5 Critical Advantages of Proper Fleet Management
Fleet management is a way for businesses to control costs, improve productivity, lower risk, and maintain compliance in their vehicle fleets. It’s a necessary function for any company that owns or leases vehicles as part of their regular operations, whether those vehicles are vans, trucks, or even drones and aircraft.
Today, most businesses engage in fleet management with the assistance of software and other onboard technologies.
By 2020, there will be an estimated 12.7 million fleet management systems active in North America. Many of these systems include data logging solutions, satellite positioning technologies, and data communication software.
Startups and small businesses can often manage just a few vehicles without the aid of software. But for companies that intend to grow, a fleet management system allows them to lease or acquire more vehicles and manage them effectively without incurring unnecessary costs.
Here are 5 critical advantages of fleet management.
1. Lower Fuel and Maintenance Costs
Maintaining a fleet is expensive. Most businesses are primarily concerned with fuel costs and overhead. Fuel costs can be especially challenging, as they are dependent on market forces in addition to the efficiency of the fleet itself. In one study of transportation industry professionals, more than half of the respondents (53%) said fuel costs exceeded their projections “somewhat frequently” or “very frequently.”
Fleet management solutions that include GPS and fuel efficiency tracking are vital for minimizing these costs. Real-time data on fuel consumption, driver downtime, and maintenance reports enable businesses to identify areas for improvement and opportunities for cost savings.
2. Better Safety for Drivers
Drivers are at the core of every fleet, and their safety is more important than anything. Most fleet management solutions enable businesses to keep up with their vehicles’ regular maintenance schedules, which reduces the risk of breakdowns and other problems. Onboard safety software, speed tracking devices, and heads up alerts about inclement weather and changing traffic patterns can also aid in protecting drivers.
3. More Visibility into Your Fleet
These days, no businesses can expect to perform well unless they are generating and leveraging data, and any business that leases or manages a fleet of vehicles is no different. Most fleet management software can provide vehicle-use data, fuel efficiency data, and other types of data to help businesses identify key opportunities to maximize efficiency.
4. Easier Scheduling
Scheduling and dispatching vehicles are two of the most stressful activities for any company that relies on a fleet. In the old days, schedulers and dispatchers had nothing but a telephone and pen and paper to keep fleets moving.
Today, fleet management solutions make scheduling easy and accurate. By using a central database and digital touchpoints to communicate with drivers, dispatchers can monitor assigned jobs and staff availability to plan routes quickly and efficiently, even when there are last-minute changes to be made.
5. Better Customer Service
By leveraging fleet data to cut costs and realize new opportunities, transportation companies can directly improve the customer experience. Customers who are waiting on their assets can get real-time updates about delivery times and rest assured that they will receive their assets on time.
Even if there is an issue with delivery, transportation companies can use their analytics, routing, and scheduling tools to resolve the situation for the customer quickly.
Significant changes are occurring in transportation and mobility. For example, according to McKinsey & Company, autonomous trucks will be operating on every segment of the interstate highway system by 2026. Those companies that prioritize robust fleet management now will be well-positioned to take advantage of future opportunities. Ensure you are well-positioned, by subscribing to National Express Transit’s Blog.
