Azuga GPS System Integration Review

 There are several GPS platforms that are capable of successfully pairing with Voyager through an API. But of these platforms, none are more preferred by Voyager than Azuga. Given their preference, we’ve decided to pay particular attention to Azuga and write up a full review on them and their system.

Quickly, Azuga makes a variety of promises to its potential customers that we want to list and keep track of as we learn about their system. They are as follows…

 -Boost Accountability

-Improve Safety

-Elevate Customer Service

-Improve Operations with Reporting

So to begin, let’s start with the physical product Azuga actually sells. As most of what they have to offer is done virtually. When you agree to terms with Azuga you will be given what is called an OBD-ii device. You will be given a device for each and every vehicle in your fleet. This device plugs into the vehicles’ onboard diagnostic port which tracks engine performance, and connects to both GPS satellites and the Internet. By attaching the device to the vehicle, and connecting it to the aforementioned GPS and Internet,  all of the information gathered by your OBD-ii is now available to you through Azuga’s interface. 

Now let’s explore how applying this technology specifically makes good on each of the promises listed above. 

With an Azuga OBD-ii device plugged into your vehicle, it’s almost as if you are riding in the turck alongside your driver. Which means that the device serves as just as much of a deterrent of wasteful behavior as your presence would be. Through Azuga’s interface you will be able to see where a vehicle is located, how long it has been there and how long it took to get there. You’ll even be able to see if the driver braked too hard or drove too fast. As a result, the OBD-ii ensures that your vehicle is being used efficiently and for the company’s purpose. 

In addition to Azuga’s ability to track location, they are also able to track safe-driving practices. With dash cam monitoring, you are able to correct dangerous driving behavior before it continues and becomes a habit. Azuga lends a hand with their driver related tutorial videos that are available to both you and your drivers and are full of helpful safe driving tips. In addition, Azuga also offers in-cab alerts that will alert both you and your driver of any potential safety issues related to the internals of the vehicle. All combined,  Azuga claims that their system can reduce high-risk behavior by 88%! 

It stands to reason that if drivers are driving with both greater efficiency and safety that a greater level of customer service will inevitably follow. Azuga claims that with their system you can decrease your transit time by 28%, which coupled with the decrease in high-risk behavior that leads to increased driver safety your customers can rest assured that their product will arrive on time and in perfect condition. But that’s not all. Nowadays, when a person orders anything from a pack of toilet paper to a Domino’s pizza, that order can be tracked from the moment it ships to the moment it arrives. With Azuga, your customers will be able to do the very same with your product. As a result, your customers will be able to prepare to receive your delivery, so that they themselves can begin to use their product to serve their own customers as quickly as possible. Which is yet another feature characteristic of great customer service that Azuga allows you to offer.

All of the information used by Azuga to increase driver accountability, safety and customer service as a result is all accessible through software they’ve developed. Called Azuga Fleet Mobile, this platform allows you to view everything that has been discussed thus far. From this platform you can watch dash cam recordings, track vehicle location, determine the amount of time to make a delivery and more. 

With the amount of insight Azuga allows its customers to have into the cab of the truck, some could say that the function they perform is the same that “Big Brother” performed in George Orwell’s novel 1984. Which obviously is a drawback to the system as whole given the negative connotation of the comparison. This is something that Azuga appears to be acutely aware of however, and has even addressed it specifically. 

In their defense, Azuga makes it very clear that their goal is to make drivers both safe and efficient. Something that they, as a system, can only do so much to ensure. Reason being of course, that the drivers need to be on board if any of Azuga’s corrections are going to manifest. Enter Azuga’s driver incentive program. By driving safely and efficiently, your drivers can earn points through the Azuga app. Earn enough points and those can turn into rewards such as gift cards to favorite restaurants, service shops, hardware stores and more!

Finally, since we offer fuel cards, we don’t really have any need for Azuga ourselves. So we thought it would be useful to include some stories from the people who have used Azuga and seen how it can help their business. 

Smith and Solomon, a 45 truck fleet based out of the NorthEast, offer classes for individuals who are interested in becoming truck drivers. The challenges they were facing that led them to Azuga were that as a driver education company, they had a lot of inexperienced drivers driving a lot of miles across state lines. As a result they needed a way to improve the safety of their students, and a way to streamline their IFTA reporting process. Azuga came and provided solutions to both by implementing their driver safety program, and using that very same technology to gather and store data all in one place for IFTA filing.