Webinar Recap: How to Run a Effective Telematics Trial

Launching a new telematics system can be a game-changer for fleet operators, offering enhanced visibility, efficiency, and control. However, without a properly structured telematics pilot, operators risk drawing the wrong conclusions, missing critical insights, or failing to secure stakeholder buy-in.

That’s why our recent webinar, How to Run Effective Telematics Pilots, brought together industry experts to discuss how to design and execute successful pilots. The conversation covered common pitfalls, essential metrics, and best practices for transitioning from a small-scale trial to a full rollout with minimal disruptions.

Table of Contents

• Proof of Concepts vs. Pilot: Understanding the Difference
• Common Pitfalls of Telematics Pilots
• Prioritizing the Right Metrics for Successful Telematics Pilots
• Engaging Stakeholders for Buy-In
• How Successful Telematics Pilots Can Help Secure Better Insurance Rates
• Scaling Up: How to Move from Pilot to Full Deployment
• Sneak Peek: The Upcoming Guide on How to Design and Run Successful Telematics Pilots
• Key Takeaways and Next Steps

Proof of Concept vs. Pilot: Understanding the Difference

One of the first distinctions made in the webinar was between a proof of concept and a pilot project. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they serve different purposes and represent distinct testing phases.

A proof of concept is a small-scale test to evaluate whether a technology works in principle. For example, a single car could be placed in the field to check if the telematics system successfully locks/unlocks and accurately displays the vehicle’s location via GPS.

A pilot project, on the other hand, simulates a real-world deployment, typically with a subset of users, to assess how the system performs in a live operational setting. Pilots are limited in scope but designed to replicate the conditions of a full-scale rollout.

Common Pitfalls of Telematics Pilots

One of fleet operators’ most common mistakes is failing to adequately prepare before launching a pilot. Julius Walczynski, Marketing Manager at INVERS, explained that “you don’t really know what you don’t know” is a major reason for this inadequate preparatino. This lack of understanding can lead to several pitfalls, including:

1. Lack of Clear Objectives

Operators often enter pilots without fully defining what they want to learn. As Chip Goetzinger, Solutions Director at AutoMobility Advisors, noted: “The pilot is not the time for exploration. It needs to have a clear purpose that everyone understands and can measure.”

The panelists stressed the importance of setting specific goals, whether for improving fleet utilization, reducing customer service calls, or enhancing GPS accuracy.

2. Focusing on the Wrong Metrics

While qualitative feedback is valuable, the panelists emphasized quantifying qualitative insights.

Chip suggested that fleet operators use scored surveys alongside qualitative feedback instead of relying purely on subjective comments. This allows them to establish measurable benchmarks—such as aiming for a customer experience rating of 4 out of 5 or higher—making evaluating the pilot’s success easier.

Or, as Klaus Rathe, INVERS’ Team Lead Projects & Support, added, “tracking support interactions per trip is another great way to measure user experience because customers typically don’t call unless something’s wrong.”

3. Not Engaging Key Stakeholders Early

A successful pilot requires buy-in from all stakeholders, both internal and external. Failing to align objectives can lead to resistance and ultimately derail the project. “You want stakeholders to have skin in the game. The real answer is they do, whether they know it or not,” Chip explained.

Prioritizing the Right Metrics for Successful Telematics Pilots

As Klaus pointed out, “Each business model comes with rather specific operational needs…But often, they don’t know what’s at the top of the list. That’s why we like to have discovery also with them.”

Determining your top priorities will require discovery to address your main pain points.

Universal Metrics

The panelists also highlighted three metrics universally important to all fleets and business models:

1. Reliability

Why It Matters: Ensures seamless vehicle access for renters, with or without cellular coverage. A failure in access creates frustrated users and damages brand reputation.

Key Considerations

• Must work 100% of the time.
• Essential for customer trust.
• A failed unlock/start = lost revenue and poor user experience.

2. Data Accuracy and Availability

Why It Matters: Operators need accurate, real-time data for fleet management and policy compliance.

Key Considerations

• Covers vehicle health, location tracking, and geofencing.
• Ensures compliance with city or country border restrictions.
• Detects unauthorized activity (e.g., towing, tampering).

