SynX Blog

The rise of Black Friday is no longer simply a popular phenomenon, it has become the inspiration for labelling other noteworthy business occasions. For example, collateral events such as Cyber Monday (the “cousin” of Black Friday) and Green Monday (which is actually referring to the December Monday generating most sales—also known as Cyber Monday 2) make the season kicking off tomorrow one of the most critical periods for any type of business, as it has been calculated that it can account for as much as 30% of annual sales.

Retailers and parcel delivery companies pay special attention to the beginning of the holiday season, and the strong growth of online shopping is quite promising: potentially every sector is expecting a record shopping season.

If we want to look at some relevant data, the National Retail Federation in the US is expecting the sales happening in the holiday season period, that is, starting with Black Friday and continuing through the Christmas period, to increase by around 4-5% from last year to a global value of something like $680 billion dollars (£529 billion or €603 billion). According to the same source, potentially 136 million holiday shoppers will be active during the Black Friday weekend.

Forbes expects Christmas sales to increase by about 5%, with peaks close to a $2 billion spend on Black Friday and $2.5 billion on Cyber Monday. According to an infographic dating back to last year, 225,000,000 extra parcels are delivered on Black Friday and translate to an extra 82,050 vehicles on the road and 49,000 more staff to be hired. Some of the big names that are expected to excel in their performance in particular during this period in the UK and Ireland are Amazon, Argos and Royal Mail. Black Friday parcels do indeed need resources and efforts in order to reach consumers and huge plans are needed for any type of business to fit and succeed in the “Black Friday machine”.

Logistics is definitely what really makes everything possible at this time of the year. Despite the digitalisation of most sectors, it is a fact that as per now, envelopes and parcels still have to be delivered and pressure is often kept on destination delivery companies, with custom clearance from faraway places adding extra days to the original shipping estimate. It is then not surprising that professionals involved in the supply chain and logistic sectors and also fleet experts spend a considerable amount of time analysing data, thinking about speeding up processes and getting ready for this time.

Make sure you plan well in advance for your business during this time: dealing with Black Friday business can become stressful and challenging, with a considerable impact on safety, vehicle and personnel demand, but it can really represent a huge opportunity if you are able to catch it in time. It is also one of the most predictable high turnover periods of the year, so make sure you are helping your driving and office team with intelligent tools able to save time on admin and maximise driving time. If you are not sure how, we can show you how to make the most out of Black Friday—and, in fact, out of any other time of the year.

When we think about a company’s expectations as to the performance of their selected fleet management system, or before they actually make the final choice, a lot of possible scenarios spring to mind—we usually imagine the sceptical company manager as the ideal candidate for one of our free trials through to the health and safety officer wishing to improve on global safety and compliance within his/her fleet. But perhaps we haven’t really given enough thought to how this may differ from the actual expectations people have regarding their fleet management systems as these are available in a wide series of formats and packages which guarantees, at least apparently, a huge variety of choice. So what should you expect when approaching your fleet management system solution?

#1 - Is less always more? When some companies approach their chosen fleet management system for the first time, they are sorely tempted to get as many features as possible. As the old adage goes, “less is (usually) more”—but is that actually true? We don’t think having tons of features or just a few is either the best or the worst strategy—and there should never be a one-size-fits-all approach. We believe that before listing all the features available that you focus specifically on what is actually needed for your fleet depending on its usual activity. Don’t be tempted by expensive features that you might never get to use, nor should you just discard anything just to make savings—probably the best approach is to have the system consultant help you out or run through a trial option.

#2 - The power of expectations bending reality. We tend to think that our expectations actually correspond closely to the future of our fleet, when sometimes they don’t at all, or on other occasions they can help us understand what we want from our provider. The secret is having a realistic approach; do a thorough analysis of the fleet and act according to the needs and requirements of the fleet and according to the experience you have gained.

#3 – Predicting the future. If you have a certain type of expectation from your fleet management system, it needs to take into consideration developments over the course of the next five years. Doing so will help you shape the system according to your requirements and without making mistakes, as you might actually be able to anticipate some of your future work or features and prepare for its adequate implementation.

#4 – Level of support required. Are you going to be helped on a regular basis by the fleet management system’s support team or not? Do you want to be able to count on their help? Do you assume the support is always going to be included in the payments? This is another expectation you’d better check with your provider.

#5 – Fleet data and data formats supported and provided. Here you have another point where you might actually have specific expectations, but this is something that is always better to check up on. Will you be able to get data for all the aspects you need? Should you set up specific tracking or metrics? Will the whole be exportable? The golden rule is to know in advance.

