The goal of fleet management is to enhance the performance, productivity, and safety of an organization’s vehicles and drivers. The use of innovative solutions to help reduce costs, implement driver protection, mitigate risk, improve efficiency, and plan preventive maintenance to reduce downtime are all examples of fleet management best practices. With rising demand and other industry challenges, fleet management is crucial for companies to stand out in a competitive market, boost efficiency and safety, and have a positive effect on the bottom line.
If you still handle your company fleet manually, you can face three issues. To begin with, managing fleet fuel costs will be challenging. Second, you would have trouble contacting your driver when you need him. Finally, if a tragedy happens, filing an insurance claim would be complicated. But these aren’t the only concerns. If you don’t start using a fleet management system as soon as possible, you’ll face even more problems. Many people are unaware that the fleet management system not only assists in the resolution of these issues but also in the prevention of new ones.
Importance of Fleet Management
Regardless of the fleet size, maintaining a fleet of vehicles can be difficult. Failure to efficiently maintain your fleet may have a negative impact on your company’s bottom line. Maintaining a fleet can be difficult, but companies can make it much simpler with a fleet management system. Below are some of its key importance:
Reduction of fuel costs – Nearly 40% of fleet ownership is expended on fuel. As part of your fleet management strategy, GPS vehicle tracking solutions can save you 20% to 25% on fuel costs. Speeding, rough braking, idle periods, and acceleration can all be addressed with the system. They also allow you to monitor and inform drivers of any activities including hazardous driving.
Boosts productivity – Since fleets cannot run when vehicles are undergoing unscheduled maintenance or breaking down, telematics enables you to be vigilant with preventive maintenance. You’ll be able to see how long your vehicles have been running and gain real-time insights into engine hour data to help you refine preventive maintenance schedules. You’ll also be able to predict when vehicles should be replaced.
Real-time supervision – You can gain real-time insight and monitor the entire fleet on one computer, enabling you to make adjustments remotely. You can track any vehicle in real-time with the aid of a fleet management system. You will also find out where the vehicles and crew are, how efficient they are, and how well the fleet is doing based on routes, journeys, and events.
Improves Driver Safety – Many people are unaware that your drivers, not your hundreds or thousands of fleets, are the heart of your market. You can easily build specific driver profiles using fleet management software based on their average speeds, travel routes, gear selection, delivery speed, and other information. You can ensure that every driver in your fleet achieves their key performance indicators (KPI) according to the driver profiles you’ve created. If not, you can use the data you’ve compiled to remind them or build a more effective fleet management strategy to help you fulfill the company’s objectives.
Improves timeliness – Drivers are undoubtedly involved in fleet management. The participation begins with the development of work schedules and reporting. To avoid missing or delaying a delivery or appointment, your monitoring solution will help ensure driver adherence to routes and schedules. You struggle with new or postponed appointments on a daily basis, but you don’t have to sacrifice productivity as a result. You can assign drivers to customers on time and satisfy more consumer needs by using real-time locations, even if there are unplanned schedule changes. When you use a GPS monitoring solution as part of your fleet management plan, you’ll also be able to provide customers with more detailed driver ETAs and avoid annoying them with ambiguous or incorrect driver details.
Adherence to the Canadian ELD Mandate – All commercial vehicles in Canada must have logging devices installed under the ELD mandate. One of the most important functions of ELDs is to ensure that drivers and transportation companies adhere to federal regulations. The ELD mandate ensures that logging devices like the Geotab Drive ELD conform to the same set of technical specifications. Fleet managers who are subject to the mandate must enforce ELD-compliant systems to ensure correct documentation of driving time.
If you want to save money and increase efficiency, you must invest in fleet management such as Geotab. It is critical to the smooth operation of any fleet of vehicles, regardless of size. Tracking the location and condition of vehicles, as well as maintenance schedules and fuel consumption, aids in cost management and extends the life of equipment. Similarly, monitoring driver actions and habits ensures that vehicles are handled safely and effectively. Not only can you save money, but you can also boost your company’s reputation.