Iceland is accelerating the roll-out of Roadsense telematics to its home delivery vehicles, following substantial savings.

750 additional vehicles will have the technology fitted, completing the rollout to its entire fleet of over 1,500 vehicles two years ahead of schedule.

Alex McKinlay, commercial fleet manager at Iceland, said: "The Roadsense system has proven itself to be an invaluable operational tool to control the cost of our fleet.

"The driver behaviour module automatically sends out a report each day to each store so the individual store managers can see how their drivers are performing against our company guidelines.

"The report allows us to monitor individual driving styles and retrain drivers whose scores are in the red.

"We found that drivers with red scores proved to have a 40% increased risk of having an accident compared to other drivers and the cost of their accidents was 21% higher on average, which was a startling revelation.

"A year ago, when we first used the system, we had a significant number of red score drivers. By explaining to them the benefits of driving responsibly and the impact it has not only on their own safety but that of their local communities and the environment, they have embraced the system and this month, for the first time, we have achieved green scores throughout the fleet.   

"As a result, we have seen 40% fewer accidents and those that unfortunately still occur have cost significantly less to the business and are far less likely to result in injury. Our maintenance costs have also reduced and we are now using fewer tyres and spares and the overall 10% saving in fuel is a very significant cost saving in a fleet this size.

"An unexpected outcome is the benefit to our customers.  We have seen an improvement in customer service as vehicles are now leaving the stores earlier and arriving on time so complaints from customers are very low indeed, meaning they are more likely to shop with us again and recommend us to their friends and family."

"Roadsense have worked extremely closely with us to validate the technology, embed it within our organisation and help us to deliver the savings that we expected. The results we have achieved have been better than we ever expected and made it obvious that it was cost-effective to roll out to another 750 vehicles two years earlier than originally planned."

Andrew Tillman, Managing Director of Roadsense, added: "In my 20 years in the industry, this is probably one of the most thorough implementations of telematics technology that I have ever seen and it has certainly been a great test of the Roadsense system.

"Like many companies who adopt telematics, Iceland¹s Directors needed to validate the expected return on investment but, unlike most, they formulated a plan, executed it, then measured and quantified the results.

"This provided empirical evidence of not only the substantial cost savings to the business but also of the improved customer experience and it clearly demonstrates Iceland¹s commitment as a responsible fleet operator which takes its corporate social responsibilities very seriously. Iceland is a great advertisement of how, when telematics is implemented in the correct way and in partnership with the supplier, it can be used to achieve substantial cost savings and ensure sustainable change within an organisation."