How AO drove a multi-million pound saving across the business with industry-leading telematics and fleet management from Samsara

“Samsara is central to our operations—saving us time, helping us keep costs down, and making life easier for our drivers—it ticks all the boxes.” Shaun Carter, Regional Manager, AO

Standout benefits:

• Fewer monthly accidents, resulting in 16% cost savings in one year

• Decrease in insurance premiums by 25% thanks to reduced accident rate and proven through Samsara’s safety scores. 

• Vehicle damage claims have decreased dramatically, saving an average of 31% on maintenance costs annually.

• 8% reduction in tyre spend, despite completing more miles

• Saved on printing costs thanks to Samsara’s digital walkarounds. 

• Drove a multi-million pound saving using Vehicle Telematics and the Samsara Platform to monitor vehicle and driver performance

Outdated telematics were hamstringing innovation

AO's mission is to become the UK’s most trusted electrical retailer, delivering household appliances and electrical goods to over 2.5 million customers annually . 

The company has built up an impressive reputation amongst their customers based on trust, reliability, and lightning-fast delivery. AO is partnered with Fraikin—a full-service contract fleet provider—equipping AO with over 1,000 commercial vehicles and its own MYSMARTFLEET connected technology services. 

With a growing fleet of home delivery vehicles based in 17 depots across the UK, AO’s success is dependent on finding new ways to cut costs, reduce accidents, and improve driver efficiency. 

However, AO’s current telematics, vehicle tracking, and walkaround processes didn’t reflect the kind of innovation the company was striving for. A lack of effective driver reporting, inaccurate system data, and time-consuming walkarounds were all symptoms of a bigger problem: an outdated approach to fleet management. 

Current vehicle tracking systems provided minimal insight into driver behaviour, and only generated reports days after identifying an adverse event. With no easy way to action risky behaviours in the moment, AO struggled to provide accurate coaching and encourage safe habits. As a result, AO’s accident rate remained steady—and repair bills continued to rise.

A platform built for efficiency

AO partnered with Samsara to overhaul their telematics, provide visibility over their fleet of vehicles, and offer targeted coaching to their growing roster of self-employed drivers. “With Samsara, everything is available at our fingertips,” said Shaun Carter, Regional Manager, AO. “We’ve got a single source of truth—we can monitor individual driver performance, track our fleet of vehicles, and provide training to the drivers that need it most—it’s invaluable really.” 

Instead of waiting days for feedback on driver performance, Samsara’s In-Cab Alerts and AI Dash Cams identify risky behaviours as soon as they happen. “Our previous telematics system just didn’t work, it updated our drivers on harsh events days after the fact. With Samsara, this happens in the moment, which helps us share information, give targeted coaching, and act on risky events much faster,” said Carter. 

Walkarounds used to be carried out with a pen and paper, which was time-consuming and frustrating for drivers as forms were lost, mistakes were common, and filing was a nightmare. With the Samsara Driver App, all walkarounds and van assessments can be carried out digitally, which has eliminated the need for paper and made the process much more intuitive. “We’ve saved a great deal on printing costs alone,” said Carter. “Plus, it’s a lot easier for our drivers to manage. They can quickly see any existing damages, log faults, and capture images with the touch of a button—it saves them a lot of time on every job.” 

Lower costs, safer drivers, happier customers

With Samsara at the helm for fleet management and driver tracking, AO has achieved significant efficiency and cost-savings throughout their operations, resulting in an impressive 16% saving owing to a lower accident rate. 

Thanks to extra insights into risk factors and an easily-trackable performance metric in the form of the Driver Safety Score, Samsara has helped AO demonstrate their commitment to safety—and as an added bonus—reduce their insurance spend by 16%. “The safety score is now a hugely important KPI as it demonstrates the work we've done, encourages drivers to compete amongst each other—and by proving that score—we can get a discount on insurance premiums too, it’s a win-win,” said Carter. 

Van telematics, in-cab voice alerts, and driver training have also encouraged safer driver habits and resulted in far fewer avoidable collisions and damages, which has helped AO save 31% repair bills.  “The raw cost-savings have been transformative,” said Carter. “It’s not all about money though. Safer drivers mean fewer accidents, more reliable deliveries, and ultimately, happier customers.” 

What’s next for AO?

AO hopes to continue growing alongside Samsara by bringing the technology into more areas of the business. 

“We’ve already expanded our trial of the AI Dash Cams and the results have been really mind blowing,” said Carter. “There’s lots of new use cases we’ve yet to uncover, and I’m looking forward to finding out all the exciting things that will be possible in the future.”