5 Questions Your Telematics RFP is Missing

Today’s commercial fleets looking to implement a telematics solution — or upgrade to a new one — often utilize a well-known tool used in numerous industries: the Request for Proposal (RFP). RFPs are used to define a project, describe it, and request bids from potential vendors. 

Why is a good RFP important for telematics?

RFPs vary in length and content, but generally, the more definition and documentation that can be included, the more effective the process. Creating an RFP typically requires a fleet to more fully define goals, metrics, and desired features, and consider the future of their business. 

A well-defined RFP ensures a fleet attracts the right vendor who can deliver solutions that meet the outlined needs. This helps vendors avoid wasting time on bids beyond their capabilities and saves fleets from switching vendors mid-project. A well-defined RFP also ensures that quality standards, timelines, and expectations are met, and that you are working with a vendor that will enable your fleet to grow into the future.

5 Topics Your Telematics RFP Might be Missing

While a quick online search may serve up some generalized RFP examples to get you started, it’s likely these generic templates are leaving out some key questions that could take your RFP – and your fleet’s operations – to the next level by introducing topics and features you’ve not yet considered.

Before sending your telematics RFP to a group of potential vendors, include these questions and categories in your request.

1. Driver Experience

“What is the driver experience like, and how does it impact driver productivity, safety, and compliance?”

When it comes to retaining your best and brightest drivers, their experience using the fleet management tools is a key differentiator. They will be the ones using the tools the most, so it’s important that your provider can articulate what features make drivers’ days more efficient and safer. 

For example, how easy is it to navigate between various user interfaces within the system? Does your vendor offer tools like customizable forms that save your drivers time by eliminating busywork and reducing data entry errors? Are their most-used apps, like navigation and messages, easily accessible with a single log-in?

Consider your drivers’ most common and important tasks and ask potential vendors about the tools and features designed to address them. For example, what tools are included that make DVIRs more efficient to conduct? Can your drivers attach photos and freehand notes to their DVIR records? Do questions automatically populate based on answers of the previous question? Less busy work keeps drivers happier and gets them back on the road faster.

Similarly, it’s important to ask what built-in safety features keep your drivers safer. Does the tool have automatic lockdowns once the wheels are in motion? Can fleet management choose what mobile apps are available and when? Are there features that help prioritize messages to the cab, even utilizing text-to-voice for urgent notifications? How are urgent sensor notifications — like tire pressure alerts and part malfunction — conveyed to both the driver and the back office? Seemingly small safety features can make a big difference in helping drivers keep their eyes on the road and make it home safely after each haul.

Finally, spend some time looking into what features help your drivers do their part in maintaining compliance, especially regarding requirements like Hours of Service (HOS). What features ensure drivers know their current HOS status, and are they approaching any of their HOS clocks? Lightening the mental load for your drivers can help them stay more focused on the road.

2. Add-on Apps and Customization

“What are your capabilities for adding additional apps and features to customize my solution?”

For many of today’s leading fleet management and telematics providers, a key benefit is the ability for customers to add on additional apps to customize their solution further. For example, a fleet may want a special focus on fuel efficiency, specialized driver training tools, or beefed-up navigation features. By selecting from an ecosystem of add-on apps, a fleet can create the perfect set of tools for its goals.

However, it takes some research to see which vendors really do their homework to ensure apps integrate well with fleets other systems and software. You’ll want to find a vendor who works closely with leading third-party app developers and who thoroughly checks and certifies add-on apps before verifying them as compatible with their proprietary software.

Be sure to make a list of the add-on apps and special focus tools you would like to see in your fleet management solution, then ask your potential vendors what tools can address these needs. Ask how they test apps that they offer to add on and how they ensure these third-party tools work seamlessly with their other software. A clunky handshake or time-wasting workaround is a surprise down the road you definitely do not want to discover.

3. Customer Support

“What is your model for working with your customers, including implementation and support?”

Even with the longest list of features and impressive technologies, if a vendor lacks in customer support, it’s going to be painful to reach success with a new fleet management tool. As part of your RFP, you’ll want to make sure you ask specific questions about a potential vendor’s approach to support, from implementation and training to response and updates.

For example, is the support team available around the clock, 24/7? What is the average response time for a call, and what other ways can you or your driver reach the vendor? How do they keep you informed of the status of a support ticket? Some vendors provide access to extensive troubleshooting libraries, digital user guides, and FAQ databases that can be extremely helpful for drivers and the back office.

Beyond responding to problems after installation, you should check into their plan to help you get your fleet up and running on the new tools. What kind of health checks and verifications do they conduct before your trucks roll out of the shop? How much time, on average, does it take a mechanic to install the vendor’s product, and what type of mechanic support do they offer? 

Finally, ask your potential vendor about how they stay abreast of industry topics and how they communicate with their customers on updates, incidents, and order fulfillment. How are they working to identify potential issues ahead of time and keep their customers future-proofed for what’s to come down the road? A fleet management software tool is not only an investment in money, it is an ongoing relationship that should be healthy and helpful.

4. Billing Model

“What is your billing model, and how do you help your customers make the most of their budgets?”

As telematics technologies advance, more vendors are utilizing cloud and edge technologies, meaning software services and data storage happen virtually. A benefit of these models is that more flexibility can be built into billing, so it’s important to understand how a vendor bills its customers.

For example, vendors with a “flexible billing model” often bill fleets only for what they use each month, with billing only charged when specific criteria are met based on software usage and monthly mileage. Additionally, it’s important to understand how the vendor will charge you during your first month of service to avoid being double-billed due to overlapping charges from your old and new providers. 

Finally, be sure to ask potential vendors about any additional charges that will occur down the road, whether annually, with upgrades, or when you need to expand your service. How do they handle data overages? These types of questions help ensure you don’t have any negative surprises in the future. 

5. Integration

“How do you ensure seamless integration with my other tools to improve my fleet's productivity, including in the cab?”

Whether it is your existing TMS or other software and hardware tools your fleet utilizes, be sure to address this topic with potential vendors. Remember that you are the expert in how your fleet works, including your processes, strengths, and challenges. Communicating real-world examples can help enrich your RFP to give potential vendors a better idea of how that might add value to your processes. Include the software tools you currently use to ensure seamless integration with your current operations. 

Integration is especially helpful for your drivers, whose job efficiency and safety on the road is improved by reducing the number of touches it takes to navigate between apps. Eliminating busywork by using customized forms, or offering tools that can automatically pull and populate required information, saves your drivers valuable time and reduces the risk of typos and errors. 

It’s also important to inquire as to how the vendor ensures seamless app-to-app integration regarding the way data is passed back and forth between applications. Your potential vendor should be able to explain how your data is integrated, protected, and managed from numerous vehicles and devices, as well as how it delivers actionable insight for your back office and management team. Consider what features you want and need so that you can share your data takeaways and metrics easily and quickly and make real-time corrections and revisions.

A More Complete RFP Leads to Better Results

The time and effort your fleet takes in crafting a strong RFP can streamline your procurement process and reduce the chances of having a mismatch with your solution provider. By adding these additional often-missed questions, you can ensure you’re exploring all the potential value a telematics provider could add to your fleet operations, including benefits you might not yet even know exist. 

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Want more potential questions to beef up your RFP? Download our free list of 50 questions to add to your telematics RFP.

‍At Platform Science, we are happy to help you develop your RFP, or can take your completed documentation and deliver a robust proposal for the perfect solution for your fleet. For more information, contact us today.