Fleet Manager's Guide To IoT, Part I: Understanding The Challenges

By William Sandoval, VP Advanced Platform Applications, KORE

Fleet management professionals are facing logistical, financial, and market challenges that were not present just a few years ago. Some of these challenges are actually the result of new business opportunities and efforts to make the industry more efficient, while others are related to fluctuations in the marketplace.

As a result, fleet managers are charged to better understand the current landscape and consider new strategies in order to gain a competitive advantage. Many of these strategies involve the deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, and we will take a closer look at that side of the equation in Part II of this series. But for now, let’s examine some of the trends that are creating new challenges for the fleet industry.

• Online shopping: E-commerce sales are booming, growing between 20 and 25 percent each year. While this rapid growth increases potential revenue for delivery businesses, it is also tightening trucking capacity, elevating the importance of final-mile delivery processes, and creating a demand for more precise pick-up and delivery times. In addition, e-commerce is changing shipping strategies from large volume and low frequency shipments to low volume and high frequency shipments, especially during the holiday season.