Questions to Ask GPS Providers before Buying Devices

by Vijay J. Digital Marketing Head at Letstrack

GPS fleet tracking systems are a hardware and software bundle that tracks your vehicles, maintenance, fuel, records the driving habits of drivers, issues status reports on your fleet, and alerts you when incidents or other events occur such as over speed, zone change and so on. GPS services can also be built out to adhere to government compliance laws, such as electronic logging devices, the International Fuel Tax Agreement, and a driver vehicle inspection report. The main work of these services, however, is to collect the data to enhance the efficiency, safety, functioning of the fleet and eventually the growth of the organization.

To help you find the right GPS fleet tracking service and service provider for your business, we have compiled this buying guide to advise you on what to look for with these services. Apart from this, this guide answers common questionnaire related to fleet tracking services and offers fundamental information on main features.

However, finding the right GPS services provider is not so easy. Some main points you might run into include:

• Good customer support available 24/7

• Easy installation or without any guidance or support

• Buying of the wrong device, leading to a messy return/exchange situation

• Automatic contract renewals or alerts for it –locking you into a service that is not a good way

• Any hidden fees like tax

• On time GPS device or software delivery

• To avoid these main problems, there are many other critical questions to ask your prospective GPS solution provider before signing the dotted line.

Software update- how often does the software update happen and what will be the cost of it?

In present, technology is growing at a rapid speed. So the GPS tracking device and software you have bought should be continuously improved to meet your ever-changing requirements and reflect the improvement in your industry.

There are two types of process to updates-

Quarterly or half yearly or yearly updates- a good way that you can plan but that is not on time

Frequent Updates- as new features are rolled out they become available without any planned schedule time

You should know- are these updates are automatic and free or come at a cost. You also need these updates on time without any delay and there should be a proper channel for you to give feedback on performance.

Is the GPS software developed by the provider or using third party software?

A good company should have own in-house team for each service to provide services on time with 24x7 support. If they are using the third party for any product including software development then quality can be good but in case of support, you can wait for a while. The absence of an in-house team means you are dealing with a reseller. Resellers aren’t invested in the product, and they have no control over its development and behaviour. So, your feedback will fall on deaf ears.

Does the service provider have relevant experience?

Has this service provider worked with any same domain/industry, fleet sizes, and requirements like you? You can see their reviews, clients’ testimonials, as the proof.

How easy is integration with your other systems?

Integration is crucial for smooth activities/ operations. Using many mobile apps and devices with no cross- working, can be teasing and wastage of time. You should discuss with services provider about the app and devices you are using for a smooth run.