What are the most important considerations when choosing a vehicle tracking solution?

There is a wide range of vehicle tracking suppliers available and many might claim to be the best! You may be bombarded with clever advertising and lots of clutter in the printed and social media. The truth is there is no ‘best’ vehicle tracking supplier, but there will be a supplier whose vehicle tracking products and services meet your specific requirements, are reliable, well established, and offer good support at the right price.

What factors do you need to consider whilst making a decision on vehicle tracking for your vehicle? We found some important suggestions on the Arrive Alive website in a page focusing on vehicle Tracking and Stolen Vehicle Recovery in South Africa:

• Never assume that all vehicle tracking systems are the same and just choose based on price
• Learn as much as you can about different systems. Research them on the Internet, call the companies and ask for literature.
• The vehicle tracking system needs to be able to do what you require of it. Determine how much money you are willing to spend.
• Check exactly what you are getting for your money. Check the fixed and variable costs, set up charges, annual software licensing etc.
• Qualify and quantify each benefit and prove to yourself and others in your business that there would be a return on each of these benefits and that they are not just a ‘nice to have’.
• Reliability – The best way for you to establish whether a product is reliable is to speak to existing customers
• Customer support – technology is never perfect and vehicle tracking is no different. You will have problems with some of your units over time, which is to be expected, but you need to know that you have the support there when needed.
• Financial Stability of the Tracking Supplier – there are a rapidly increasing number of tracking companies entering the industry, and almost as many are failing to survive in a very competitive environment. Enquire about your tracking supplier and find out a bit about their history.
• Find out if, in addition to the fixed costs, there are additional monthly charges e.g. “Airtime”. Monthly charges, in addition to the cost of the system itself, can add up.
• Check the coverage of the tracking system. Are there black spots? If there are, where are they?
• What happens to the data if the Vehicle Location Unit installed in the vehicle cannot transmit due to a coverage black spot? (lack of GSM, GPRS, Satellite Communications) Does the unit store the location updates? If so, how many and for how long?
• It is important to be aware that the technology you acquire today may be quickly overtaken by the technology of tomorrow. Your vehicle tracking partner must be able to provide you with new technology and upgrades!

Also view:

Vehicle Tracking and Stolen Vehicle Recovery

Car Insurance and Road Safety

Fleet Management, Logistics and Road Safety