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New advances in the form of GPS-enabled smartphones, netbooks and other technologies are making vehicle tracking easier and cheaper for everyone. Are these new systems any good? What are their implications and what are the likely impacts on the Fleet vehicle tracking industry?

In the world of fleet management the many benefits of vehicle tracking and GPS devices are well known. There's no secret to the fact that vehicle tracking systems save organisations huge amounts of time and money (as well as radically improving customer service) by providing pinpoint vehicle locations and a host of vital vehicle stats and performance data.

Forewarned is forearmed. Knowing the real-time location of vehicles means that traffic jams, complicated routes and unnecessary mileage can be avoided, as can inefficient vehicle speeds. The benefits go on – you protect against employee fraud, the misuse and personal use of company vehicles and theft; you can ensure time sheets are accurate, monitor driving standards and retrain if necessary; you can improve safety and strengthen accountability; and ultimately improve efficiency and profits.

Until now fleet management systems have been designed, sold and supported by fleet management and vehicle tracking specialists - GPS devices with custom developed, dedicated software. These are companies with a clear understanding of the fleet management sector and experience in the sort of problems faced and how best to deal with them. The principle here is that if you want a job done properly go to a professional for the best solution. In the private and domestic markets too, names like such as Garmin and TomTom have become commonplace, offering popular real-time GPS systems that save drivers time, money and hassle.

Recently though we've seen the introduction of new vehicle tracking technology in the form of GPS tracking systems integrated with Google Maps. Claimed by manufacturers to be more accurate and even easier to use than existing GPS and fleet management systems, the main difference is that now vehicles can be tracked in real-time using Google Maps on devices such as mobile phones, netbooks and laptops.

Already sales of standalone GPS systems are in decline as people choose to not invest in expensive dedicated equipment and instead opt to take the information they need through their GPS-enabled handsets or computers. Is this a sign of things to come in the fleet vehicle-tracking sector?

For the Fleet Vehicle Tracking sector the threat is very real

Why would a haulage company for example, or a sales office invest in expensive, dedicated vehicle tracking systems with costly bespoke GPS devices if the job of tracking the vehicles can be equally well performed through a mobile phone at a fraction of the price?

The challenge faced by the industry is clear – to use the experience, expertise and the inside professional knowledge of fleet management to offer a premium product. By knowing exactly the sort of information that fleet managers need the industry can highlight its expertise. Instead of fearing the new technologies progressive companies will embrace it and integrate it into their offerings. The opportunity to cut costs for customers and maintain margins can only be a good thing.