6 Key Benefits of IoT Fleet Management

For rental companies, fleet management comes with several business challenges. Inability to find or pick up equipment at the site results in wasted time and resources. When information is siloed across multiple systems, equipment location can be a mystery. A lack of visibility into equipment status and performance results in a reactive and costly approach to service. And without information on operating history, it’s difficult for rental companies to determine the value of equipment. 

Internet of Things (IoT) and augmented reality (AR) technologies transform service and customer satisfaction in mixed fleet operations. For one rental company, PTC technology drove the development of a single, integrated portal for critical telematics and equipment data.

What Is IoT Fleet Management?

Data can help organizations that are responsible for maximizing fleet utilization. IoT and AR technologies provide visibility, insights, and assistance that benefit myriad business models, unifying systems and data for streamlined fleet management that drives tangible business values.

How IoT Improves Fleet Management Systems

IoT technology enables new levels of insight by making all needed data available in a single, unified view—whether it’s from different telematics protocols or multiple business systems or locations. With the right IoT solution, organizations responsible for fleet management can also access role-based insights that enable better, faster decision making.

How IoT Has Revolutionized Fleet Management

Construction and rental companies face several key business challenges when it comes to fleet management, including difficulties finding equipment, accessing equipment information across disintegrated systems, and identifying the status and value of equipment. IoT has revolutionized fleet management by integrating systems into a “single pane of glass” that combines data and displays information about equipment scheduling, work orders, customer rentals, equipment telematics, and more.

Remote Condition Monitoring of Assets

Without sufficient insights into equipment status and performance, technicians provide reactive services that can lead to unplanned downtime. With remote condition monitoring, service organizations use actionable data insights to identify equipment issues before they result in failure and costly downtime. This proactive approach to service is critical for companies managing a geographically dispersed fleet of assets.

Automation of Tasks and Processes

Managing a fleet of assets means managing a greater number of complex tasks and processes. IoT enables a unified view of data through a single pane of glass so service organizations can monitor equipment status and performance. With insights from multiple different systems, organizations can automate tasks and workflows, such as supplies ordering. This helps free more of their time to focus on other high-value use cases for IoT fleet management.

Predictive Maintenance of Vehicles

The single pane of glass unifies data across OEM telemetry systems from multiple fleet vehicles, displaying critical information that organizations can leverage for remote service use cases. Remote condition monitoring provides actionable insights through real-time alerts that service organizations can use for predictive maintenance, and avoid the costs associated with unplanned downtime. In the hands of your workforce, actionable data is empowering.

Benefits of IoT in Fleet Management

1. Streamlined Service Calls
   With advanced data insights through IoT, technicians are prepared for service calls with the right tools and parts to solve the problem at hand. Equipped with IoT data, employees are empowered to improve first-time fix rates (FTFR), reduce mean time to repair, and decrease unplanned downtime—all critical benefits in fleet management. 
2. Improved Maintenance
   Actionable data insights drive a proactive service approach (as opposed to a reactive approach). With access to the right data at the right time, technicians are empowered to improve service KPIs—such as up to 47% more effective preventative maintenance.
3. Improved Efficiency
   This proactive approach also drives service efficiencies, such as:
   • Up to a 92% FTFR
   • Up to 83% less time on site
   • Up to 50% faster technician training
4. Improved Fuel Efficiency
   In addition to providing insights for more efficient service, IoT enables remote services, which:
   • Empower technicians to avoid site visits
   • Improve technicians’ efficiency
   • Provide faster resolutions to customers
   • Optimize fuel efficiency  
5. Improved Fleet Utilization
   Through the single pane of glass, rental companies have better insights into equipment location. When equipment pick-ups are more efficient, organizations save time and resources, improve contract compliance, and achieve faster turnover for rental assets. Access to equipment operating history also simplifies valuation of used assets for sale.
6. Improved Customer Satisfaction
   When preventative maintenance is more effective and other KPIs like FTFR are improved, customers benefit from greater equipment uptime and service organizations strengthen trust in their customer relationships.

PTC Technologies to Further Enhance Fleet Management

PTC offers a combination of connected product solutions that optimize fleet management and monitoring through streamlined service and advanced product insights. It starts with Product Intelligence, which drives the real-time visibility service organizations need to transform fleet management with Service Optimization and Product Innovation solutions.

Service Optimization solutions enable: 

• Remote service, which helps increase profitability
• Customer self-service, which boosts customer satisfaction and reduces service costs
• Field technician efficiency, which reduces time on site

The ThingWorx IoT platform helps organizations leverage service optimization solutions for transformed IoT fleet management at scale. And augmented remote assistance through Vuforia Chalk provides expert support for more efficient service.

Product Innovation solutions enable:

• Connected revenue models based on customer usage patterns
• Data driven design 

Customer Case Study: Sunbelt Rentals

Leading rental company Sunbelt Rentals leverages IoT technology for fleet management and monitoring by working with KPMG and its alliance with PTC. With goals to improve efficiency by unifying its systems and data across a fleet of more than 600,000 assets, Sunbelt selected the ThingWorx platform. 

IoT fleet management with ThingWorx drives valuable outcomes across Sunbelt’s business, including a unified view of critical data from 16 systems, increased rentable asset uptime, and an improved customer experience through its Customer Command Center.

Start harnessing valuable IoT insights for a fully transformed fleet management strategy. Find the guidance you need in PTC’s Improve Fleet Utilization with Smart, Connected Assets brochure.