As a business owner with a fleet of vehicles to manage, you know how critical it is to have full visibility into your assets and drivers at all times. This is where a powerful fleet management platform like Verizon Connect comes in. But what exactly is Verizon Connect, and is it the right solution for your company?
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll take a deep dive into everything Verizon Connect has to offer so you can make an informed decision. Whether you‘re wondering about specific features, costs, or how it stacks up to the competition, you‘ve come to the right place. Let‘s get started!
What Is Verizon Connect?
At its core, Verizon Connect is a leading fleet management software platform designed to help businesses optimize their mobile workforce and assets. By leveraging advanced GPS tracking, real-time data, and robust reporting, Verizon Connect empowers fleet managers to boost productivity, reduce costs, and keep their drivers safe.
The platform is actually the result of Verizon strategically merging several top fleet and mobile workforce management software companies, including:
- Fleetmatics: A pioneer in GPS fleet tracking that served over 37,000 customers
- Telogis: A leading provider of cloud-based location intelligence software
- Verizon Telematics: Verizon‘s existing connected vehicle division
By bringing together the best of these solutions under one roof, Verizon has created a true powerhouse in the fleet management space. Today, Verizon Connect boasts over 3,500 employees across 15+ countries who serve the needs of 4+ million vehicles.
Key Features & Capabilities
So what can you actually do with Verizon Connect? The short answer is: quite a lot. Here‘s a quick rundown of some of the platform‘s most noteworthy features:
Real-Time Vehicle Tracking
Using GPS, you can see the live location and status of your entire fleet on an interactive map. This allows you to always know where your vehicles are, confirm deliveries, and quickly respond to customer inquiries.
Driver Behavior Monitoring
Verizon Connect uses a combination of GPS data and accelerometer readings to detect unsafe driving events like hard braking, rapid acceleration, and speeding. You‘ll receive instant alerts when these occur so you can coach your drivers.
The platform also offers driver scorecards and leaderboards to gamify safe driving. You can even pair this with the integrated video solution (more on that in a bit) to provide indisputable evidence of unsafe driving.
Maintenance & Asset Management
Stay on top of preventative maintenance and extend the life of your vehicles with automated service reminders based on time, engine hours, or mileage. You can also track other high-value assets like trailers and equipment to prevent theft and unauthorized use.
Routing & Dispatch Optimization
With Verizon Connect‘s intelligent routing tools, you can plan out the most efficient routes based on traffic, weather, vehicle size, and more. The platform can even automatically assign the best driver for each job based on their real-time location and vehicle type.
Customers can be kept up-to-date with real-time delivery tracking and accurate ETAs. This helps reduce those pesky "where‘s my driver?" calls while boosting customer satisfaction.
Driver Mobile App
Keep your drivers connected with an easy-to-use mobile app that provides routing information, two-way messaging, electronic documents, and more. Drivers can also complete vehicle inspections and document proof of delivery right from their smartphone.
Video Integration
For the ultimate protection, Verizon Connect integrates with advanced video solutions that feature AI-powered dash cams. This allows you to capture every incident on the road, exonerate drivers from false claims, and identify risky driving behaviors.
It‘s important to note that while these cameras record video, they do NOT record audio of the driver or any passengers. So you don‘t have to worry about running afoul of wiretapping laws.
ELD Compliance
The Verizon Connect platform also helps you comply with the FMCSA‘s ELD mandate for electronic logging of hours of service (HOS). Their FMCSA-certified solution makes it easy to track driver hours, manage DVIR, and more.
Fuel Card Integration
By integrating your existing fuel card, you can easily monitor fuel consumption and identify potential fuel theft. Verizon Connect can flag suspicious transactions and track vehicle idling to help you reduce fuel costs.
Reporting & Data Insights
Of course, collecting all this fleet data is only useful if you can make sense of it. Fortunately, Verizon Connect offers powerful reporting and analytics tools that can help you uncover key insights to improve your business.