3. In-fleeting and De-fleeting Options

Why It Matters: Ensures the telematics solution is compatible with all fleet vehicles today and in the future.

Key Considerations

• Works across different makes and models.
• Installation and removal should be fast and easy.
• Scalability matters—can the solution adapt as the fleet grows?

Engaging Stakeholders for Buy-In

A telematics rollout impacts multiple groups within an organization, as well as external partners like insurance companies and city regulators. To secure long-term buy-in, Scott Neely, Corporate Rental Manager of Enterprise CarShare, shared that operators should:

• Clearly communicate the benefits to each stakeholder (e.g., improved revenue forecasting for finance teams, fewer customer complaints for operations).
• Involve key teams in defining pilot objectives and success metrics.
• Keep open lines of communication, ensuring teams feel part of the process rather than just affected by it.

You have to make sure that whatever objectives you’re looking to accomplish, they align with the overall goal of the stakeholder… but also it could be the city that you are partnered with for this car sharing program.

How Successful Telematics Pilots Can Help Secure Better Insurance Rates

Insurance is often one of the highest costs for fleet operators, and rates have been rising steeply—30% for personal vehicles and up to 50% for commercial fleets in recent years. However, telematics data can be a powerful tool in negotiating lower rates.

Nicholas Cole, Principal Consultant at AutoMobility Advisors, shared insights from his experience launching Car2Go in the U.S.: “Initially, insurance companies didn’t understand car sharing or the benefits of telematics. But within a year, our insurer saw the value of our data and worked with us to lower rates.”

1. Driver behavior: Tracking speeding, harsh acceleration, hard braking, and distracted driving (e.g., phone use). This data helps prove safer driving patterns, reducing risk perception.
2. Vehicle health and maintenance: Monitoring diagnostics, predictive analytics, and preventive maintenance to reduce the likelihood of breakdowns and accidents.
3. Operational data: Analyzing route usage, driving conditions, and environmental factors (e.g., time of day, weather, and congestion) to better understand risk exposure.

Beyond pricing adjustments, Nicholas also suggested that telematics data can also support claims processing and fraud detection, ensuring fairer settlements.

The ability to contextualize data—like why a hard braking event occurred—can help insurance companies differentiate between reckless driving and defensive driving.

However, Nicholas warned that operators should be mindful of data privacy concerns and ensure transparency in how vehicle and driver data is shared with insurers.

Scaling Up: How to Move from Pilot to Full Deployment

Once a pilot has proven successful, the next challenge is expanding without disrupting existing operations. Scott shared a practical approach: “You’re going to have disruptions—it’s unrealistic to think otherwise. The key is minimizing them by rolling out in phases and maintaining strong cross-team communication.”

Best practices for scaling include

• Phased rollouts: Expand city by city or region by region to limit risk.
• Iterative improvements: Apply lessons from early phases to refine later deployments.
• Regular feedback loops: Maintain communication between IT, operations, and end users to catch issues early.

Sneak Peek: The Upcoming Guide on How to Design and Run Successful Telematics Pilots

To help fleet operators navigate the complexities of telematics pilots, INVERS is launching a comprehensive guide on March 19th, 2025. This guide will provide key considerations for setting up your pilot, along with worksheets, scorecards, and lessons learned from other operators. For more updates, follow us on LinkedIn or subscribe to our newsletter.

Key Takeaways and Next Steps

To wrap up, here are the most critical lessons from the webinar:

• Define objectives before launching a pilot. Don’t just test if telematics works—test if it meets your business needs.
• Track meaningful metrics. Reliability, data accuracy, and customer experience should be top priorities.
• Engage stakeholders early. Their buy-in ensures smoother adoption and alignment.
• Scale in phases. A methodical rollout minimizes operational disruptions.

Telematics pilots offer tremendous potential for fleet operators to optimize their operations and improve efficiency. By carefully planning and clearly defining objectives, organizations can avoid common pitfalls and unlock the full value of telematics.

Did you miss the live session? Watch the full webinar recording here to revisit the discussion.

Ready to take your telematics pilots to the next level? Contact us today to learn how we can help you design and implement effective telematics solutions.