Ask the expert

TomTom WORK is different to the majority of solutions in the market as it is provides a complete mobile workforce solution. By offering a Connected Navigation solution, benefits to drivers are many and varied.

Connected Navigation is a business tool that allows more efficient planning and job dispatch, sending job information directly to a dedicated TomTom device in the vehicle. This removes the requirement for drivers to input addresses themselves and eliminates any room for error as well as improving safety.

The device provides drivers with a stress-free way of getting to their destination first time, on time, while also providing useful information back to the office on ETAs and the status of any job.

TomTom WORK also now includes TomTom LIVE! Services as part of its monthly subscription. This gives drivers access to the latest innovations from TomTom – high quality, real-time traffic information through TomTom’s own HD Traffic service, safety camera updates and access to fuel prices on their route.

Benefits for companies include reduced fuel consumption, with attendant reduction in CO2. Accurate arrival times reflect on the efficiency of both driver and company and more jobs can be scheduled because of increased efficiency.

With the incorporation of FleetCheck within the TomTom WORK range, companies can keep a check on maintenance schedules, replacement parts and MOT requirements.
 

Connected navigation is an increasingly vital business tool that can help a companies become more efficient, effective and profitable. 

The latest development from TomTom WORK is WEBFLEET Dashboard, designed to help fleet managers interpret the data generated from their telematics systems more easily, helping them implement policy to measure savings such as time, money and fuel as well as improving overall business performance. 

With a single overview, the user sees a fully customisable dashboard covering all relevant data, analysis and trends .

Recent innovations in hardware have seen the launch of TomTom GO 7000, designed for professional drivers. It is HD Traffic™ ready, ensuring current real-time traffic information, as well as reports about delays and suggestions on alternative routes together with LIVE services. 

HD Traffic™ coupled with TomTom IQ Routes™, provided by the company’s ownership of the world’s largest mapping company, ensures the best route for the driver and provides the most accurate arrival times – great for delivering to customer expectations and providing a clear competitive advantage.

At times of economic difficulty, when costs have to be reduced and processes optimised, TomTom WEBFLEET Dashboard enables decisions to be made quickly, with all the relevant information at your fingertips. With the GO7000, your drivers will be where they need to be, stress free. 

There are many benefits to using connected navigation. The savings start from day one and in some cases the entire system can be paid for in six to eight months. 

However, payback on initial investment is not the only issue to be used as a metric for success – there are five main areas where TomTom WORK enhances productivity and delivers improved customer service. 

Firstly, the system offers a two- way communication/job despatch facility delivering up to 40% savings on mobile phone use. Satellite-navigation means that delivery or job locations are found efficiently, reducing driving distances by 11%.

The latest features from TomTom WORK, HD Traffic™ coupled with TomTom IQ Routes™ mean traffic delays can be avoided and alternative routes suggested, reducing driving hours by up to 18%. This can lead to a 10% increase in the number of jobs that can be handled and a 15% reduction in the amount of fuel used by vehicle fleet.

In addition, staff management and health and safety issues are addressed by a telematics product. A further benefit is safety. Drivers feel more in control, less distracted and less stressed, so accidents can be reduced by up to 12%, leading to a 5% reduction in damage costs.

A positive return on investment at these challenging economic times is vital on any costs incurred by a company. By investing in connected navigation, fleets are finding major benefits as outlined here, amounting to improved efficiency, increased customer satisfaction levels, a better safety record and lower costs. It all adds up to sharpening up a company’s competitive edge.

Contact: 020 7255 9774
www.tomtomwork.co.uk

With so many telematics companies in the market it can be hard to know how to choose the best. 

While you clearly need to find one whose products meet your immediate requirements, you should also look beyond that and consider how they will be able to react to changes in your needs.

This makes it important to have a partner who constantly innovates, develops and enhances what its systems are able to deliver. 

Companies should look for a provider which invests in its back-end systems to ensure performance is optimised and available at all times. With over 80,000 vehicles using TomTom WORK it is essential that we continue to invest heavily to guarantee and maintain performance to the highest standards. 

A further consideration is that many telematics companies try to wrap everything up into a long-term lease arrangement with money upfront and the customer left with a contract with the leasing provider, not much help when there are problems with the actual system. 

With TomTom WORK customers have a direct contractual relationship with the company paying on a monthly basis, which means that we can ensure that customers are happy and using the system to its full potential after the initial sale.

TomTom WORK has a range of solutions at affordable prices that result in payback within a surprisingly short period of time. 

Contact: sales.uk@tomtomwork.com or go to www.tomtomwork.co.uk

It is important to remember you are selecting a partner for the next three to five years, and the financial health of your supplier is one of the most important factors in making your decision.

Even the introduction of “pay-as-you-go” models for telematics are high risk, both for the supplier and the customer as the telematics supplier is, in effect, acting as a bank and funding all of the upfront costs.

There have already been a number of cases of suppliers going into administration or hiking up their service charge costs in order to survive. Having to change supplier and the upheaval that comes with this is a disruption that your business does not need.

Therefore, choose a company that has a strong track record together with proven products, a fast-growing install base of satisfied customers, and a reputation of being ahead of the curve on product innovation and development. 