A fatal bus crash dating back to October 2015 which took place in Coventry city centre may push authorities into making a decision as to whether fleet telematics should become compulsory, at least for public service fleets and HGVs, according to the legal firm Stephenson’s.

Last month, the Birmingham Crown Court established that dangerous driving was the factual cause of the fatal collision which involved a bus from the company Midland Red South, a subsidiary of Stagecoach, which crashed into a local Sainsbury supermarket. From the investigations carried out, it seems the driver mistook his accelerator for the brake, initiating the collision which resulted in the death of a passenger who was travelling on the upper deck and a pedestrian.

According to a reconstruction of the event, it turned out that the driver in question had been warned on multiple occasions by the same companies via letters highlighting his risky behaviour and poor driving; and this was down to the fact that all buses were fitted with telematics equipment and could therefore disclose this kind of information. A total of eight warning letters had been sent to the driver, but no further action was taken by his company. It has been revealed that the same driver had already been involved in four other incidents during the period 2011 to 2014.

Apparently, he had retired at the age of 65 but was again hired by the company as a casual driver at the age of 77. Furthermore, it is alleged that the driver, Kailash Chander, had been working for a total of 75 hours per week in the three weeks leading up the fatal crash; something that is actually legal according to GB Domestic Rules, but probably not appropriate for a person of his age. Chander was also diagnosed with dementia at an early stage after the crash.

As the driver was judged mentally unfit to attend the trial, Stagecoach pleaded guilty to the charge relating to the Health and Safety at Work Act in September 2017 and will be sentenced on November 26th. According to public opinion, it is incredible that Stagecoach continued to allow this particular driver to work despite his age and the stark fact that his unsafe driving practices were detected by the telematics system. In this particular case, the operator has been prosecuted for not maintaining safety despite the tracking system revealing driver behaviour issues.

This might be an example of how telematics itself definitely helps with the implementation of a risk assessment program, but it is completely pointless if companies do not act fully upon the data they receive from vehicles and act before it is too late. Operators should use data in a proactive way, especially when they are repeatedly informed of a driver who is particularly at risk, as was the case in this instance. Traffic commissioners and transport organisations still do not consider telematics a compulsory feature of fleet operation, but similar accidents in the future may actually prompt governments to make it so.

The ETSC (European Transport Safety Council) has recently issued a new report focussing on the role of fleet telematics in the improvement of risk assessment for companies whose commercial activity depends on vehicles. The study, entitled “Using Telematics In Professional Vehicle Fleets” was published October, 2018 and focusses on the positive role of this technology for companies dependent on vehicles.

According to numbers published by the ETSC, more than 25,000 people lost their lives during the whole of 2017 on European roads and around 135,000 suffered injuries deriving from collisions. All in all, it has been estimated that around 40% of the people involved in those accidents were driving for work: 40% of the fatal collisions were in fact work-related.

Governments have taken different measures towards safer roads, adapting their legislation and helping road safety organisations to implement new schemes and programmes with the common aim of reducing those numbers. In this environment, the use of fleet telematics as systems able to capture vehicle data is no longer seen as a tool providing evidence only in the event of a collision, because of its ability to reconstruct what happened leading up to it, but is increasingly being used to monitor driver behaviour. Telematics offers a wide array of data that can potentially be used not only as a risk management tool, but also to identify fleet-wide issues or to improve the sales side of a business.

According to the ETSC, this powerful tool can minimise risks within a fleet by adopting different types of approaches:

• Some road safety issues can in fact be global, such as speeding, which has an impact on both professional drivers and any other road user.
  
• Then there are driver-specific issues that relate to a particular member of staff and can be monitored in real time. Strengths, weaknesses and areas of concern can be worked on for all drivers, and the publication makes the specific example of drivers particularly prone to speeding or less than perfect driving which might be attributed to poor eyesight.
  
• Finally, some issues highlighted within the fleet might actually be related to the wider company and help with the organisation of business practices through policies or the implementation of superior processes; for example, in the loading and unloading of vehicles, the prevention of idling and fatigue and in order to identify risky patterns.
  
  

To make the best use of telematics data, the ETSC publication offers a number of suggestions:

• Collecting data should be carried out correctly and regularly. The data obtained thanks to the technology available might be converted into a more relevant format for drivers, and such collections should be done on a regular basis over a reasonable length of time so as to fully realise the benefits of the system. The continuous collection of data and its analysis will not only help implement positive improvements but also assess behaviours and eventually modify them if inappropriate.
  
• It is important to have a risk assessment programme that focusses on the most important issues and that does not let the benefits go due to the abundance of data available.
  