The platform provides a wide range of pre-built reports on things like driver safety, fuel usage, vehicle utilization, and more. You can easily customize these reports and set them to be automatically emailed to key stakeholders on a regular basis.
There‘s also a handy dashboard view that displays real-time data on all your key fleet metrics in one place. This allows busy fleet managers to quickly spot issues and make data-driven decisions at a glance.
Pricing
As with most enterprise software platforms, the exact pricing of Verizon Connect depends on the specific needs of your fleet. Costs can vary based on the number of vehicles, contract length, features required, and more.
However, from research we‘ve seen pricing start around $45/month for very basic GPS tracking and go up to $250+/month per vehicle for a more full-featured solution. There are also often upfront costs for hardware installation.
While Verizon Connect doesn‘t publish pricing publicly, they do offer free quotes and consultations with a sales rep who can assess your needs. Many customers choose to start with a pilot program of 10-15 vehicles before rolling it out to their entire fleet.
Adding Drivers & Paying Bills
If you do move forward with Verizon Connect, you‘ll need to know how to manage drivers in the system. Luckily, it‘s a pretty straightforward process within the admin panel:
- Go to Account Settings > Users & Roles
- Click "Invite New User" and enter their name, email, and role (driver, dispatcher, admin, etc.)
- The new user will get an email to set up their account and download the mobile app
- You can then assign them to specific vehicles
To pay your Verizon Connect bill, you have a few options. You can set up AutoPay with a credit card to avoid missed payments. You can also pay via ACH transfer or check. Bills are typically sent via email on a monthly basis.
If you ever need to cancel your Verizon Connect service, you‘ll need to reach out to your dedicated account manager. Most contracts do require a 1-3 year commitment, so be aware of any early termination fees.
Is Verizon Connect Worth It?
Now for the million dollar question: is Verizon Connect actually worth the investment? While the costs aren‘t trivial, most customers report a significant ROI due to the platform‘s ability to:
- Lower fuel costs by 10-25% through reduced idling and efficient routing
- Reduce vehicle maintenance costs by 15-30% with proactive service reminders
- Recover 80%+ of stolen vehicles thanks to real-time GPS tracking
- Exonerate 90%+ of drivers from false accident claims using video telematics
- Increase fleet utilization by 10-20% through optimized scheduling and dispatch
- Boost driver retention by 10%+ by rewarding safe driving behaviors
Of course, your mileage may vary depending on your specific fleet and how well you actually leverage the tools Verizon Connect provides. But the potential for cost savings and productivity gains is significant.
The other big benefit is peace of mind. Knowing that you always have a real-time view of your drivers and assets can take a lot of stress out of managing a fleet. Plus, the driver safety features can literally save lives.
So while Verizon Connect isn‘t the cheapest fleet management solution out there, you really do get what you pay for in terms of features and reliability. For most fleets over 15 vehicles, the platform is a worthwhile investment.
The Bottom Line
Hopefully this in-depth guide has given you a solid understanding of what Verizon Connect brings to the table. By combining robust GPS tracking, driver behavior monitoring, ELD compliance, video telematics, fuel management, and much more into a single platform, Verizon Connect truly does offer an all-in-one fleet management solution.
While the price tag can be hefty, the potential benefits in terms of cost savings, productivity, and safety are significant. And with over 4 million vehicles under management across the globe, Verizon Connect has a proven track record of delivering results for fleets of all sizes and industries.
Of course, the only way to know for sure if Verizon Connect is right for your business is to see it in action. Our recommendation would be to schedule a free demo and consultation with their team. They‘ll be able to assess your specific needs and provide a custom recommendation and pricing.
At the end of the day, investing in a fleet management platform is a big decision. But for most companies with a fleet, it‘s an increasingly necessary one. And Verizon Connect is undoubtedly a top contender to consider.
Have you used Verizon Connect or another fleet management platform? Let us know about your experience in the comments below!
