Landscape Management, January 2019

Turf Ornamental It also can notify the shop to bring vehicles in when the check engine light comes on The systems can also help create more efficient service routes which may cut fuel costs by reducing engine idling speeding and unauthorized use according to Driscoll Reducing fuel costs and increasing efficiency mean crews can focus on the customer experience by providing fast response times to service requests accurate ETAs and time windows for service Monitoring time spent on service calls helps ensure that employees are completing jobs as efficiently as possible Tracking these metrics with GPS may have an additional upside Driscoll says By examining use companies can optimize fleets and ensure they are getting the most out of every vehicle and asset during its time in service It can also identify if contractors have the appropriate number of vehicles and may reveal additional cost savings if a company has a surplus of trucks on the road THE PROCESS Once a contractor decides on the top challenge he or she would like to solve they should reach out to GPS companies and receive product demonstrations After deciding on a GPS tracking system a lawn or landscape company should provide the GPS provider with a vehicle list which will help determine the correct GPS devices and installation equipment suited for the year make and models of those vehicles Depending on the GPS system the contractor may install the GPS devices on the vehicles him or herself following a step by step guide or the supplier may install them Once the devices are installed and registered an account manager will train users on the system and how it can help solve their business challenges Ensuring that the GPS system is helping solve the problem contractors set out to fix is important Aries says He encourages landscape pros to ask the question Do you have a provider that offers the right support to ensure that the value is being reached not just in the first month or two but who cares about how youre doing long term as a company THE COST Driscoll says the cost for GPS Insights system ranges from 20 30 per month per vehicle and approximately 15 per month per trailer or asset There are no upfront costs and the system includes the GPS device and the monthly software and app service As far as the return on investment ROI Driscoll estimates that companies usually see savings up to five to 10 times the cost of the software within the first few months He says that companies start seeing ROI as quickly as the first month of GPS tracking as employees are aware they are being tracked and begin to change their behavior accordingly He says companies are typically fully operational with the system in 30 days depending on how quickly the team implements the system and starts using the product Verizon Connect does not disclose pricing publicly however it also aims to get companies up and running with their new software in 30 days Aries acknowledges that change is scary and whenever a company needs to adapt a new system or solution into its business it can be difficult and timeconsuming Theres sometimes a big brother concern about being tracked that may turn off some field employees When you find a provider that provides a simple and easy to use solution and also has a good reputation for onboarding and customer support that pain of adopting the new system or solution tends to diminish Aries says We see our customers get up and running relatively quickly despite the fears they may have coming into the process LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET JANUARY 2019 36 PHOTO GPS INSIGHT BUSINESS BOOSTERS Ryan Driscoll TIME SAVER GPS tracking can help crews save time by creating more efficient routes Continued from page 34