move towards using phones as tracking devices. “You can track a phone, so you can track a work journey and record the mileage. This means it gives an accurate reading of your business mileage for any expenses claim at a fraction of the cost of a dedicated tracking or telematics unit.”
This is one facet of Mycompanyfleet’s recently launched journey logger, a new addition to the company’ grey fleet solution Driver Self-Serve, which allows drivers to independently log all business trips and update their mileage claims through their mobile phone.
The new functionality works through any 3G-enabled mobile phone, and by logging on to the Driver Self-Serve system in this way, drivers can also be tracked and their location verified through their phone, replacing the need for alternative in-vehicle telematics or tracking systems.