  
• Regarding data protection, it is important that the implementation of telematics follows the legal guidelines of the country where it is implemented and pays special attention to the drivers. Staff need to be informed about the data collected, the potential use of it and should be in a position to discuss this usage.
  
  

• It is fundamental that everyone in the business is involved in the telematics process and shares joint responsibility for its success, as a team.

The SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon has become a yearly appointment and 2018 has not been an exception. 20,000 participants ran last Sunday during the 39th edition of the event, which has become a yearly fixture for Transpoco and Timing Ireland too.

Transpoco’s technology, regularly used by companies to track their vehicles and run them safely and efficiently, has on this occasion been used to track the runners who took part in the Dublin Marathon event. As usual, with the invaluable help of Timing Ireland, the API data provided by the GPS tracking software has been converted into the on track position of the participants, displayed on special screens to make it easier for everyone to follow the competition.

It is not the first time that Transpoco has successfully been involved in similar events. The company provided GPS tracking technology during a past Dún Laoghaire running event and at the SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon 2017.

If you want to learn how the benefits of the GPS tracking technology can help you in better running your vehicles, contact us. You can also sign up for a free trial and start getting all its advantages for free!

Time for letter G in our A to Z series, and an opportunity to review what has probably been the primary technology behind the revolution of the fleet sector—GPS vehicle tracking. GPS (Global Positioning System) is satellite navigation technology that, by way of a specific receiver, can transmit the GPS coordinates of an object, thus pinpointing its precise location on Earth. GPS tracking is now widespread after being first introduced for military purposes—vehicle tracking technology and telematics have been around for almost 20 years now; these days it is possible to track virtually everything.

In our complete guide to vehicle tracking for fleets we have provided a panorama of this technology: the type of trackers that are used in fleets, the advantages of the system, plus some tips on how to choose your vehicle tracking system and on the main features you can find in GPS vehicle tracking software. With this post, we would like to answer some questions that are still often asked, especially by those who are getting interested in this technology but still have not implemented it into their fleet.

1. Can’t I just track the position of a driver via their phone? You would not necessarily be tracking the position of the vehicle of your driver if you were tracking their work phones; there is always the chance that the phone is switched off or the tracking can easily be inactivated. GPS tracking and GPS vehicle tracking are two different things—of course you are able to find your phone if it gets lost, but tracking a vehicle is a completely different story.
   
   
2. Can I just start tracking my vehicle straight away? It really doesn’t take long. You should install a tracker inside the vehicle and from there the vehicle tracking software will start receiving vehicle data and match them with the GPS location of the vehicle. Which data might depend on the type of package and contract you have with your GPS vehicle tracking provider.
   
   
3. Are GPS vehicle tracking systems and fleet management systems the same thing? GPS vehicle tracking systems usually include software packages that have features merely related to location and positions of vehicles. Fleet management systems tend to have a larger number of features, including safety alerts, fuel modules, maintenance software, but it actually depends on what your provider can offer. It’s not necessarily the case that someone defines their software as a GPS vehicle tracking system and it only involves very basic features. You will only experience the full potential of a specific vehicle tracking software package for yourself once you see a demonstration or sign up for a free trial—so it is definitely something you should check out with your provider.
   
   
4. Can a GPS tracking solution be integrated with my back-office system? APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) generally allow integration of some GPS tracking systems and some providers already offer them, but once again it is something definitely worth checking with your provider. If you are looking for a specific GPS tracking feature that might not necessarily be immediately visible, make sure to inquire into that as well.

When helping fleets to better manage their resources, stay compliant and save money on their total costs, we are often surprised at some companies who still seem to have not understood the potential of digital fleet management systems to keep track of global spend, reduce risks or to operate vehicles with absolute peace of mind without fearing the eventuality of inspections. Some of them may remain unconvinced about the potential of these tools, or feel they already have a suitable method in place to stay compliant and safe even if it isn’t digitalised.

With the recent studies about compliance inspections coming to light, though, companies might actually be inclined to re-examine their position if they do not have a digitalised system to properly keep track of activity and the compliance of their fleet: according to some very recent news, around half of the total fleets in Europe have been impacted by either roadside inspections or compliance inspections focussing on drivers’ hours regulations.

If you feel you still might not be ready for such an event or either just don’t trust digital methods for fleet tracking, a good idea is to check if the applications work for you by signing up for a free trial—we actually bet you won’t be able to do without them once you’ve tried out these tools. If you are still not ready for the trial, we will give you five extra reasons why signing up for a free fleet software trial would be perfect for you!

