The Potential Financial Gains of Automated Polygon Geofencing

Transportation and logistics providers are always looking for ways to save fuel, reduce empty miles and increase profits. Automated polygon geofencing implementation might be the perfect solution they need to take their business to the next level.

Geofencing is a GPS-based technology that helps teams define areas where they wish to focus efforts on increasing visibility, automation, and insights.. By creating virtual “fences” around specific geographic locations, they can track vehicle movement, detect idle times, better support automated workflows, and more accurately map out routes to maximize efficiency.

In short, with geofencing, you can take control of your bottom line and get back on the road to success.

This article discusses the overall financial impacts of automated polygon geofencing and informs readers of the specific benefits and potential economic gains this technology offers. With automated polygon geofences, owner-operators, trucking companies, and shippers can increase their bottom line and achieve next-level growth in profitability.

Defining Automated Polygon Geofencing

Automated polygon geofencing is a boundary definition technology that uses a series of straight lines and spline curves to create a virtual boundary. This boundary can define a specific geographic area, such as a business location or an area of interest, and is often used to set up virtual perimeters to track the movement of people or objects entering, exiting, and within the area.

Automated polygon geofencing effectively increases the coverage and accuracy for someone wanting to monitor and evaluate access to certain areas and provide detailed data about the activities within a specific geographic area. This technology helps reduce costs associated with inefficient routes, stolen cargo, and inaccurate time tracking while providing data to help shippers and truckers better plan their routes.

Benefits of Automated Polygon Geofencing in Logistics

Automated polygon geofencing is a robust tool for logistics companies to manage their fleets and improve agility and efficiency.

This type of geofencing offers a range of advantages, such as improved visibility over fleet locations and operations, increased accuracy in fleet management, improved security and safety of drivers and cargo, and the ability to respond to changes in customer demands or unforeseen issues quickly.

Automated polygon geofencing also helps logistics companies reduce inefficiencies and save time, money, and resources by simplifying the process of monitoring and managing their fleets.

Examples of Automated Polygon Geofencing in Logistics and Their Financial Impacts

The positive financial impacts of automated polygon geofencing are significant, allowing transportation and logistics teams to experience financial gains, grow their businesses, and truly reach their maximum potential in the marketplace.

Automated polygon geofencing solutions offer several distinct financial advantages in logistics, including optimized routes, automated arrival and departure capabilities, risk management, quick and accurate notifications, and much more.

Manually Drawing Geofences

Manually drawing geofences can be tedious and time-consuming, often requiring in-house employees or consultants that can incur significant expenses over time. Additionally, automatically generated geofence boundaries are usually circular, resulting in significantly reduced boundary accuracy.

The best way to avoid these common issues, save time and money and reduce the risk of human error in manually drawn geofence boundaries is to implement automated polygon geofencing solutions instead.

The best way to illustrate this is by highlighting a Kestrel Insights customer who had been relying on manually drawn geofencing:

• An in-house employee was drawing up to 1,000 geofences every month.
• Each geofence took approximately 7 minutes to draw because this person had to retrieve the location, determine addresses, search on a map, evaluate the location, and then create and edit the geofence.
• The company paid this ned employee approximately $36/hour, $4,200/month, or about $75,000/year.

However, this does not factor in the additional costs to brand equity caused by inaccurate, circular, and hand-drawn geofences or the impacts on product quality resulting from incorrect and overlapping geofences.

Let’s next look at how automated polygon geofencing solutions can significantly reduce the costs and financial impacts of curating geofence boundaries.

Automated Polygon Geofences

When considering the costs associated with manual geofences, it becomes apparent that automating the geofence curation and maintenance process can immediately save companies money.

In fact, according to a Gartner Study, which centers on the value and cost savings to businesses regarding business process automation — especially in reducing error-prone manual processes such as drawing polygonal geofencing, “Automation reduces the odds of an error occurring, which can save you time and money. In fact, according to Gartner, robotic process automation can save finance teams as many as 25,000 hours of redoing work due to human error, translating to a cost savings in the ballpark of US $878,000.”

These are significant financial benefits that logistics technology companies would be hard-pressed to achieve if it were not for the incredible potential of automated polygon geofences.

Integrated Geofencing With Your TMS/Telematics/LogTech Platform

Integrated geofencing is an incredibly robust tool for fleet managers. Linking this technology to your telematics platform, TMS, or other logistics technology can provide massive financial benefits for your business.

This data can be used to improve fleet efficiency by reducing fuel costs and improving route planning. Furthermore, integrating geofencing with your existing logistics platform can provide you with much more detailed data that can be analyzed and used to plan future operations strategically.

Optimize Your Routes Through Accurate Dwell Tracking

Accurate dwell tracking is critical for optimizing transportation routes. Businesses that use automated polygon geofencing can track locations and times spent at different stops, improving accuracy and route optimization by being able to use those data points to find trends in best time of day to visit a site, weather impacts on deliveries over time, and much more.

This can lead to numerous financial benefits, as efficient routes help save on fuel costs, driver hours, and other related expenses. Automated polygon geofencing also allows for increased flexibility when addressing customer needs, as businesses can adjust routes on the fly in response to changes in demand or conditions and maintain the same level of precision when it comes to tracking.

Automated Employee Time Logging

Owner-operators and shippers can leverage virtual boundaries that track precisely when and where employees enter and exit a defined area. This capability not only allows businesses to verify attendance but also helps ensure accurate timekeeping, preventing costly mistakes and miscalculations.

The elimination of manual time tracking reduces labor costs and improves the accounting department’s efficiency and accuracy.

