Deciding on an ELD for a fleet can be a complicated process. You need to consider factors while choosing the smart one. These factors include cost, ROI, support, reliability, ease of install, and, most significantly, ELD mandate compliance.
These primary considerations are essential to understand while evaluating the best ELD devices. Have a look-
1. Overall Target
The critical thing to consider when purchasing for an ELD is your overall target for the product. It is based on whether you are looking for top-rated electronic logging devices or beyond these.
Some fleets need the cheapest and smartest device, which can find that will maintain them compliant with the FMCSA mandate. However, many organizations utilize the ELD requirement as a chance to even out a more fully-functional telematics system. Various ELD products are part of a bigger system that steps more than the hours of service to consider features such as navigation, messaging, GPS tracking, engine diagnostics, and more.
Although more features mean more expense, many of these tools are used to save your ELD cost and maybe even yield a positive ROI on buying.
So, the primary thing to decide is if you want a simple and inexpensive system that will fulfill the compulsion or if you wish to make the worth of investing in a product with more features that can support your business in other ways more than the compliance.
2. Cost
No doubt, price is a crucial factor for any fleet. The structure of pricing can vary between ELD providers, and can quickly be confusing as well. It can be a breakdown to major cost areas when you need to consider the significant pricing solutions. Also, the ELD reviews make it simple to compare the total price of ownership of all products. Know here-
- Up-front Hardware Cost: All ELDs include some amount of hardware that must be utilized and installed in the vehicle. A hardware cost varies in large numbers; some of the most famous systems begin around $500 per unit. It can be a complicated cash outlay, especially for smaller fleets. Thus, unfortunately, there are several procedures for paying this up-front hardware cost.
- Financing: Various ELD vendors need a hardware purchase to provide financing options. Consumers with adequate credit can pay for the hardware in installments, usually bundled in with the monthly service plan of the device. You may need to pay for the interest of the financing company. However, it eases the cash flow hassle of purchasing outright.
- Cash Up Front: The easiest way to pay for hardware is by buying it. In case your cash flow supports this large initial procure, it often gets you the overall pricing of the best ELD devices.
- Service or Lease Only Pricing: There are many cases when vendors that skip the hardware purchase completely and easily bundle services and hardware together into day’s price. It can be very enticing for fleets that struggle to attain financing and are trying to neglect a large cash outlay.
- Monthly Service: All ELD vendors will cost a monthly amount per unit. It is particularly right for products that give a more extensive range of telematics features such as messaging, tracking navigation, and many more. Of all the time, this monthly service usually has a significant contribution to the total cost of ELD for the owner operators beyond the up-front cost do. Therefore, it is vital to give attention to it.
3. ROI
The price of ELD systems is a primary concern for various fleets. ELD vendors are rapid to remind their consumers that telematics devices can also support to save a lot of money, and even pay for themselves. While ELD salespeople can naturally paint an overly-optimistic picture of the potential cost savings, the availability of various featured telematics devices can save a lot of money on a fleet. By knowing which of these features, a possible solution gives can make a massive difference while evaluating its overall benefits and costs. Consider these factors-
Maintenance: Continuous access to real-time engine data can help you find issues and repair issues before they cause a costly breakdown.
Safety: Accidents are expensive. Many ELD devices also provide security monitoring tools such as hard braking and speeding alerts that can help you represent safety problems before they turn into accidents.
4. Features beyond Electronic Logs
ELD is a part of a more extensive telematics system that gives a long list of additional features beyond electronic logs. Have a look-
- DVIR: Various ELD systems also involve an order for an electronically performing Drive Vehicle Inspections.
- Dispatch Workflow: Some systems go more than the basic text messaging to involve more compound workflow tools that permit drivers to report their progress on various tasks.
- Engine Data: Get details on engine performance, such as fault and MPG codes.
- Video Training: Send videos of training to your devices that they can watch on their ELD screen.
5. Hardware Reliability
Various ELD products available have good hardware quality. Getting reliable and durable hardware is imperative due to malfunctions meantime utilizing for repairs. Many of the ELD vendors provide free replacements of defective parts within a warranty period. However, hardware failures still cause a lot of hassles. Drivers must be routed to an area for repair within a week of the malfunction. Then one can sit back and relax while the repair is done.
Before repair, the driver will have to respond to paper logs that take more time for your backend to the procedure and enhances the risk of violations. Before you go for cheap ELD, use ELD ratings and reviews to get unbiased feedback from the customers who have already used these devices. As no unit is perfect, some are much higher quality than others.
6. Customer Reviews
One of the great ways to weigh up a potential ELD product is the focus on the views and opinions of consumers who are using it. Get one step ahead of the sales talk and discover how the products are helpful for the real people in the real world.
Thus, consider these important things while you head to buy the best ELD device for your fleet. Good luck!
