The telematics quote: what is compulsory and what are you adding?

Separate the basic monitoring service, weighing equipment and optional fleet tools before comparing the monthly price.

By Chris Smith

A monthly telematics price can look straightforward until the operator tries to compare it with another provider's offer.

One package may include only the required monitoring service. Another may include operational tools, more extensive support or hardware under a longer contract. A third may leave weighing equipment outside the quoted price.

Gavin Hill, Austroads/TCA General Manager Strategic Engagement and Performance, told WWTG that buyers needed to separate straight TMA from those additional costs.

He said an informed customer should be able to obtain TMA for less than about $200 per vehicle a month, while stressing that suppliers set their own commercial prices.

Use the benchmark correctly

Hill’s September interview benchmark covers the TMA service. A buyer needing Smart OBM must separately establish the cost and approval status of the proposed weighing equipment and its supported pairing.

At an assumed $200 monthly rate, one TMA subscription would total $2,400 over 12 months. Sixteen subscriptions at the same assumed rate would total $38,400. Those calculations illustrate how a monthly service scales; they are not supplier quotes.

The buyer still needs to establish upfront charges, weighing hardware, installation, GST, minimum contract periods and any other applicable costs.

Optional tools can still be worthwhile

Hill said providers could bundle additional features into their services. Those features might help the business, but they should be identified separately rather than all being called the TMA cost.

That allows an operator to make two decisions: what must be bought for the access arrangement, and what additional service is worth paying for.

It also makes a fairer comparison between a basic package and a more extensive offer.

Price the support as well

Hill said operators should ask how the provider handles faults. A lower subscription may come with a different support model from a service offering rapid onsite assistance.

An operator can request a written explanation of the initial contact, escalation, included labour and any replacement or callout charges. The answers help show what the monthly payment is actually purchasing.

The useful total is the cost over the planned contract period for the same vehicle, scheme and level of service.

For a small business watching every dollar, an itemised quote makes the decision easier to defend. It also prevents a tempting headline rate from concealing equipment or support costs that arrive later.