Fleet management has come a long way from the days of trip envelopes and pay phones when drivers had to call dispatch for every issue. Whether it’s for serious events like missing their way or minor issues like fuel purchase approvals.
Then, businesses installed wired or battery-powered boxes in vehicles to track and monitor them. However, they still faced challenges like poor tracking and communication.
Today, fleet managers use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to track and monitor vehicles’ location and data in real-time. This alternative offers several solutions, including vehicle maintenance, route planning, fuel management (drivers, safety, and customers), efficient communication, etc.
In this article, you’ll learn how GPS fleet tracking works, why it matters, and how Swivl can help you build a more profitable fleet from tracking and managing.
What is GPS Fleet Tracking?
Let’s start from the basics. Vehicle tracking means you’re monitoring a moving vehicle using technology (trackers, smart tags, barcode scanners, cellular network).
Since the goal of business is to find more efficient ways to get things done, companies with vehicles need a tracking system that monitors the location in real time. For them, the best way (as of 2025) is GPS tracking through fleet management software.
“Fleet tracking or management software puts you ahead of competitors.”
How GPS Fleet Tracking Works
Unlike manual methods, GPS fleet tracking for field service combines hardware (tracking devices attached to vehicles) and software (cloud-based platforms) to tell fleet managers about vehicle locations, driver behavior, routes, time spent on the road, and fuel consumption.
Let’s outline this process in easy-to-understand steps:
- Integrate Your Hardware: This is where you install a GPS tracker connected to the vehicle’s OBD port or CAN-bus system.
- Satellite Communication and Trilateration: The GPS tracker measures your vehicle’s latitude, longitude, elevation, and movement by measuring its distance from at least three (tri) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites. It also uses WGS84 UTM geographic position (tracking) to get real-time location.
- Data Transmission: The tracker sends gathered data to a cloud server that interprets the information and makes it accessible to fleet managers through a software interface.
- Storage: The cloud server stores shared data for future analysis and reporting.
- Real-Time Monitoring and Management: This is where field management software like Swivl comes in. It allows you to access cloud servers with real-time information on locations and activities. Besides access, the software enables you to make reports, identify areas for improvement, and make better decisions.
This combo allows you to move from VEHICLE TRACKING to LARGE-SCALE monitoring with details, including engine temperature, fuel usage, tire pressure, ignition/headlight/taillight turn on/off, battery status, speed, engine RPM, throttle position, how long a driver stayed at the loading dock, and a lot more.
For instance, when the tracker tells you a driver stays longer at a loading dock than others, you can find out why, speed up their pickups, and boost their daily productivity. Although these look like a handful, you need this sort of tracking.
Types of GPS Fleet Tracking
You can customize GPS trackers based on your company’s needs, but there are two main types: passive and active.
Passive trackers store data at intervals or specific trigger events, such as dock arrival, departure, crossing geofences, etc. After fleet operations, you’ll access data through manual downloads, which is helpful in areas with limited connectivity.
Meanwhile, active tracking works around the clock, sending real-time location data to a cloud server. However, it needs a constant connection for continuous fleet tracking. We suggest you combine both types to be safe, especially when your vehicle passes through remote areas with poor satellite and cellular networks.
Business owner:
“We don’t know where our vehicles are. Why do they even use so much fuel?”
What Happens When You Don’t Use GPS to Track Your Fleet?
Running a field service business without GPS tracking is directing traffic with blindfolds on. You don’t know where your vehicles are, how drivers use them, or if your team works efficiently. That lack of visibility leads to higher costs, slower service, and frustrated customers.
Let’s break it down:
You Can’t See Where Your Vehicles Are
When you don’t get live updates because you’re not using GPS, you’re in the dark about where your vehicles are or how long a job takes. Also, if a vehicle goes missing or a driver uses it off-hours, you won’t know.
- There is a higher risk of theft, which may spill into financial loss or disrupted operations
- You can’t give accurate ETAs
- You’ll never respond appropriately to last-minute changes or emergencies
- You’ll frustrate customers when you don’t communicate properly with them
- Assisting drivers would be a chore during emergencies
Inefficient Routing and Higher Operational Costs
When dispatchers rely on manual methods, they’ll never be able to direct vehicles and drivers to the best routes.
- Extra miles = more fuel used = more money spent
- More time on the road = fewer jobs done
- Delays = unhappy customers
Drivers Can Do Whatever They Want Without Accountability
Failure to monitor poor driver behavior (e.g., overspeeding, harsh braking, idling) can lead to unsafe driving.
- You can’t ensure compliance, especially with drivers
- You’re risking poor vehicle management, increased accident risk, and insurance costs
- There’s no way to coach or reward good driving or punish bad service
You Only Fix Vehicles When They Break
Tracking helps with preventive maintenance. Refusing to track your fleet means waiting for something to go wrong before maintenance. According to an estimate by fleet managers, when there’s downtime from maintenance, businesses lose up to £727 daily per vehicle, and double if unexpected.
- Surprise breakdowns which lead to spending more on maintenance
- Reduced revenue from lower jobs due to more downtime
You’re Making Decisions Without Data
Imagine your business lacks access to data on fleet performance metrics such as fuel usage, driver efficiency, or job completion rates. You’ll struggle to identify inefficiencies or optimize operations. Simply put, no GPS means no real info on your fleet’s performance.
