Skip to main content

Fleet managers ‘likely to opt for brands that offer predictive technologies’

Fleet management systems (FMS) have an established presence in France, Germany, UK, Italy and Benelux, with 70 per cent of fleet managers claiming familiarity with FMS – 37 per cent are already using it and 33 per cent are testing it. In general, fleet owners display a positive attitude toward FMS, and 35 percent of respondents in a recent Frost & Sullivan survey consider it an absolute necessity. Large fleets are keener to adopt these solutions than small and medium fleets, clearly indicating a lack of awa
December 18, 2013 Read time: 3 mins
Fleet management systems (FMS) have an established presence in France, Germany, UK, Italy and Benelux, with 70 per cent of fleet managers claiming familiarity with FMS – 37 per cent are already using it and 33 per cent are testing it. In general, fleet owners display a positive attitude toward FMS, and 35 percent of respondents in a recent 2097 Frost & Sullivan survey consider it an absolute necessity. Large fleets are keener to adopt these solutions than small and medium fleets, clearly indicating a lack of awareness on the benefits offered by FMS among the latter.

Frost & Sullivan’s new customer research study, 2012 European Fleet Managers' Willingness to Pay for FMS, summarises the findings of the survey of 155 decision-makers and key influencers for FMS in Europe. The research revealed that fleet managers are satisfied with the FMS currently offered. In fact, productivity and fleet security – two of the top three criteria used during purchase – exceed expectations. On the other hand, fleet managers are dissatisfied with the savings made on insurance premiums and the lack of new services.

“Presently, vehicle management as well as fleet security and control are the most widely-used services in Europe,” said Frost & Sullivan customer research consultant Agnieszka Wolf. “However, offering driver and order management services will help FMS vendors retain existing customers as 35 percent of respondents are looking to buy these solutions in the next 36 months.”

Key points of interest (POI) in navigation systems include gas stations, repair stations, and speed restrictions. Respondents working in medium commercial vehicle (MCV) fleets were keen on all POI with particular interest in truck parking slots, road gradients, and restaurants.

Interestingly, respondents indicated that they would prefer dealing with one supplier per solution. Two out of three also said that they would choose brands offering prognostic technologies, which help predict the impending failure of a commercial vehicle.

No clear overall preference for a particular FMS vendor type was seen, although significant vendor preferences exist according to solution and country. While respondents in Germany, Italy and UK are more aware of systems from truck original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), only Germany and UK favour truck OEMs for all solutions. Fleet managers in Italy, France and Benelux favour specialised third-party or logistics and supply chain providers. Among specialised FMS providers, 1692 TomTom and 5635 Transics received the highest ratings.

“The survey reveals that the key decision maker for FMS purchase in fleets is top management,” said Wolf. “However, driver and trade unions appear to influence decisions in Italy and Benelux, especially in the case of large fleets with more than 100 vehicles.”

In terms of payment, general willingness to spend on fleet Telematics services is low. Fleet owners in France are most willing to pay for these services whereas those from Benelux are least inclined. Readiness to pay is also higher in MCV and heavy commercial vehicle fleets than light vehicle fleets. Profit-sharing business models too are gaining acceptance, particularly in France. In Benelux, the market is quite polarised and there is no clear penchant for profit sharing.

Related Content

  • August 2, 2012
    Car owners fear in-car connectivity technology
    In-car technology is revolutionising the driving experience, especially when it comes to connectivity options, including mobile device connection to the Internet, navigation systems, emergency response systems, and driving habit monitoring devices. Yet, it is claimed that more than three in four car owners (76 per cent) report that they believe in-car connectivity technologies are too distracting and even dangerous to have. In addition, more than half (55 per cent) argue that automakers have taken technolog
  • January 17, 2017
    Smart ticketing market predicted to grow by nearly eight per cent by 2022
    The latest research by MarketsandMarkets predicts that the smart ticketing market will be worth US$10.22 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 7.93 per cent between 2016 and 2022. The growth of this market is driven by the factors such as affordable access to smart transit systems, emerging applications in travel and tourism industry, thriving adoption of smart technology, and user-friendly platform. The market for ticket machine is expected to hold the largest share of the overall market by 2022. It
  • January 8, 2016
    LeddarTech receives Frost & Sullivan Product Innovation award
    Based on its recent analysis of the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) market, Frost & Sullivan has awarded LeddarTech the 2016 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Innovation.The company markets an innovative time-of-flight optical detection and ranging technology, Leddar, which brings many new capabilities to the table. These include short- and long-range detection capabilities for a variety of automotive and transportation applications, narrow to wide fields of view, low sensitivity t
  • August 22, 2012
    Improved communication vital in overcoming driver objections to fleet technology
    Research carried out by Emedia on 460 UK businesses operating vehicle fleets for TomTom suggests that almost half of UK businesses face resistance from drivers when attempting to introduce new technology to their vehicle fleet. The most frequent complaint made by drivers is that technology represents ‘big brother’, cited by 43 per cent of businesses as their staff’s primary concern.