How Telematics Improves Material Handling Operations

Several industries are using Telematics to improve their efficiency and reduce operations costs. Telematics is the technology that allows computerized information to be transmitted over long distance. Examples of its use in other industries include the automotive industry using telematics to notify the car dealership when the customers care is having problems they didn’t know about, and following the elderly to automatically calling 911 when a fall happens.

So, how can telematics be used in materials handling? This technology can be used to track statistics such as vehicle usage, time spent idling, collisions, and repairs. Using this data collected allows management to spend less time focused on the minute mechanics of their individual trucks and more on the impact to the operation as a whole. Telematics is key to developing successful long-term strategies for any firm.

Analysis of usage can be used to predict how many units will be needed on hand in the future, allowing the company to rent out units that won’t be needed in periods of low demand. With personal logins for drivers, businesses have better accountability and more accurate predictions of usage, which leads to long-term savings. What this means for the company is reduced owning/operating costs, and more importantly maintained uptime for customers.

Don’t know where to start? Start with the 3 I’s for data collection – Inventory, Idle, Impact. These yield big insights on the efficiency of your operation. To keep things manageable, consider using a cloud-based software solution to organize your data into actionable insights.