It has never been easy to manage a fleet – and these days, with an increasing focus on efficiency and sustainability, companies with corporate fleets need more than just basic GPS tracking to stay in the game. Mapon, a Latvia-based leader in fleet monitoring software, is at the forefront of these management changes, providing cutting-edge solutions to help businesses unlock new efficiency goals.
Mapon’s journey began in 2006 when the company set out to create a multifunctional online fleet management and asset tracking platform. Over the years, Mapon has grown to have a strong international team and has built long-lasting relationships with thousands of clients and partners worldwide.
So, what does Mapon offer and what can a company gain by getting access to fleet management software? We sat down with Mapon to talk through innovations in fleet management and sketch the industry’s perspectives for the near future.
Fleet Management Software That Has It All
Mapon starts by noting that these days, in order to succeed in fleet management, a company needs to have a thorough understanding of its daily operations. While many different apps measure and monitor separate activities or data flows, finding an all-in-one solution that covers a whole range of daily needs of fleet managers is still a struggle for many. That’s where Mapon steps in with its intuitive and multifunctional fleet management software.
Mapon explains that their platform – available across all operational systems and all devices – serves as a central hub for managing every aspect of fleet operations. From real-time vehicle location tracking to fleet fuel management and scheduling maintenance tasks, the Mapon platform ensures that managers have all the information they need at their fingertips.
Moreover, in addition to software, Mapon offers in-house developed hardware called Mapon Expert, which is a state-of-the-art GPS tracking device. The company notes that telematics engineering has always been integral to Mapon – and this is one of the reasons why their solutions are trusted by fleet managers worldwide. By combining fully compatible software and hardware, Mapon provides a comprehensive, reliable, and seamless fleet management experience.
“It’s the combination of cutting-edge technology and smart approach to data that will define fleet business survival in the future” – says Mapon. The company is convinced that efficient fleet management starts with data acquisition; knowing what to do with the collected information is the next essential step. That’s why they offer a wide range of solutions, each providing a wealth of data and comprehensive insights for decision-making.
Fleet Data to Keep an Eye On – According to Mapon
Apart from GPS tracking, which is the most popular Mapon solution, other services have become increasingly sought after too. Mapon particularly highlights solutions like driver behaviour monitoring, fuel management, and working time tracking.
Driving behaviour monitoring lets you know what’s going on in the vehicle even without cameras and identifies responsible driving habits as well as risky behaviour. This not only promotes safer driving but also contributes to the longevity of the fleet, reducing excessive wear and tear caused by harsh braking and careless driving.
Driver behaviour monitoring goes hand in hand with fuel management. The former solution lets you identify fuel-wasting driving habits while the latter offers real-time data on fuel usage and the ability to account for every cent spent on it with the help of fuel cards. Mapon notes that fuel consumption control became increasingly important during the last few years, with fuel prices rising and companies looking for new ways to slash operating costs.
Another increasingly popular Mapon solution is Worktime. While employee monitoring is common in many industries, tracking drivers who are always on the move is quite different from monitoring office workers. Mapon has developed a solution that allows employees to easily log their working hours which managers can oversee and approve. This not only helps prevent disputes but also simplifies wage calculation for accounting.
The State of Fleet Management in 2024
The fleet management market is clearly undergoing a massive transformation, though most advancements pushing it forward date at least a few years back. Sustainability, AI, machine learning, and IoT have been changing the game, bringing predictive maintenance, real-time tracking, and data-driven decision-making to the daily work of both drivers and fleet managers.
In 2024, more and more companies realise that they need to track, monitor, and analyse their operations – not only to control but also to understand what they are capable of.
What Does the Future Hold for Fleet Management?
Several trends are reshaping the future of fleet management. The surge in electric and autonomous vehicles is revolutionising the industry. The need to curb CO2 emissions, especially in the European Union, which plans to reach climate neutrality and zero net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, is getting more and more pressing.
Sustainability and efficiency will define fleet operations from 2024 onwards, and Mapon’s fuel monitoring solutions are designed to hit these targets spot on.
Features like fuel consumption optimisation are likely to become standard in fleet management solutions – and Mapon is proud to set new standards for the industry, developing and promoting solutions like detection of fuel-wasting driving habits and fuel card integrations.
Then there’s the rise of AI and machine learning that is bound to impact the work routine for both drivers and fleet managers. While discussions about AI’s impact on industries, including transportation, often focus on future job availability, Mapon emphasises that AI’s influence extends well beyond the fear of robots replacing human workers, and that it is going to be much more nuanced.
Fleet operating companies already use various automatic planning options as well as AI-based solutions that help identify dangerous driving habits and detect pedestrians. Solutions like these are going to be even more present in the future as AI technologies advance, increasingly taking centre stage in fleet management.
As one of the examples, Mapon highlights camera systems with in-built AI technologies that identify distracted driving and send immediate alerts.
Driverless Future? Monitoring from Afar
Moreover, even if some machinery types are operated fully remotely in the future, the need for fleet monitoring will persist, as managers will still need to oversee vehicle activities. As equipment in industries such as construction, agriculture, and forestry become more complex, protecting these advanced and expensive machines becomes increasingly essential. Therefore, advanced camera systems and GPS monitoring are likely to define fleet management in the foreseeable future.
The Digital Leap of Fleet Management
Mapon is confident that even more exciting developments for fleet management are on the horizon. What started as a labour-intensive job that heavily depended on manual processes, paper records, and phone calls, now relies on instantaneous digital communication and trustworthy online reports that can be quickly accessed, evaluated, and shared within the company and beyond.
In conclusion, Mapon emphasises that nowadays all fleet data can be measured and summarised. As long as there is information to draw insights from, there will be a need for software that seamlessly sources and handles this data – like the Mapon fleet management platform.