Verizon is a household name – from cell phone coverage to the internet, it’s likely you either know someone or personally use a service from Verizon.
But does Verizon’s telematics transfer to the fleet industry? Do its ELD compliance and fleet management tools make the grade? Will Verizon’s fleet management software move your company forward? Let’s take a closer look.
Topics
Verizon Connect: Key Features and Services
Verizon Connect strives to create a connected mobile world by “automating, optimizing, and revolutionizing the way people, vehicles, and things move around the world.” Verizon Connect is one of the world’s largest telematics providers, especially after merging with Fleetmatics Reveal in 2018. Thousands of customers use its fleet management products all over the world.
Here are the key services and features you get with Verizon Connect:
- ELD & Compliance Management Solutions
- Integrated Reporting
- GPS Fleet Tracking
- Vehicle Diagnostics & Maintenance Tracker
- GPS Asset Tracking
- Dashcams & Integrated Video
- Telematics
- Driver Safety & Coaching
ELD and Compliance Management Solutions
You’ll be able to analyze your team’s performance and provide a better customer experience, but you must also stay up-to-date with the latest rules and regulations. Verizon Connect has thought of that too, and has made Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) compliance easy for everyone (and drivers in particular).
Verizon has developed the best ELD solution that is federally compliant ELD. It minimizes paperwork, automates simple tasks, and allows drivers to check logs before submitting them. This ELD solution is fully FMCSA compliant and also serves as a reliable, instant solution for audits and inspections.
Drivers love the app and have access to 24/7 support through it. When they’re on board with your ELD solution, you won’t have any trouble submitting driver logs, staying within HOS boundaries, and quickly resolving log errors.
The compliance solutions make it easy to stay up-to-date with even the newest DOT government regulations.
GPS Fleet Tracking
Like every other fleet management and telematics provider, Verizon Connects recognizes the importance of efficient, intelligent, and user-friendly GPS Fleet Tracking. The Verizon Connect Reveal GPS Fleet Tracking aims to help you and your team ‘monitor and manage your mobile workforce with ease.’
The GPS fleet tracking on offer is suitable for any vehicle owner searching for a vehicle GPS tracking solution that’s simple to use and addresses ‘common pain points.’ This means that Verizon Connect’s GPS suite is beneficial for super-small fleet enterprises and industrial, international, and large-scale fleets.
The range of setups, payment options, and tools make it one of America’s largest and most versatile fleet management solutions. The obvious selling point is the complete fleet visibility and a near real-time, 360° view of your fleet’s daily operations.
In the long run, GPS fleet tracking increases productivity, reduces costs, maximizes profits, streamlines your operations, and helps you stay on top of vehicle maintenance. Healthier vehicles are on the road for longer, since you can minimize unplanned downtime by tracking every vehicle diagnostic available.
Since you’ll be able to accurately record which drivers and vehicles are on the road and exactly what their working day involves, you’ll spot invaluable opportunities to improve fleet efficiency and provide a more reliable customer experience.
The high-resolution maps – powered by Google Maps – use smart clustering and detail-on-demand to provide simple, essential information. But can Verizon Connect record audio? As of now, the answer is no.
You’ll have the tools and information you need to communicate accurate ETAs to your customers, keep tabs on your workforce, reduce dangerous driver behavior, and even reduce fuel consumption. Plan the smartest routes based on live traffic conditions, and you’ll be surprised by how much fuel your team collectively saves.
As well as analyzing your team’s performance on the spot, you can compile insightful reports that show how you’re faring over time.
Spot trends, develop KPIs, and re-work budgets to constantly improve your fleet’s performance. The intelligent and compact fleet management software combines all of the most complex management tasks into one handy fleet management solution.
Telematics
Fleet management software is a vital component of Verizon Connect’s GPS fleet tracking solution, but the technology wouldn’t be possible without the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) telematics. This smart built-in platform gives you rich diagnostic data and connects over the cloud to uncover your fleet’s full potential.