Risk Management Solutions

Automated polygon geofencing can provide shippers with improved risk management solutions. By creating a digital perimeter around sensitive or valuable areas, they can monitor and protect these areas from unauthorized personnel or intruders, or the accidental or intentional removal of assets from a given site

By setting up automated alerts and notifications, owners can react quickly to any potential threats and take appropriate action to reduce the risk of damage or theft.

Improved Trailer Utilization

Automated polygon geofencing helps companies keep track of where their trailers are located and assess the utilization of each trailer relative to the other trailers in the area. With automated notifications and tracking, there are no delays in repurposing assets as well, further supporting increased utilization.

This knowledge helps increase efficiency and reduce costs associated with having too many or too few trailers in a given area. It also helps optimize route planning, which ultimately leads to reduced fuel costs and improved customer satisfaction.

Quick and Accurate Notifications

By utilizing GPS coordinates and polygon-based geofences, shippers can know exactly when individuals enter and exit a defined geographic area.

The accuracy provided by this technology makes it possible to immediately notify stakeholders when someone enters or exits a designated area and can be used to send out notifications in real time, cutting down on response time and ensuring that customers are informed as soon as possible.

Reduce Empty Miles

By creating a digital, automatically updated boundary around a specific area, businesses can save time, money, and fuel by reducing or eliminating empty miles or unnecessary journeys.

Automated polygon geofencing ensures that drivers are routed through the most efficient route possible since the end destination is exact, reducing fuel costs, emissions, and traffic congestion. Additionally, shippers can use this data to create accurate delivery windows for customers, ensuring that goods and services arrive on time and in the condition expected.

Reduce Emissions

Automated polygon geofencing can help reduce emissions from motor vehicles, which produce a tremendous amount of atmospheric pollution and contributes to climate change.

By setting up these boundaries and controlling speed limits within them, the time vehicles spend idling or speeding will be dramatically reduced, resulting in a significant reduction in emissions and fuel costs.

Low emission zones are also becoming much more popular in the United States…

Avoid Demurrage and Detention Fees

By using automated polygon geofences, companies can avoid costly demurrage and detention fees associated with delays in cargo pickup and delivery. Some of the most expensive ports in the United States charge 14-day D&D ranging anywhere from $3,182 in New York to $2,673 in the Port of Los Angeles.

Automating the process of notifying customers when their cargo has arrived at the designated area allows for timely pickup and delivery while avoiding missed deadlines and associated costs. In turn, this will enable businesses to increase efficiency and save money, ensuring that they remain competitive in the market.

Improve Freight Move Coordination

Automated polygon geofencing can help businesses improve the coordination of their freight moves, resulting in greater efficiency and cost savings. Companies can use this technology to create virtual boundaries around a geographical area of interest and receive real-time notifications when a shipment enters or exits the designated boundaries.

This helps keep track of shipments, including their location, speed, and arrival time, so they can better plan their routes and ensure timely delivery. They can also provide businesses with data insights to identify areas for improvement, such as identifying inefficient routes or costly delays.

Turn Chassis Faster to Deal With Equipment Shortages

Automated polygon geofencing can monitor asset usage and improve asset management. By using this technology, companies can turn chassis faster and more efficiently, leading to significant cost savings over time.

Become a Broker or Shipper of Choice

Automated polygon geofencing technology coupled with the analytics and insights produced from such usage  has the potential to lead to enhanced client relationships, which can result in greater financial benefits for your business.

It can help streamline the entire shipping process by providing the shipper with accurate shipment information in real-time, eliminating the need for manual tracking and ensuring timely deliveries. By leveraging this technology, brokers and shippers can become the provider of choice in their industry.

Optimize Carrier Networks

Automated polygon geofencing provides detailed performance reporting that can help identify areas of opportunity within the network. This means businesses can proactively adjust services to changing customer demands, taking advantage of new opportunities and helping maintain their competitive edge.

Give Drivers Procedures & Instructions Precisely When Needed

This technology can add an extra layer of security by ensuring that drivers are following the exact route as planned while at the same time providing them with detailed instructions and procedures to follow as they move along their route.

Shippers can use this technology to ensure that their drivers comply with all safety regulations and provide the best possible customer service. Shippers can also save on fuel costs, as it can help drivers avoid congested areas or unnecessary turns, resulting in more efficient use of resources.

Key Benefits and Challenges of Polygon Geofencing Implementation

Polygon geofencing is a powerful tool for businesses that want to accurately pinpoint their target customers’ locations and activities.

By implementing this technology, organizations can gain valuable insights into consumer behavior, allowing them to tailor marketing strategies to their desired audience and increase their ROI.

However, some challenges are associated with polygon geofencing implementation, such as maintaining accuracy, ensuring scalability, and complying with data privacy regulations.

With careful planning and execution and utilizing proven automated polygon geofencing solutions such as those provided by Kestrel Insights, businesses can leverage these challenges as opportunities to innovate and create unique solutions that will further enhance their operations.

Partner with Kestrel Insights Today for Cutting-Edge Automated Polygon Geofencing Solutions

Kestrel Insights is an industry leader in automated polygon geofencing solutions. Our cutting-edge services provide businesses of any size with simple, efficient, and accurate options for managing large-scale operations.

Our polygon geofencing technology lets you quickly define and manage geo-sensitive areas of any size, shape, or complexity to monitor vehicles, personnel, and other assets in real-time.

We offer advanced analytics to help you identify trends, track performance, and make smarter decisions.Partner with Kestrel Insights today and gain access to the latest automated geofencing technology and world-class customer service.