We would recommend that businesses, whether new to the technology or long time users, engage with training materials and their supplier and ask what features are available.

There are often unexplored areas of a business where the technology can deliver additional benefit.

One method is to implement driver performance league tables which reward top performers with a percentage of the savings they achieve.

Creating an air of competition within the business can grab driver attention and keep them motivated and focused.

‘Ensure system is easily scalable to meet your future needs’

Mark Forrest, general manager, Trimble Field Service

Many businesses start with a basic solution for a specific aspect of their mobile operation.

After gaining experience in its use and realising its benefits, they often decide to expand the solution to incorporate other, more comprehensive work management capabilities.

That’s why it is important that the initial solution is capable of such expansion to protect the initial investment and training, without needing to ‘start over’.

You may also consider integrating the new capabilities with your current back-office software to increase productivity while using the software you already know.

When choosing a telematics system, you should ensure that all components are truly interoperable and that the system is easily scalable to meet today’s requirements and to allow for future needs which may include a larger fleet, more varied/complex field operations or additional capabilities.

It often makes sense to select an integrated, full-suite solution provider, rather than cherry pick individual components that may not work efficiently together as needs evolve.

‘Build an overall picture of how your resources are being utilised’

Sergio Barata, head of (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) EMEA, Telogis

The most significant benefits from telematics are to be seen when they are integrated across the organisation.

Fleet management should be integrated with routing and navigation, job scheduling, driver scorecards, customer service, fuel card management and the supply chain.

As an example, where telematics is integrated with fuel card management, it can help to better report on fuel transactions and identify and prevent fraud.

The system should be hardware agnostic, so that it works with whatever black box the fleet is using, and it should be available on mobile devices, so that field workers can receive their work schedules and report back as each job is completed.