Case Study: GPS Provides Big Benefits For Small Fleet

By Brian Albright, Integrated Solutions magazine

There was a time when GPS-based fleet tracking systems were almost exclusively used by large operators with hundreds of vehicles and hefty IT budgets at their disposal. But now that the price of wireless tracking equipment has come down and hosted software solutions are available that have cut down on deployment and support costs, even smaller fleets have been able to benefit from the technology.

Such was the case for Laurel Fuel Oil, a Laurel, MD-based fuel oil, diesel, and kerosene distributor. The company, which distributes fuel and provides heating and air conditioning services using a fleet of 6 fuel trucks and 10 service trucks, had been considering GPS tracking for a number of years, but had never moved forward on the project. Management was finally spurred to deploy a system after a series of truck thefts occurred across the country as fuel oil prices spiked.

"A lot of companies had trucks stolen. The product was pumped out and then the trucks were found several days later," says Robert Kluckhuhn, company secretary, office manager, and primary dispatcher at the family-owned business. "It didn't happen to us, but that was what finally tipped the scales in favor of moving forward."

Used with permission from Integrated Solutions magazine.