Strong vehicle tracking suppliers own their systems end to end, both hardware and software, meaning they are developed to work with each other, therefore more reliable and less likely to have break points in the system. 

Good back-up support and customer service are also vital and companies seeking a provider should always ask for customer references. This will give a real indication the level of service.

While it may seem to be an attractive proposition from the customer’s perspective, PAYG comes with inherent risks. 

For a telematics supplier to offer a PAYG option, it means funding the hardware upfront themselves. 

This has a big impact on their cash-flow and a knock-on effect on their ability to sustain the levels of investment required to keep innovating in their platform and to provide the levels of service and support required to offer a reliable solution to their customers. 

As a customer, you need to be in a position to weigh up the short-term gain against the potential pain when the provider is no longer able to sustain the model, or even worse, can no longer provide the basic service as it has run out of money. 

Looking for a balance between value and risk is the most important choice for a company to make when choosing a telematics solution. 

At TomTom WORK, we already offer a very flexible model for our customers, offering both hardware purchase and leasing options and collecting the monthly service fee on a month- by-month basis. 

Customers are looking for a solution not just for today but for the next three-five years and beyond and they need to be sure that their supplier is capable of delivering this.

The solution is a more flexible device that can be easily transferred between vehicles, but still retains the integrity of the fully installed traditional telematics device. 

TomTom WORK has launched the GO 9000 solution developed for companies making use of hire vehicles and sub-contracted staff. 

It enables all members of the mobile workforce to be correctly monitored and guided to jobs quickly and accurately.

It combines the benefits of world leading navigation, while collecting data on vehicle utilisation, such as trip and order reports. 

The solution includes TomTom LIVE Services in the WEBFLEET subscription. These helpful services include HD traffic along with IQ Routes and Mapshare. 

This means drivers are always taken on the best route to maximise their productivity and eliminate unnecessary fuel wastage.

The solution is ideal for monitoring sub-contractors, hired or grey fleet and has proven to have an immediate effect on fuel costs. 

This is due to mileage being claimed on actual journeys and are submitted consistently, leaving little margin for false claims or errors. Feedback suggests savings in the region of 15% on mileage expense bills, reducing the burden of fuel cost on the company bottom line.

Establishing a company’s carbon footprint, so it can operate responsibly and minimise its impact on the environment, is becoming an increasingly important topic. 

But how a company goes about calculating their own carbon footprint is proving to be challenging. TomTom WORK has introduced a simple carbon footprint measuring tool within its WEBFLEET Dashboard software which provides a gauge on predefined indicators of CO2 emissions. 

It provides a range of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and the latest is carbon footprint information to monitor fleet policy. It is an aggregation of the CO2 emissions of the entire fleet, group or simply an individual vehicle. 

The process involves entering the average fleet fuel consumption or specifying the consumption and fuel type for every vehicle. 

In cases where a fleet consists of several different types of vehicle, the user can change the consumption and fuel type individually for each vehicle. After the consumption is configured the calculation of the carbon footprint will commence with all new trips. 

The KPI is delivered in simple bar charts and will show the trend for the average carbon footprint per day and per vehicle. 

The facility allows comparisons with individual groups of vehicles which makes it easy to weed out inefficiencies within a fleet.

This is a quite natural response to the introduction of new technology, particularly amongst employees who previously have enjoyed a high level of freedom in their working arrangements. But it is important to convince them both of the business case and of the benefits to them personally. 

In the present economic climate companies that embrace technology retain their customers and win new business. With that comes job security and the potential for new jobs. Those that don’t get left behind in the race. I’m sure that most people want to work for a successful and growing company. For employees who work alone, perhaps in remote places or in a dangerous environment, a telematics system that is adaptable and portable such as the new GO9000 can provide a vital lifeline to ensure their safety and security. 

It can also be used to satisfy the tax man on benefit-in-kind compliance, saving them money and reducing the burden of administration for mileage claims and filling out expense sheets. And it can reduce the stress of driving by providing high quality navigation.

As a leading telemetics company TomTom WORK can provide plenty of evidence of how their systems, from simple tracking to full-blown connected navigation, can cut costs by reducing wasted mileage, increase customer satisfaction, leading to repeat business, and keep employees less stressed and safer.

Flexibility is essential to the effective management of vehicle fleets and mobile workforces. Additional staff are employed at this time of the year to fill in workload peaks and this means that drivers might need to use different, or many vehicles and so the quick interchangeability of satnav and other management tracking devices is key. 

Also, vehicles could be on contract or spot hire and they need to be monitored just like the rest of the fleet. Fixed telematics systems dedicated to individual vehicles may not provide the answer. What is needed is a truly portable system that can be easily and instantly moved between vehicles or drivers providing all the benefits of tracking, two-way communication and satellite navigation. 

The latest unique development from TomTom WORK does precisely that. The GO9000 is straight out of the box, plug and play and no installation required. It operates through the market leading WEBFLEET software, an online fleet management service accessible 24 hours a day with accurate private/company mileage expenses dealt with and therefore less admin. 

So all members of a company’s mobile and temporary workforce can be used effectively and efficiently leading to a happy and profitable Christmas!