Oct/Nov 2006

TomTom is the company whose name has become virtually synonymous with stand-alone satellite navigation devices. It claims a 75 per cent share of the UK satellite navigation device market, with nearly 1.7 million units sold and another 524,000 units integrated as navigation software in other applications.

So when the company announced TomTom Work for the business-to-business market, we were keen to find out more. Was this another case of a company with a consumer product simply looking for extra sales in the B2B sector without appreciating the needs of business customers? Or was the really a gap in the market not being satisfied?

TomTom Work incorporates what TomTom calls "connected navigation". It is an out-of-the box Web-based fleet management application, aimed squarely at smaller businesses who want more control over their vehicles and drivers. The application combines vehicle tracking, two-way communications, reporting, and of course navigation. Simplicity of use, for both company managers and drivers, is TomTom's key selling point.

The essential components are a Tom Link black box with GPS antenna and GPRS SIM card and antenna (which is installed discretely somewhere in the vehicle); and a TomTom Go 510 portable driver interface in the cab.

 

Communications, tracking and reporting are then done via the TomTom Webfleet browser-based fleet management system; so all the business needs is an Internet connection. There is an online interface for fleets that prefer to have data resident on company PCs. Vehicle location can be viewed in real time and plotted on a digital map. Web-based reports include driving times, idling times, number of trips per day; reports emailed to managers.

All pretty much what you'd expect from a Web-based fleet management system, of course. What TomTom has added is a two-messaging application that turns Webfleet into a real-time job despatch and monitoring system.

Job despatch

The job despatch function uses push technology to ensure that messages sent to the driver are actually received, and it monitors driver responses. It is simple and straightforward to use and provides enough flexibility for despatchers not to feel constrained by the application.

Job despatchers can configure messages with specific instructions about a job, and there is a range of office alerts for status monitoring. The notification alert can be configured to show, for example, if a driver is going to miss a scheduled time, or has an accident. With each status report, drivers can add additional information as text input - up to 500 characters, either as free text from a user-defined template.

There is a useful working time reporting feature. Drivers record the start and end of the working day, as well as pause times or time spent at a job. The data can be used for invoicing or salary calculations. The log book function shows business and private vehicle for tax reports.

Driver IDs can also be demanded for vehicles used by more than one driver, allowing the company to record and produce separate reports on individual drivers. Customer addresses can be geofenced to produce automatic departure and arrival alerts and to store navigation data.

Driver appeal

The TomTom Go 510 navigation device has consumer appeal, and uses features such as funky, user-friendly icons; so there should be no problem with driver acceptability. With TomTom Work, the 510 is transformed into an in-cab communications centre which displays jobs and can be used to send messages as well as navigating to particular jobs.

A range of large, friendly icons can display current information and be used by the driver to perform various task, including reporting the status of an order or job. When a message has been received, an envelope appears on the screen.

Options include speeding alerts (even when not the system is not in navigation mode), speed camera data display and real-time traffic information. TomTom Go also acts as a hands-free mobile phone via a Bluetooth connection to a phone. Drivers can disable tracking when on private trips and tap an icon to distinguish between private and business mileage.

Webfleet

The Webfleet portal acts as the communication and data storage centre. Jobs can be sent to drivers individually or as a scheduled list for that day. There are a host of configurable reports. Data is stored for 90 days, and can be exported via CSV files for anyalysis.

OUR VERDICT

TomTom Work combines all of the main applications necessary for successful mobile working: vehicle tracking, two-way communications and reporting and navigation. Its simplicity will undoubtedly appeal to companies with small fleets who want to improve control over their operations.

Yes it does have limitations - not least being its inability to integrate with other applications. TomTom's potential customer base, however, is probably not made up of the sophisticates of mobile working, but of businesses that happen to run a small vehicle fleet in order to deliver service or products to their business. For them, and indeed any company looking for improvements in driver and vehicle efficiency, the plug-and-play TomTom Work is bound to appeal.