Where do you go when you need a man and a van? You have a special delivery to make, beyond the reach of your own fleet, but to whom do you turn? Yellow Pages? Online reviews? How trustworthy are they, the reviews, the driver and their vehicle(s)?
Wouldn’t it be handsome if schemes like the FTA’s Van Excellence could offer you impartial advice?
Well, guess what. Said Van Excellence programme has just announced a new recognised partner in Prohire.
Prohire has built its reputation of supplying on point vehicle hire solutions by focusing on one thing: serving the customer.
Today’s fleet manager is a different animal
It’s a ploy that’s worked, and deservedly so. The problems facing logistics and fleet managers today are different than those from a decade ago. More managers are from an IT background; they’ve not come through the time-honoured driver-promoted-to-transport-manager route.
When they have to work out how to get [extraordinary load A] to [destination C], the [optimal transport B] doesn’t always spring to mind to fulfil the equation.
That’s where Prohire comes in. Their software takes the mundane, repetitive tasks out of the running of vehicle hire companies. Yet they also offer a turnkey website that enables customers to book under their own steam.
Having both options allows business owners to be proactive. They can serve clients who need more assistance than others one-to-one; those more savvy can just get on with it.
It’s this innovation that’s seen the FTA recognise Prohire’s sterling work, raising levels of Van Excellence across the industry.
To even consider such an accolade existed a generation ago would have been laughable. And to envisage the tech behind fleet management that makes it the most cutting edge department in many firms today? You’d have been carted off to the asylum.
TomTom’s CURFER could curtail your curfew
Another candidate for excellence, this time helping drivers perform better behind the wheel, is TomTom Telematics. Their new smartphone app, CURFER, could not only help drivers become better in real time, but also help newer drivers attain that Eureka moment.
Let’s explain. By now, everyone’s used to ‘Black Box’ technology employed by insurers to help bring down premiums. Termed ‘Black Box Insurance’, the monitoring devices feed back information to the insurer so that they can scrutinise your driving.
As well as your performance behind the wheel, if you’re only covered during certain times of day, having the monitor is a deterrent to young or cautioned drivers tempted to break their curfew.
Same great driver feedback without the intrusion
The TomTom Smartphone app literally gives you the same information. It doesn’t have GPS, this is to enable driver privacy. But what it does do is give you realtime feedback on how you’re driving.
If there are elements of your driving where you know you’ve picked up bad habits, the app will make its assessment for you to see there and then. Without taking your eyes off the road, of course.
Knowing where you’re going wrong can not only help you to improve your safety, but also to drive incident free. The fewer incidents you have, the less your insurance premiums will cost when it’s time to renew. It’s not rocket science. Okay; well maybe it is, just a little.
If you’d like the benefit of ‘Black Box’ monitoring but without the intrusion, TomTom’s CURFER app could well be the SMART solution.
