Nearly two years ago, Rhino Fleet Tracking introduced the first-of-its-kind GPS tracking skill for the Amazon Alexa. Whether you use a Dot, Echo, Tap, or other Amazon device, as a Rhino customer you now have the ability to access your fleet’s information simply by asking Alexa a question. With this skill, you can ask Alexa where one or more drivers or devices are located, ask which drivers are at a given landmark, and even assign a driver to specified device. With that in mind, we wanted to know what our customers are asking Alexa about their fleets.
“Where are my devices?”
Many of the users that utilize the Alexa skill – over 47% in fact – use it to find out where all of their devices are located. Many of our customers run small to mid-size businesses. It makes sense that these owners want a rundown of their complete fleet. This information allows owners to assess if any GPS trackers are located in unauthorized locations and to know where their drivers location in the event that they need to add a new job to their schedule. For equipment-heavy businesses, knowing the locations of all GPS trackers helps the manager know if any assets have gone missing or are being misused.
“Where is ?”
The second most common request – coming in at over 26% – is the whereabouts of a single device. While this sometimes means the fleet manager is keeping an eye on a specific employee, there are many other reasons why this information would be valuable. They might be checking on the location of a piece of equipment to ensure that it has arrived at its destination or to make sure it hasn’t been moved. They might be checking on the location of a specific truck that has equipment that is needed at another job. Or they might be seeking out the location of a truck, trailer, piece of equipment or shipping container that’s gone missing.
“Where is [driver]?”
The third most common request – asked by over 14% of users – is the location of a specific driver. Once again, this isn’t always used to keep track of a “problem” employee. The fleet manager might be checking the location of an employee before rerouting them to another job. They might be responding to a customer inquiry about the location of their assigned technician that is running late. They might be confirming that their worker is still at a job that is taking longer than expected. Or, of course, they may be making sure that their employee is at the job they’re supposed to be at and working while on the clock.
“Where are my drivers?”
The fourth most common request – with a rate of about 8% – is the location of all of the company’s tracked drivers. For smaller businesses, this information can be asked frequently to assist with keeping their schedule and rerouting workers from job to job. It can also be used to check if any drivers are at or near a given location, be that a jobsite that needs extra assistance, or an establishment that the owner doesn’t want their trucks spotted at (have you heard about the church van?).
In addition to these requests, you can ask Alexa about a single landmark and to assign a driver to a device. Many of our customers use our web or mobile apps to assign drivers to devices, and most customers find out about landmarks being visited by setting up and receiving notifications immediately when the landmark is reached.
If you’re a Rhino Fleet Tracking customer utilizing Alexa integration, we want to hear from you! Email us at marketing@rhinofleettracking.com or tweet us @RhinoFleets with your story.
Looking to get started? Give us a call at 800-293-0420.
