Fleet managers considering their next technology investment should start with the business problem rather than the product, according to Summit Fleet Leasing and Management Managing Director Darren Gore.
Speaking on the Fleet News Group podcast about technology and fleet management excellence, Gore was asked what good use of fleet technology looks like.
His starting point was straightforward.
“You’ve got to start with what’s the problem I’m trying to solve.”
It is a simple principle, but an important one for fleet teams operating in a market filled with telematics platforms, dashboards, artificial intelligence, connected vehicle data and specialist fleet software.
Rather than choosing a technology and then searching for applications, Gore believes fleet managers should first articulate the problem, identify the outcome they want and then determine which tools and information can help them get there.
Map the problem before choosing the solution
Gore said the process can begin with something as simple as a blank piece of paper.
The first step is defining the issue. The next is working through how the organisation might progress from its current position to the desired outcome.
“You’ve got to map it out.”
Those intermediate steps eventually form the strategy. For fleet managers, that could apply to almost any operational challenge.
An organisation trying to reduce vehicle downtime might need maintenance and repair information. A fleet seeking to improve utilisation might need to understand kilometres travelled, booking patterns and periods when vehicles are sitting idle.
A safety project might require driver behaviour information, while a replacement strategy will rely on costs, age, kilometres, utilisation and operational requirements.
Each problem potentially requires a different combination of information and technology.
The important point is that the technology decision comes after the objective has been defined.
Don’t overlook the data you already have
The discussion is particularly relevant as fleet technology becomes increasingly sophisticated.
There can be a temptation to assume that improving fleet performance requires another platform or another source of data.
Gore argues that organisations should also examine the information already being created through normal fleet operations.
Maintenance, fuel, leasing, registration, accident, replacement and other transactional information can collectively reveal a significant amount about fleet performance.
“It tends to jump out pretty quickly.”
The challenge has traditionally been bringing those data sets together in a form that allows fleet managers to identify the patterns.
Business intelligence tools have helped address that issue, while newer AI tools are making the information easier to interrogate using natural-language questions.
But Gore’s broader point is that useful analysis does not necessarily need to begin with a complex technology project.
Fleet managers can start by combining information they already possess and asking what it tells them about the fleet.
Technology should have a purpose
Telematics is one example. Gore acknowledged that telematics has an important role when organisations need information about vehicle location, driver behaviour or particular operating environments.
However, installing telematics is not, by itself, a fleet strategy. The same applies to AI.
A fleet manager needs to know why the information is being collected and what decision it is expected to improve.
This distinction matters because technology projects can easily become focused on implementation rather than outcomes.
A successful rollout might connect every vehicle to a platform, but the real test comes later: has the organisation reduced risk, improved utilisation, lowered costs or given managers information they can act on?
Good technology use therefore requires more than purchasing the tool. It requires a clear problem, a defined outcome and a process for converting information into action.
AI makes exploration easier
The latest generation of AI tools is changing how fleet managers can perform that analysis.
Gore said tools including ChatGPT, Copilot and other AI platforms make it easier to place information into a model and begin asking questions.
One tip Summit’s technology team uses is particularly simple: ask the AI how it can help.
That approach encourages fleet professionals to explore the data rather than assuming they already know every question worth asking.
It can also expose relationships or exceptions that might not be obvious in a traditional report. However, the starting point remains the same. The fleet manager still needs to understand the operational issue being investigated.
AI can accelerate analysis, but it does not replace the need to understand the problem.
What does fleet technology excellence look like?
The topic is particularly relevant to the Fleet Technology category in the inaugural Fleet News Group Awards, which Summit Fleet Leasing and Management is supporting as an Awards sponsor.
Technology excellence does not necessarily belong to the fleet with the newest platform or the greatest number of connected systems.
A stronger measure is whether an organisation has identified a genuine business problem and used technology to create a measurable improvement.
That might involve an advanced AI solution.
It might equally involve better use of existing fleet data, improved reporting or a relatively simple process change supported by technology.
For fleet managers evaluating their own technology strategy, Gore’s advice provides a useful place to begin.
Before asking which system the organisation should buy next, ask a more fundamental question.
What problem are we actually trying to solve?
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