Seeing more customers means generating more revenue. You could do it by hiring more plumbers, but there’s a faster, less expensive way to cover up to 20% more clients with the team you already have. GPS-enabled tracking systems give you the power to optimize the routes all your trucks take, giving them the ability to drive fewer miles while also solving more customers’ problems. You save money on fuel, increase your revenue, and reduce wear and tear on your vehicles. All for less than a cup of coffee per day per truck.  

Here’s how it works:

Systems like GPS Trackit’s VidFleet combine GPS vehicle tracking with driver- and road-facing cameras and two-way communication systems to give operators a detailed, real-time view of where each truck is, its operating status, and what kind of issues the plumber on site might be encountering. Not only can a manager see where any truck is at a given time, but he or she can use detailed reports to see where all crews moved relative to each other, what each crew’s average time at a job was, and how efficient the combination of route and crew was.

Armed with that kind of ground-level knowledge — and the ability to communicate with each plumber with a chat function — a manager can build much more efficient routes. One GPS Trackit client tracked 10 trucks for two weeks and used the “crumb trails” from each truck to build routes that allowed each technician to see two more clients on a given day. The revenue from a single client paid for the systems to be installed in all of the trucks in the plumbing contractor’s fleet.

Because the systems so precisely map when and where trucks and crews operate, the information can be used for a variety of powerful customer-facing functions. For example, having real-time information about truck location gives operators the ability to predict much more accurate time windows for plumbers to arrive at a job. Location data can be used to produce much more accurate time-based billing, and cross-referencing job types with crew locations allows operators to assign more experienced plumbers to solve more complex problems. All of those enhancements give customers more accurate, pertinent information and increase the chance they’ll have a positive experience.

GPS Trackit’s system overlays onto the ubiquitous Google Maps template, which also gives operators the ability to map out routes that avoid trouble spots related to traffic, construction, weather, or any other ever-changing situation. Reducing the time trucks spend idling or driving in stop-and-go traffic can improve overall fleet fuel economy by as much as 35%. On a fleet of 10 trucks, that’s a savings of hundreds of dollars per month — all without making any fundamental changes to staff levels or customer counts. 

The common denominator in all of this? Information. The more an operator has, and the more he or she can get it to his or her plumbers and customers when they need it, the better. GPS Trackit’s system has a chat function built into the interface so both plumbers and managers can communicate job status or travel issues in a format that doesn’t present the potential distraction of a phone call or text message. Both truck and dispatch have a central hub of information for each job, which lets operators see the status at a glance, deploy technicians where they’re needed, and be ready for potential disruptions. 

Better yet, the systems are simply plug-and-play, and require no extensive training for use in the field or to get the benefits of the reporting they produce. Most operators see a positive return on investment before the end of the first month. 

To learn more about how a GPS-enabled field service management system can help you help more customers every day, schedule a free demo with a GPS Trackit Fleet Coordinator today.