Better Fleet: A practical playbook for turning telematics data into fleet savings

Here's seven practical ways to connect telematics data to fleet costs and start extracting more value from your fleet operation.

1. Start measuring cost per mile, not just mileage

Most telematics platforms can tell you how far vehicles travel.

Far fewer fleets connect that information to cost.

Start combining telematics data with:

  • fuel spend
  • maintenance costs
  • tyre expenditure
  • insurance costs
  • vehicle downtime

This creates a much clearer picture of vehicle performance and helps identify assets that are costing significantly more than the fleet average.

Tools to explore:

See the full shortlist of FleetWise Trusted Brands in the 2026 report.

2. Prioritise the behaviours driving fuel costs

Fuel remains one of the largest controllable costs in most fleets.

Telematics can quickly identify the habits that increase fuel consumption, including excessive idling, speeding, harsh acceleration and inefficient routing.

Currys used real-time driver coaching technology from Lightfoot to reduce annual fuel costs by more than £416,000 while cutting fuel consumption by 10.8%.

The biggest opportunity is often not the vehicle.

It's the way it's being driven.

Tools to explore:

3. Measure productivity, not just vehicle activity

A moving vehicle is not necessarily a productive vehicle.

Review:

  • drive time versus time on site
  • vehicle utilisation rates
  • route efficiency
  • idle time
  • jobs completed per vehicle

Many fleets discover they have underused assets sitting alongside heavily utilised vehicles.

That imbalance creates unnecessary cost.

Tools to explore:

4. Use telematics to improve safety performance

Collisions remain one of the most expensive fleet events.

The strongest operators increasingly combine telematics, driver coaching and video technology to identify risk before incidents occur.

Tarmac's integrated Geotab and Motormax solution helped deliver:

  • 30% fewer collisions
  • 30% lower repair costs
  • 25% improvement in van fuel economy

Driver behaviour data is most valuable when it leads to coaching, training and intervention.

Tools to explore:

5. Bring fleet data into one place

One of the biggest barriers to cost reduction is data fragmentation.

Fuel cards sit in one system. Maintenance records sit somewhere else. Telematics sits somewhere else again.

The strongest reporting combines:

  • safety data
  • utilisation data
  • maintenance data
  • fuel data
  • operational costs

This makes it easier to understand what is actually driving fleet expenditure rather than reviewing metrics in isolation.

Tools to explore:

6. Use telematics to challenge assumptions

Many fleets continue operating vehicles, routes and schedules based on historical assumptions rather than evidence.

Telematics can reveal:

  • underutilised vehicles
  • unnecessary mileage
  • opportunities for route optimisation
  • vehicles suitable for electrification
  • opportunities for backhaul work

Government fleet decarbonisation guidance increasingly highlights telematics as one of the most effective tools for understanding how vehicles are actually used.

The data often challenges long-held assumptions.

7. Move from reactive management to predictive management

Historically, telematics helped fleets understand what happened yesterday.

Increasingly, it helps predict what happens next.

Look for systems that help identify:

  • emerging maintenance issues
  • fuel efficiency trends
  • vehicle utilisation patterns
  • driver risk indicators
  • future replacement requirements

The earlier a fleet identifies a problem, the cheaper it usually is to solve.

Providers to explore:

More guidance in this series:

Better Fleet: why telematics data still isn't informing the bottom line

Better Fleet: what effective fleet cost intelligence actually looks like

Or Join Better Fleet for best-practice planning that's proven through real-world case studies: Better Fleet Campaign

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