#1 – No risks. No strings attached, hassle and risk free: free fleet software trials accustoms you to the technology and allows for the opportunity to test its potential for quite a reasonable length of time, so you have the freedom to evaluate the tools without taking financial risks straight away and are able to see if they would be a good fit for your fleet.

#2 – Get familiarised. If you are among those who do not especially feel tech-savvy, free fleet software trials are actually a great opportunity for you to get more familiarised with fleet applications before you actually commit—you will see just how easy they are to use and also the depth of visibility offered!

#3 – Experience full visibility. One of the great advantages of fleet compliance software and tracking application is the incredible visibility of fleet operations, vehicles, staff and procedures they offer—something impossible to reproduce by manual methods.

#4 – Experience paperless compliance. You might have heard of paperless methods to manage fleets or either maintenance inspections or compliance checks—if you begin a free trial, you can actually see how this works, with huge savings in terms of time, administration and archive space.

#5 – Check out the needs of your fleet and any other feature. If you have the opportunity of getting started with a free fleet software trial, while the trial is still ongoing you might actually check if you can have access to any other feature maybe not specifically appearing in your trial pack or to any report you might wish to check. The fleet experts that have created the trial pack can help you with this.

If you wish to see all the benefits of a tracking system or compliance inspection software, you now have an opportunity to begin a free trial of our fleet tracking or compliance and maintenance inspection app—it’s a great opportunity if you want to enjoy all the benefits we have detailed in points 1 to 5!

When we approach a new customer and present our SaaS fleet management solutions, what often comes out is that most people believe such solutions are only addressed to transportation providers—which are probably the only kind of companies that the public associate with transport products.

But thinking that companies who don’t consider themselves primarily transportation providers will not get benefits from fleet management solutions is a misconception. The truth is that any business dependent on driving to a degree and which employs staff for that purpose, even if it might not be their principle role, potentially has the opportunity for a safer and more efficient business thanks to SaaS fleet management solutions—do you want to know how?

#1 - Sector-specific challenges. Viewed superficially, typical tasks of the transportation sections might seem to all fall into a “move X from A to B” definition, though that is just the tip of the iceberg and a great deal of planning and resources is required. It’s exactly the same for other sectors, which might have to deal with a full sector-typical set of challenges. In the construction sector, for example, punctuality in work carried out, expensive assets protection and control of their different features are important. In aviation, though the focus is on flights and aircrafts, there is a wide network of vehicles working hard inside airport complexes on handling, passengers transport, aircraft maintenance and fuelling in order to get flights to depart and land on time and get the best performance in the era of the low-cost airline. Even other businesses relying on a vehicle fleet for their sales team or for providing a service would need to make the wisest use of their time. In all of these challenges, SaaS fleet management solutions can definitely make the difference.

#2 - Safety for your employees. The boundary between doing something right and something wrong behind the wheel might actually be wafer-thin. Driving is an extremely risky activity, not only for professional drivers but even more so for those where driving is an incidental part of the job (again, sales people or service providers such as cleaners, contractors and security officers are examples)—they might be even more prone to risky driving attitudes. SaaS fleet management solutions allow any company to actively monitor what happens to your team while out on the road and offers you the opportunity to provide proactive coaching and boost global safety.

#3 - Work organisation. A good organisation is key not only to getting work done smoothly, but also to keeping employees happy, improving productivity, generating revenue and maximising savings. If part of your work involves vehicles and time spent behind the wheel, whatever your sector might be, SaaS fleet management solutions have the potential to help you better organise tasks and improve fleet processes. Technology can automate part of such processes and avoid duplication of work, manual work and mistakes generated by it.

#4 - Savings and efficiencies. SaaS fleet management solutions can empower any company to gain control over their expenses and take significant steps toward making their budgets stretch further thanks to enhanced visibility of what is happening to vehicles driven but also of other sources of costs for fleets, such as maintenance, fuel, potential accidents and insurance; which can be reduced either through greater visibility of the whole picture or by switching to a safer and more efficient driving behaviour. Such visibility, added to increased automation and less administration work, will equate to better time savings and is a precious commodity in any industry.

The 2018 Fleet Barometer report is the result of an annual research conducted by the Corporate Vehicle Observatory, a neutral knowledge sharing platform dedicated to all corporate fleet stakeholders, both private and public companies. The results of this year’s edition were made public in mid-June and seem to provide a complete picture of how European fleets are confident about their future growth, still count on leasing as a reliable source of funding, and are increasingly reliant upon telematics and new technologies. For the 2018 research, more than 3000 fleet managers across a range of European countries were interviewed. Let’s review the survey outcome point by point!