Verizon Connect Fleet shows you the almost-instant live location and status of all your vehicles on a single customizable dashboard, one which you can even take out of the office.
You can toggle between complete fleet metrics, maintenance scheduling, instant alerts, and detailed reports. The solution is designed to make it easy for you to analyze trends, study driver behavior, and monitor maintenance costs.
You’ll understand your business better than ever and discover new ways to improve even the tiniest of drawbacks. On top of that, the data-driven driver scorecards help you encourage a safer driving culture that reduces risk and protects your assets on the road.
GPS Asset Tracking
As well as tracking your constantly moving vehicles on the road, Verizon Connect has developed robust technology for accurate asset tracking. The asset tracking technology works for almost every piece of machinery imaginable and helps you protect every piece of high-value equipment you own.
Using Verizon Connect Reveal GPS asset tracking tools, you’ll know exactly where your assets are, and where they’ve been in the past. You can locate remote pieces of equipment in a matter of seconds, helping to confirm that everything is still in place, and that the equipment is secure.
Live status, usage history, and diagnostics are all stored within the software so that every piece of crucial information is instantly accessible. Is your equipment sitting idle? Are the storage costs excruciatingly high?
Is there still a valuable return for your asset’s investment? You’ll be able to answer all of these questions with a few simple clicks through the intelligent fleet management software.
Pricing Plans
The Verizon pricing plan varies with your business requirements. This makes the fleet management system flexible for start-ups and large organizations. Like many other tracking companies, Verizon Connect doesn’t state its pricing publicly.
You need to contact the support team and describe your requirements. The representative will then provide you with a quote. The Verizon ELD starter plan costs about $23.50 per vehicle per month. This is around 66 cents per vehicle per day. The starter plan includes features such as the mobile manager app, geofencing, location data, and speed monitoring.
You can take advantage of the trial when starting up with this management software. This allows you to test the features you might want included in your package.
Some things to know about Verizon Connect Reveal software and hardware pricing include:
- No ballpark figures: This is a recent company policy shift. Verizon Connect Reveal is no longer providing numerical estimates for its online services. That means you have to make direct inquiries. You can get this quote within minutes using their quote-finding tool or by contacting the support team.
- 3-year minimum contract: The minimum contract duration for Verizon Connect is 36 months. This is similar to the minimum contract of other tracking companies such as Samsara.
- Free demo: Verizon Connect Reveal offers you a one-month trial period. This allows you to test their services without committing your money. The good thing is the demo period starts five days after the shipment of the required hardware.
- Warranty: The Verizon Connect Reveal uses the factory warranty for its hardware equipment. The good thing is that it offers the hardware to fleet managers for free. However, you need to pay for installation.
- Contract cancellation: The Verizon Connect Reveal uses a 2-week cooling-off period in its contract cancellation policy.
Customer Support
Verizon Connect support is available 24/7, 365 days a year. This means that you can always reach a customer service representative. You can contact Verizon Connect Reveal through phone, email, and social media. However, Verizon Connect Reveal does not have a chatbot.
Software Tools and Devices
Verizon vehicle and driver management features aim to help fleet managers optimize their operations. It provides a centralized hub for management. This helps to minimize downtime, prevent breakdowns, and avoid HOS violations. The following are the hardware and software integrations for enhanced driver and vehicle management.
Integrated Dashcam
The integrated dashcam will record footage when the vehicle starts. Verizon Connect dashcams can also be configured to record triggered events.
These events include hard braking, sudden acceleration, and harsh cornering. It then sends alerts to the driver, helping to improve safety by providing drivers with real-time feedback on their driving behavior. The dashcam also provides video footage of accidents. This footage can be used to identify the accident’s cause and determine who is at fault.
Diagnostic Tracking
Diagnostic tracking helps fleet managers monitor the health and performance of the vehicles. The fleet management system uses data from the vehicle’s engine control module. It can track engine performance metrics, such as fuel consumption, oil pressure, and coolant temperature.
