LIST: Drive Software Solutions give their tips
Drive Software Solutions are this week’s guest bloggers, giving their invaluable advice on how to approach purchasing fleet management software…
Imagine having all of the information on your fleet at the touch of a button.
That’s what fleet management software can offer busy fleet managers.
Rather than having assorted data dotted around in different departments, these specialised software systems allow fleet managers to load all information of their fleet on to a single database.
This allows full reports to be downloaded, alerts given when vehicles are nearing the end of their lifecycle and also providing details on servicing work schedules.
Make sure you follow these ten basic tips before taking the plunge and purchasing fleet management software:
1. Credit check or obtain the last three years’ accounts for any short-listed provider.
2. Ask for a complete list of installed users with a view to contacting a cross-section of companies using the product.
3. Take time to visit the offices of the potential supplier to gain a feel for the professionalism of the company and its employees.
Bear in mind that you may be contacting some of the latter for help in the future.
4. Make sure you have a good understanding of your objectives and the benefits of the features you require within your chosen solution.
Ask for a trial period with the solution.
5. Ensure the solution fits into your company’s existing IT policy.
This avoids alienating your internal staff.
Their help and knowledge will undoubtedly be invaluable in the implementation of the system.
6. Take a long-term view of any potential IT solution and ask whether a comprehensive sizing exercise is undertaken by the supplier to ensure that all areas of the system are taken into account for future growth.
7. Ensure that the system is future proofed.
What language or development platform is it written in?
Will this ensure system longevity or is it due for re-development in a newer environment?
8. Get written guarantees on product scalability, performance and uptime.
9. Can the system be web deployed and provided on a hosted environment?
Web-based solutions are much easier to deploy and website-based eModules usually have a low learning curve.
10. Do you want to provide access to the system to your customers or suppliers?
If they can update their own data, this reduces the workload on support staff and provides a buy-in to the customer.
