Telematics company saves customers’ expenses and time with Google

Founded in 2003, Norway-headquartered ABAX has established itself as a leader in the telematics sector, through its development and delivery of GPS tracking, electronic triplogs, project management systems and equipment and vehicle control systems. Along with its Larvik, Norway head office, the company has operations in the UK, China, Sweden, Holland, Poland, Denmark and Finland.

ABAX’s vehicle-tracking GPS device ABAX Triplog, is a vital piece of technology for companies with fleets of vehicles, providing a full trace of all a vehicle’s travels. This enables the company to prove that a vehicle is being used for legitimate company business, meaning they can avoid some stringent tax penalties.

In order to make ABAX Triplog as efficient and reliable for its customers as possible, ABAX required a mapping platform that it could use in concert with the device. Finding it to be the most accurate and up to date, and with simpler, more powerful APIs than its competitor platforms, ABAX settled on Google Maps Platform to perform this function.

Using Google Maps Javascript API, ABAX built a website that allowed customers to view where its vehicles have travelled and to provide proof that they were used for the purposes of business. The platform can also be used for routing vehicles, while ABAX also uses Google Maps Geocoding API’s reverse geocoding feature to determine precise locations for vehicle dispatch.

ABAX Chief Technology Officer Glenn Bergan commented: “Google Maps is ideal for helping our customers track vehicle fleets to show they aren’t being used for personal business. Companies also use it for dispatching to save on fuel costs... With Google Maps, we’ve created a platform that allows our customers to track their fleets and avoid tax penalties for the personal use of company vehicles."

Since working with Google Maps Platform, ABAX has saved customers close to 3,400 person-hours per month, due to the impact of more efficient vehicle dispatch. Meanwhile, vehicle-related expenses among its customers, for things such as fuel, maintenance and insurance, are down 20 per cent, while more accurate vehicle-dispatching has seen a decrease in fleet fuel.