This information can help you to optimize fuel efficiency. Diagnostic tracking generates alerts when specific diagnostic parameters reach predefined thresholds. This allows proper maintenance scheduling before problems occur and helps to lower the overall maintenance costs.
Two-Way Messaging
This feature allows Verizon Connect Reveal fleet managers to communicate with their drivers in real-time. You can use the feature to give drivers real-time updates on their routes and deliveries.
IFTA Reports
IFTA compliance requires detailed records of fuel purchases and vehicle miles traveled in each jurisdiction. Manual tracking of this data can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Verizon GPS tracking provides accurate and automated data on vehicle location and mileage.
The collected data is transmitted to the Verizon Connect platform via cellular or satellite networks and stored securely in the cloud. The platform then utilizes the stored GPS data to generate IFTA-compliant reports automatically. You can review IFTA reports through the Verizon Connect platform or download them.
Logs
Verizon Connect ELD automatically records driving time and duty status. Hours of Service data is stored securely in the cloud. Usually, the data is easily accessible to drivers and fleet managers through the Verizon Connect platform. This eliminates the need for manual logbooks.
The fleet management system provides real-time alerts and notifications to drivers when they are approaching Hours of Service limits. This helps avoid violations and also helps you optimize driver schedules and improve fleet efficiency.
Field Service Management
The Verizon Connect Field Service aims to improve visibility and productivity in the field. This feature helps to streamline scheduling, routing, dispatching, and job management. Field service management also works as a communication platform that provides field service technicians with the information they need to complete tasks efficiently.
For instance, you can provide technicians with access to job details, customer information, and location maps. Assign and track tasks, receive real-time updates on task progress, and capture service data. The service data can include work orders, customer signatures, and photos.
You can then generate comprehensive reports on service performance, technician productivity, customer satisfaction, and cost savings. Generally, this option works great if you have a fleet of vans.
Roadside Assistance
Verizon Connect Roadside Assistance is a comprehensive roadside assistance program designed to help commercial vehicle fleets. The aim is to get vehicles back on the road quickly and safely. The program provides many services, including towing, jump starts, tire changes, and locksmith services.
The service is backed by a network of experienced and qualified roadside assistance providers. Verizon Connect roadside assistance provides 24/7/365 coverage, ensuring that drivers can access help whenever needed, regardless of the time of day or location.
Verizon Connect ELD Benefits
Combining advanced hardware and software features results in efficiency and management benefits. Some of the productivity, insurance premiums, and CSA score benefits you can get from using Verizon Connect include:
- Minimizes insurance costs: Insurance companies often offer discounts to fleets that use ELDs. This is due to data and reports that serve as tangible evidence of the fleet’s commitment to safety.
- Improves CSA scores: A good CSA score can reduce the risk of legal liabilities arising from accidents or violations.
- Reduces fuel costs: Improved route optimization and reduced idle time help reduce fuel consumption.
- Helps with Analysis: Verizon Connect’s data-driven insights help you identify areas of inefficiency. These can be excessive fuel consumption, inefficient routes, and unsafe driving practices. You can then analyze the entire fleet performance data and make informed decisions to improve fuel efficiency and reduce costs.
- Allows BYOD: Drivers and managers can use their personal Apple and Android devices, eliminating the need to train employees on new devices. It also eliminates the cost of purchasing new gadgets.
- Provides document scanning features: Fleets can streamline operations by digitizing and managing important documents electronically. For example, drivers can capture and upload documents directly from their mobile devices, removing the need for manual paper collection and processing.