#1 - Hybrid and electric vehicle growth. According to the CVO FB report, 30% of very large fleets have already switched to electric vehicles, and 27% to hybrids. Both large and very large fleets indicate they want to accelerate this trend in the years to come, with small and medium fleets planning to follow suit. Companies are increasingly concerned about their CO₂ targets, and the trend towards alternative powertrains is seen as a future prospect or concern to be debated by 32% of the small fleets interviewed (48% for large fleets). The increasing stress is attributed to the pressures of Corporate Social Responsibility, and the stricter WLTP test is also seen as a contributing factor.

#2 - Interest in mobility technology and telematics. European fleets seem to be interested in mobility alternatives such as car sharing or ride sharing services, but fleet managers are increasingly interested in car-sharing and ride-sharing as mobility alternatives for their company. Mobility budgets and telematics are also becoming more popular, as almost a third of large and very large companies have telematics tools in place in at least part of their fleets, mainly for vehicle tracking, journey optimisation, lowering fuel costs and improving safety. Particularly important was the UK result with 50% of the interviewed companies there making use of telematics (some way above the European average). As for the individual reasons for telematics implementation: 60% of the interviewed confirmed they chose telematics to improve global driver safety, 55% to improve driver behaviour, 74% of companies use it to locate vehicles, 61% to optimize journeys and 59% to reduce the global fleet costs.

#3 - Whole business confidence has increased. Large fleets expressed the highest confidence in future fleet growth: 27% of them anticipate a growth in their size, but smaller ones also seem to be reasonably confident as 13% of them do expect fleet growth. Overall, small and medium-sized companies are most confident in the UK.

#4 - Full-service leasing as preferred financing option. Very large company fleets (51%) and large company fleets (38%) seem to prefer operational leasing as a financing option. This is hardly a new trend: leasing has been a preferred option for large to very large companies for a long time, and the figures mentioned above are fairly stable over time. But this seems to be something that SMEs—who traditionally have not used leasing as a financing method for their fleets—are tentatively moving towards. The share of small businesses choosing the lease option has increased from 9% to 17% in the last 3 years. For medium-sized companies, the increase is from 17% to 21%.

The SynX by Transpoco suite, with all of the different packages and features available, can definitely benefit small or large organisations and make fleet managers’ lives much simpler—or anyone’s, actually, who happens to manage vehicles commercially.

Fleet Management software as a service (SaaS) helps companies in many ways—needless to say that some features might be more important and relevant to one business more than another; but when it comes to achieving the paperless office, this is actually a big step towards a more sustainable, secure and less error-prone business.

But what can the concept of a paperless office do for you? If you use a digitalised system, you will not only benefit from less time spent on typical admin tasks, constantly printing and copying, but actually you can, most importantly, access the information you need very efficiently in just a few clicks.

Have a look at 3 features of the SynX suite that might help you achieve not only the paperless office, but also deliver all the relevant fleet data quicker than ever!

#1 - Walkaround checks app and dashboard

Our maintenance inspection software allows you to run walkaround checks according to the standard checklists or to build up different vehicle inspection processes that can be customised for the specific needs of your fleet of vehicles. An easy-to-use app records the checks done by your drivers, and the Walkaround Dashboard collects checks done and defects recorded by your staff in a safe way…. Forget about paper checklists and copies, everything you need in the event of an inspection can be instantly found in SynX. This feature is available for all SynX Maintain and Perform packages or as a stand-alone—do not hesitate to contact us to learn more or kick off with a free trial!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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#2 - Service Management—where you can manage your fleet maintenance

Defect recording via daily or regular vehicle checks done by your staff is essential to run a smooth maintenance system and get the most out of your fleet, but it is certainly not the only thing needed. All defects should be made actionable and promptly addressed by your servicing provider or preferred garage. This is actually made possible via the Service Management section, which offers the possibility of creating a service directly from a defect within the Walkaround section. Your maintenance partners can instantly see defects in image format uploaded by your drivers, quickly recognising the issue and providing a time estimate for its resolution. If you are dependent upon external maintenance providers, the Service Management tool will greatly assist in communicating with them.

You can upload defect pictures from the Walkaround Checks App feature in a very easy way!

All the defects and the servicing milestones are actionable from the Service Management section.

#3 - Driver documentation in driver settings

The settings section, available for all SynX Move and Perform Packages, gives you complete control over the different fleet settings with a dedicated section for drivers. From there, you can not only establish access to the different app features, but also upload all the relevant driver documents, all available in just a matter of clicks.