Investment in online services looks set to continue on the part of fleet management companies as they seek greater differentiation, says Chevin.

The fleet software company says that providing more sophisticated online tools is a cost-effective way for fleet management companies to stand out from their competitors.

Managing director Ashley Sowerby explained: “Many of the products and services provided by fleet management companies are essentially commodities that are often bought on a price-driven basis.

“Therefore, many of the more forward thinking companies work to differentiate themselves by providing a wider range of higher quality service – and having more sophisticated online tools fits into this mindset.”

Customer expectations of these online services were growing all the time, Sowerby added, and there was a desire on the part of fleet management to find further innovations designed to impress existing and potential customers.

He said: “Having a portal with a range of online tools that allows you to drill down into your data and provide basic information about the vehicles on your fleet is now seen very much as a given, as are vehicle quoting, ordering and delfleeting tools.

“Now, the more advanced fleet management portals resemble fleet software with limited functionality, covering areas like mileage, CO2 and other key indicators. Many of these are designed to work with apps designed to be issued to drivers.

“From our point of view, these systems do not compete with our core fleet management systems because they are aimed at different customer bases, and we are in conversation with several fleet management companies about their offerings.

“Certainly, there is an appetite for further investment if the right projects can be identified and we are looking at creating new tools in several areas that we believe will be highly innovative in this market sector.”