- You’ll be stagnant because you don’t know what needs fixing
- It is hard to improve efficiency because there are no reports to guide better decisions
Without GPS tracking, you spend more, do less, and leave customers waiting. With it, you gain control, cut costs, and make smarter decisions. It’s not just about knowing where your vehicles are; it’s about building a more efficient, reliable, and profitable business.
“Vehicle tracking is directly connected to competitive advantage!”
Benefits of GPS Fleet Tracking for Field Service Companies
Vehicle tracking systems may have started to prevent drivers from getting lost. Still, GPS fleet tracking for field service businesses is the better deal because it has several extra benefits besides directing a driver to safety.
Today, real-time fleet tracking has features like route optimization and dispatching that solve key pain points such as inefficiency, high operational costs, and inconsistent customer service.
Here’s how those features are beneficial to field service operations:
Real-Time Visibility and Location Tracking
Real-time fleet tracking gives managers live updates on vehicle locations; the visibility helps make faster decisions. Likewise, dispatchers can monitor fleet movements to ensure technicians are on schedule and quickly reroute them in case of emergencies or traffic delays.
Real-time fleet tracking can also help identify risky driver behaviors, such as speeding, hard braking, or excessive idling. Then, you’d think twice before stealing a truck with a tracker.
Route Optimization and Fuel Efficiency
The GPS tracker doesn’t magically improve fuel economy. Drivers make the difference by making their footing less complex; also, the shorter the route, the less fuel is consumed.
What GPS does in mobile workforce tracking is to track their actions and ensure they comply with their best [driving] behavior. Likewise, it factors in traffic conditions, road closures, and proximity to job sites to reduce travel distances and save on fuel costs.
Per numbers, 50% of fleet managers say rerouting field technicians is an important factor in their success. (Verizon Connect, 2020)
Improving Dispatch and Scheduling
GPS fleet tracking in dispatch and scheduling gives visibility to vehicle locations, job statuses, and technician availability.
Dispatchers can use the live updates to assign or reassign tasks, leading to more completed jobs daily. Moreover, automated scheduling removes the snail-speed process of traditional methods like phone calls.
Enhancing Customer Service and Response Times
All the features of GPS vehicle tracking systems are quite linked together. When you mix improved dispatch, real-time visibility, and route optimization, idle time drops, service is on time, customers don’t wait longer, and overall productivity increases.
You’ll inevitably build customer trust and loyalty when you’re faster and have more transparent communication. Businesses who use fleet tracking get up to 54% improvement in customer service.
Reducing Operational Costs
Businesses using GPS vehicle tracking systems can save up to 55% on fuel costs through route optimization, which reduces driver behavior and increases consumption.
Besides fleet fuel efficiency, technology reduces operational costs through preventive maintenance and real-time vehicle diagnostics. They reduce repair costs by 20–30% and minimize downtime.
Improving Driver Safety and Accountability
Driver safety is a valid concern, especially when 48% of fleet owners say driver safety is a top priority. Thankfully, field service fleet tracking addresses this issue by monitoring where drivers are, GPS can flag driving behaviors like speeding, harsh braking, and idling. These real-time alerts from mobile workforce tracking allow managers to coach drivers in a way that reduces accidents and improves compliance.
As a business owner, you should use fleet management software with GPS tracking systems because it can save about 50% on insurance.
Data Analytics and Reporting
GPS fleet tracking systems put power in your hands. Your managers can finally measure fuel usage, driver performance, route efficiency, and vehicle health. And that’s the first step to improving operations.
Businesses using GPS analytics from fleet management software have better fleet utilization rates and enhanced customer satisfaction because of faster response times and transparent communication. If your company doesn’t, you fall behind. (This isn’t a message of doom, just what the figures say.)
“In 2020, 61% of interviewed fleet managers the information-gathering part of FSM is its most crucial aspect.”
Choosing the Right GPS Fleet Tracking System: What to Look Out For
Industry demands and competition have made GPS fleet tracking necessary for field service businesses. Companies with several vehicles now need fleet management software to survive and thrive.
Therefore, you need to select one that works. So, here’s a breakdown of what to look out for when choosing one for your business:
| Feature to Look Out For | Why it Matters |
| Real-Time Location | Visibility, live updates, and faster response time |
| Fuel and Speed Monitoring | Reduced fuel consumption and increases |
| Vehicle Route Optimization | Cost efficiency due to shorter cycle/travel time |
| Dispatching | Better resource management and higher customer satisfaction |
| Driver Behavior Monitoring | Accountability leads to fewer incidents and higher productivity |
| Maintenance Alerts | Vehicle health from preventive maintenance means less downtime and higher ROI |
| CRM Integration | Customer management from information-gathering spills into improved customer loyalty |
Start Maximizing Fleet Efficiency in Field Service
We’ve pointed out what happens without GPS, but to reiterate, you’ll be wasting time and money. Meanwhile, companies with real-time fleet tracking are faster, more reliable, and more profitable. Their investment pays off huge dividends, often within six months.
Using field management software like Swivl can upgrade your game. You’ll know your vehicles’ locations, send the closest technician to jobs, fix vehicles before they break down, and increase revenue. It’s time to grow a business that’s always one step ahead.
Moreover, you can easily set up and customize Swivl to your current system. You can start now with a FREE DEMO, with no fees required.
