GPS Tracking in the Vending Venue

Among the fleets currently pioneering the use of GPS tracking technology on a regular and sustained basis are the specific fleets of vending delivery. Although similar in many ways to fleets of other types of businesses, vending delivery does place some special demands on these companies that perhaps make the GPS technology even more effective.

As the economy continues to tighten down on private or small businesses of every sort, especially those that include face-to-face interactions and physical goods, saving costs and increasing assets become not only desirable, but absolutely necessary for survival and growth.

Can costly GPS tracking technology units really help in the vending venue? Is fleet tracking important for helping a vending company succeed? Although an initial risks-versus-benefits analysis may leave some question, those who have taken the plunge are beginning to report the gains in both expected and unexpected areas.

Security Coverage

Delivery personnel usually make the daily rounds alone, efficiently enabling all the employed drivers to cover as broad an area as possible. While the security of drivers is often taken for granted, crimes against a person carrying out a delivery have increased so significantly that in recently, the New York senate passed an amendment regarding the issue. The stated purpose of this amendment was to treat these crimes more seriously by giving them their own specifications under the penal law.

The security of a delivery person can be threatened in any of the following ways:

• Theft


• Robbery


• Gang attack


• Ambush

Among the listed top 25 most dangerous cities, big cities are definitely represented, but smaller cities located in areas of the country normally considered as less violent are also included.  Security is no small issue for delivery drivers in a majority of the cities in America today.

With GPS tracking technology, drivers can enjoy more non-stop security coverage as they fulfill their duties. Vending companies can also be less concerned about experiencing the loss of stolen goods or vandalized vehicles. Constant surveillance also provides valuable information to police regarding those who make a practice of crime and vandalism.

Reports about many different types of rescues and recovered vehicles and property due to GPS tracking technology are already familiar within recent news releases. These successes so far should encourage companies considering the option to apply this additional security to the realm of delivery personnel and vending companies vehicles.

Maintenance Matters  

For companies owning and depending on fleets, maintenance of vehicles consumes a large portion of operating costs. With the reported and documented increases in estimates for owning vehicles and the ongoing upward direction of prices for diesel, fleet owners have to find as many ways as possible to tighten the figurative belt and cut costs.

GPS tracking technology has seemed to help with this as well. Several aspects of the data collection aid in the following cost-saving practices:

• More efficient routes


• Early notification of needed repairs


• Less idling of the engine

Practical changes to wasteful habits that the collected data reveals enables accumulated savings that can add up to actually pay for the investment of installing a GPS tracking technology system. Several fleet owners are already releasing statistics that prove the technology is doing its work and saving pennies that add up to thousands of dollars.

Asset Assistance

Anyone involved in business understands the importance of building as many assets as possible within the company itself. GPS tracking technology for fleets within the vending industry may actually do this in an unexpected or easily overlooked manner.

With the installation of efficient tracking and ongoing updates, the investment in vehicles increases in ways that will be easily covered in a case of loss. This along with the additional benefits to the vehicles themselves through the increased maintenance adds up significantly for those in charge of crunching numbers for the company.

Computerized monitoring of vehicles and employee use also enhances the assets that the company already owns and uses. Despite the response of many to the idea of monitoring at the workplace, significant results have already been reported and no major complaints have been filed by employees under the new system. In fact, employees themselves may find that they are benefited by the additional motivation to accomplish tasks quickly and thoroughly.

Save-Save Situation?

Although each vending company will have to evaluate the benefits for its specific fleet before making an investment in GPS tracking technology, the hidden benefits, as well as the more obvious, could begin gaining popularity among this specific group of fleet owners. As reports from those already using and experimenting with this technology continue to show up, vending delivery may just experience some changes that could open new doors. GPS tracking technology can’t solve all the problems of business owners today, but it may continue to be a tool to dealing with small ones that always add up.

GPS Tracking in the Vending Venue