Custom Vendor Landscape
Fleet Management Software
Prepared for: [Client Name Redacted]
An Important Note
Understanding a Custom Vendor Landscape
- Info-Tech’s Custom Vendor Landscapes are custom deliverables that are built with a heavy emphasis on the use cases and selection criteria of the requesting client. They are intended to provide an external point-of-view on a smaller or niche software marketspace. They are built over the course of one week based on secondary research by one of our Software Selection Services analysts.
- These deliverables may be sanitized and published for convenient access by our other members; it is important to understand that they are not intended to be general market analysis reports like our SoftwareReviews Data Quadrants or Software Selection Guides.
- This report is bespoke to the client that requested it and is not intended to be an omnibus view of the entire marketspace (these deliverables are limited to ten vendors, and the vendor shortlist is often dictated in full or in part by the requestor).
- Please ensure that you are conducting your own due diligence on vendors within the space; the sanitized version of this report may be a helpful starting point for initial vendor shortlisting; the limitations of its scope and the highly custom nature of the vendor list and analysis contained within does not make it synonymous with the analysis in our omnibus market analysis research (SoftwareReviews Data Quadrants and Software Selection Guides).
Understanding the Selection Initiative
Objective
[Redacted] has around 11,000 vehicles in their existing fleet, and multiple Government agencies that take on the leases. Average lease is around 4 years (80,000 KM) but can vary. Passenger and light commercial type vehicles (e.g., Ford ranger utility) and special build vehicles (e.g., buses for the Department of Education and/or prisoner transportation vehicles for corrective services). Key elements of the workflow was creating an accurate master dataset in the system (e.g., vehicle specifications/pricing, tires, servicing costs, etc), creating quotes and lease contracts for agencies, track and manage all costs in operating the vehicle (e.g., fuel cards, unscheduled/scheduled maintenance, etc). Key points of integration that were discussed for the FMS platform include (but are not limited to): SAP ECC6, JATO, etc.
Some features/requirements we discussed were self-service customer portals, telematics (in-vehicle monitoring) as more of a future state/nice to have requirement, compliance with ISAE 3402, and a vendor with a sophisticated managed services/system availability and continuity of service module (i.e., disaster recovery services/business continuity in the event of a natural disaster), is also important to note apart from just baseline functionality alone.
Vendor Selection Criteria
In evaluating the marketspace for Fleet Management Software, Info-Tech’s analysts looked at the following vendor attributes:
- Breadth and depth of capabilities for Fleet Management Software
- Vendor footprint (vendor market presence, vendor share of mind, vendor stability and long-term viability)
- Focus on vertical-specific capabilities
- Customization potential and ease-of-use
- Affordability transparency
Selection Rigor Matters.
Enterprise software is a key driver of digital transformation - having a strong approach to vendor selection is essential. Info-Tech’s research shows that 70% of application selections fail because of poorly defined requirements and inadequate vendor validation.
Defining the Fleet Management Systems Market
Market Definition
- Fleet management software (FMS) is computer software that enables people and organizations to accomplish a series of specific tasks in the management of any or all aspects relating to a fleet of vehicles operated by a company, government or other industry organization.
- Government agencies and public sector organizations alike that have highly comprehensive fleet vehicular types (e.g., Hauliers, couriers, sales, service, utilities, emergency services, etc) all have fleets that need managing.
- As such, providing tools such as fleet management software can enable fleet managers to have relevant information on the performance of their fleet at their fingertips. Moreover, FMS platforms can help streamline and improve the management of vehicles, assets and equipment, maintenance and repair, fuel and emissions, regulatory and legal compliance, budget and forecasting, among other use case areas.
Key Trends in Fleet Management Software
Growth in fleet management technology and systems has increased significantly in Australia and New Zealand. Fleet Technology Trends Report Survey conducted by ABI Research, revealed the number of fleets using GPS tracking technology stands at 72% in Australia and 69% in New Zealand in 2022.
Source: Verizon Connect, 2023 Fleet Technology Trends Report (Australia and New Zealand)
New government regulations and policymakers are pushing the automative sector to manufacture zero-emission vehicles by 2030. Many fleets opt for hybrid vehicles or have a mix of EVs and ICE vehicles. Major fleet operators are committed to reaching decarbonization targets with over 50 percent aiming for fully carbon-free fleets by 2027.
Source: McKinsey & Company, Getting to carbon-free commercial fleets, December 13, 2022.
Top Level Features for Fleet Management Software (FMS)
Feature Name |
Description |
|---|---|
Integrational Capabilities |
FMS platforms should be highly interoperable in interfacing with any existing ERP system or other 3rd party apps such as automotive business intelligence tools (e.g., JATO). |
Preventive Maintenance Workflows |
Preventive maintenance scheduling for vehicles is an important criteria for monitoring the upkeep of each vehicle in your fleet. |
Analytics and Reporting |
FMS platforms should provide better analytics and reporting features that can help one to better understand the performance of the fleet and make better/more holistic data-driven decisions. |
Regulatory Compliance |
FMS platforms should be highly compliant and able to align with regional industry regulations (e.g., SOC 1, SOC 2, ISO 9001, ISO 27001, etc). |
Responsiveness of Customer Support |
An effective managed services component of FMS vendors are key. Particularly, in cases wherein ongoing support from the vendor is needed in terms of disaster recovery, business continuity, etc. |
Audit (“Paper Trail”) of Activities |
FMS platforms should keep a record of every activity related to each asset. Ability to track assignment/location history, in-house and outsourced maintenance activities, fuel and expense transactions, etc. |
Fleet Spend/Expense Tracking |
Ability of the FMS platform to track loan and lease payments to oil changes, tolls, parking violations. Ability to seamlessly keep a chronological record of asset expenses is key. |
Key Players
Info-Tech identified 9 platforms applicable to the use case. The platforms are listed in alphabetical order.