Here’s a breakdown of the main pros and cons with Verizon Connect:
| Verizon Connect Pros | Verizon Connect Cons |
|---|---|
| Accessible, convenient all-in-one platform for every fleet management task | Poor customer service and issues that are constantly transferred instead of being resolved |
| Full range of telematics fleet management solutions | Difficult, confusing, and inaccurate contracts |
| Long-term contracts that suit bigger businesses who find changing providers a hassle | Bad management, incorrect installations, and the wrong parts being delivered |
| Low-quality product that an unresponsive support team does little to address |
Verizon Connect Reviews and Ratings
So, what do customers think? Are they happy with the service they signed up for?
TrustPilot reviews indicate there are plenty of issues for Verizon Connect to address. Of the 192 current reviews, 77% are 1 star reviews. Overall, they’re rated at 1.8/5, which is pretty disappointing.
Poor customer service is mentioned frequently, and it’s a concern that one user complains of poor software infrastructure and complicated contracts. While 19% of the reviews are 5 stars, there’s no consistency in terms of why customers give them this score.
The customer reviews on Capterra are not much better, and this is from a significantly larger data pool of nearly 500 reviews. Of those reviews, Verizon Connect’s average score is a lowly 3.1/5. Positive reviews highlight the usefulness of the technology’s features, including fuel usage, maintenance trackers, and vehicle diagnostics.
One user in particular praised the bird’s-eye view of his entire fleet. However, it seems there are plenty of scathing reviews that outshine positive ones. Customers lament the high prices, poor communication, lack of accountability, and low-quality technology that doesn’t integrate with third-party software as promised.
G2 reviews paint a slightly more positive picture. The average score of 3.8/5 is better than the other two, and that’s based on a large sample of 934 reviews. Many reviews still bemoan a ‘shockingly poor customer service team’, but others call the Verizon ELD app fleet management solution a ‘lifesaver’ and praise the vehicle tracking and reporting capabilities.
TechRadar details the impressive parts of Verizon Connect’s package, but they also mention a “shaky” customer service team and lengthy contracts as significant defects:
“While Verizon Connect is one of the biggest fleet management companies, it has a mixed bag of feedback from customers. Going by the reviews left on TrustPilot and Better Business Review, a lack of clear communication and issues around support team and software problems appeared to be the most prevalent bugbears.”
The general consensus is that Verizon Connect is far from a perfect ELD compliance and vehicle tracking provider. They’ll need to improve their product, customer service, and basic business model before reviews will begin to improve.
- TrustPilot – 1.8/5 (based on 192 reviews)
- Capterra – 3.1/5 (based on 856 reviews)
- G2 – 3.8/5 (based on 934 reviews)
My Review Criteria
There are many fleet management companies with varying features and pricing plans. This makes it challenging to pick a company that suits your business best.
For instance, a reputable company might not suit your business because it lacks certain features. Here’s what we did to review Verizon Connect thoroughly in various categories:
- Customer support: We reviewed the available support options.
- Features: We checked Verizon Connect Reveal’s various features and how they can benefit a fleet business.
- Driver and vehicle management: We considered how easy it is to monitor the vehicle and the driver in real-time.
- Price: We reviewed pricing options and tried to give the average pricing quotes Verizon Connect Reveal often gives.
With all of those items mentioned above, we also deep dove customer reviews to learn what customers experienced and their overall impression of Verizon Connect.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Does Verizon ELD Work?
Verizon ELD tracks drivers’ HOS status in real-time, ensuring they comply with regulations. It sends alerts and notifications when they are approaching HOS limits. It can be integrated with the Verizon Connect Reveal fleet management platform to provide a centralized view of driver’s data, vehicle information, and location.
How Do I Connect My Verizon ELD to My Truck?
Connect the device to your truck’s OBD-II port. Install the Verizon Connect Reveal app. Once the Verizon ELD has initialized, you must activate it using the Verizon Connect Reveal web portal. This will require your fleet’s Verizon Connect account information.
Conclusion
So, is Verizon Connect worth it? While it has several attractive features like Motive, customers are typically unhappy with it on average. If you do end up using them, we recommend doing some additional due diligence before committing to a 36 month contract with them.
Website: https://www.verizonconnect.com/
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