Any good fleet manager will want the same of their data sets: to be reliable, understandable and provide a return for the company. If these three things aren’t true, then what’s the point of the data?

Unfortunately, many fleets are still using inefficient, outdated systems and might not even realize it. In these cases, data is likely unclear, inaccurate and difficult to validate. While ERP and FMIS systems are incredibly valuable for organizations and essential to running a fleet, these systems don’t play well with others.

What does this mean for fleets? Essentially, using disparate systems makes it nearly impossible to cross reference data and get a full picture of fleet performance. This results in errors easily slipping by and managers ultimately working with data sets that they do not trust. In these cases, fleet data systems end up as a sunk cost when they should really be an asset generating returns for the organization.

How do we ensure quality?

Starting with reliable, high-quality data is the first step for successful reporting. This will allow for your organization to have a full view of what’s going on within, share reports with full confidence and make smarter, data-backed business decisions.

To get to this point, however, data quality starts with unified data streams, error-free information and appropriate storage.

Unifying data streams

For any fleet collecting data from various systems, having them all under one umbrella makes a manager’s job much easier. For larger fleets with diverse assets, this is even more critical. Our Business Intelligence platform unifies fleet assets by connecting your various data streams into one place. This is increasingly important with the influx of new technologies, making it easier for managers to seamlessly integrate a new data source into the mix.

Accuracy of information

The next step of the process asks a simple question: is the data we’re seeing accurate? As with any statistical variable, there is going to be a distribution of error making it easy to identify outliers. Additionally, with the ability to now cross-reference data sources, discrepancies are quickly flagged giving managers an opportunity to dig into what went on.

Take fuel fraud for example. With a unilateral view of your data, it could be difficult to confidently identify any fuel fraud going on within your fleet. Fuel card data might show that consumption is higher than usual, but without another source to check you can be left without solid answers. With Business Intelligence, you get a full, clear picture. If your fuel card data shows higher consumption and telematics reports higher mileage on vehicles, then you’ve got a clear explanation. If you see higher fuel consumption with no increase on mileage, however, you’ve now identified an internal problem worth looking into.

Data management

Once unified and cleaned, data storage is the next factor contributing to data quality. Depending on your fleet’s goals and what you want to get out of your data, the way it is presented makes a major difference. For a manager looking for higher level insights to share internally, seeing small-scale, granular data can make it nearly impossible. On the other hand, fleets looking to dig into their data closely will have no use for a bigger picture summary.

How our team can help

Paired with a top-tier BI platform, our team of fleet analysts provide the industry expertise and personal understanding that can make all the difference in making your insights profitable. With over two decades of working with fleets on a close level, we’ve heard the pain points and we understand what managers want out of their data. Our team is able to leverage that comprehensive business knowledge, merging fleet data with organization-specific context and goals.

Ultimately, the payoff of high-quality data is accurate reporting that all members of your organization can confidently rely on when making key decisions. Data quality lays the foundation for a fleet that is fully optimized – from operations to costs to performance.

If you’re interested to see how our platform and team of analysts are driving fleet success with telematics data, schedule a demo with us today.