Frito-Lay Drives Values From Geotab Solutions

When it comes to fleet-management systems, there is certainly no shortage of technology solutions—or data for that matter. Today’s systems can provide gobs of fleet information, ranging from realtime GPS (global positioning system) tracking and engine diagnostics to whether or not your driver is wearing his seatbelt. And while information is certainly power, some of today’s fleet managers are finding there can be too much of a good thing. That was certainly the case for Mike O’Connell, director of fleet at Frito-Lay. When the snack giant decided to add telematics to its fleet of 17,000 delivery trucks, the business possibilities were endless an opportunity that both excited and bewildered O’Connell. “When we first did the pilot, it was very overwhelming because we didn’t know what we were looking for,” he says. “We had so much data, we didn’t know what to do with it.” it wasn’t until O’Connell and his team started to segment the data that they began to get a clear idea of what the system could do for the company’s bottomline. “I don’t need a second-by-second of everything,” he explains. “I need snapshots of data, and I need to know when things change. I also need to prioritize what is important to us. ”But when you are swimming in data, how do you even know what to reach for? The answer to that question will vary by company, of course, but there are some current trends that are leading fleet managers down the road to profitability.