Fleet management is an umbrella term for several technological and administrative processes that contribute to a vehicle’s efficiency. Essentially, fleet management consists of maximizing an organization’s total performance. It means a business must have available efficient cars that operate safely and cost-efficiently. Fleet management encompasses many tasks and processes. Fleet managers are needed to supervise these activities and ensure that the different services or facets of the fleet are operating at optimal times. When you Improve Fleet operation efficiency, it will help save money on fuel and other resources.
Activities Involved In Fleet Management
Fleet management is the management of a company’s vehicle fleet. Fleet (vehicle) management can consist of vehicle financing, fuel management, vehicle telematics (tracking and diagnostics), driver management, health and safety management, and speed management. Fleet Management is a function that allows companies that rely on transportation in business to remove or minimize the risks associated with vehicle investment by improving productivity or efficiency and reducing their overall transportation and staff costs, providing 100% compliance with government legislation (duty of care) and many more.
Fleet management can be a complex task to manage, especially when it’s done manually. However, you can improve your fleet operation with the proper fleet management software. There are several critical activities involved in fleet management. It all starts with data collection via GPS and mobile devices. The data gathered must then be correlated across different mediums for analysis. It then leads to performance tracking, identification of savings, and scheduling maintenance. Finally, reports provide valuable insight into vehicle activity and performance, fuel usage and expense management, maintenance planning, asset utilization, and driver productivity. These activities are tied together to help you reduce costs and improve your bottom line.
The fleet management automation technology helps monitor the vehicles and their drivers in real-time. By tracking the vehicle via GPS, the fleet management software allows the management to closely analyze the driver’s behavior and provide positive feedback in the case of any adverse action. The system also helps to improve driving skills and identify potential risks. In this way, they can take the required steps to improve safety on roads and reduce costs by checking fuel wastage and other expenses.
The technology also enables fleet managers to monitor multiple vehicles simultaneously and make well-informed decisions. The tracking solution is a great help to transport companies and logistics operators who can control their drivers remotely and get instant updates about the vehicle’s location. It also helps in saving fuel costs by sending reports on drivers who have violated the speed limit or wasted fuel by repeating unnecessary idling.
The fleet management automation solution can be implemented at various levels, such as multi-vehicle fleet management automation, enterprise fleet management automation, consumer fleet management automation, etc.
Fleet management involves the following activities :
- Improve real-time fleet operations data visibility
- Analyze driver behavior and vehicle performance
- Gain insight into fuel spending and usage for optimization opportunities
- Increase efficiency by reducing idle time
- Manage maintenance schedules to reduce downtime and increase the productivity of your vehicles
- Monitor harsh driving behaviors to improve driver safety and reduce the risk of accidents
- Fleet managers have to consider several factors when optimizing their fleet operations. The main ones are:
- Cost reduction – this involves making decisions about the fuel consumption, maintenance costs, and driver safety
- Driver retention – this is important for minimizing driver turnover rates
- Customer satisfaction – this involves improving response times and reducing late deliveries
- Vehicle uptime – this is vital for ensuring that customers receive goods on time
- Fuel efficiency/emissions reduction – this is important as organizations take more steps to address environmental concerns.
- Risk mitigation – accident prevention is crucial for ensuring that drivers stay safe and that organizations protect their bottom line.
Organizations are adopting vehicle tracking technology to help them with these factors. Vehicle tracking systems automatically collect location data from vehicles which are then used to plan routes and monitor driver behavior. You need a fleet manager to help you achieve this.
A fleet manager is responsible for a variety of tasks which include:
- Analyzing and reporting the operating costs of the company’s vehicle fleet, including fuel usage and maintenance costs;
- Monitoring the driver’s performance and whether they are meeting the agreed-upon service level agreements;
- Obtaining the best fuel prices and negotiating with suppliers to lower the cost of repairs and parts;
- Scheduling routine maintenance, monitoring expenses, and ensuring that work is being completed on time;
- They manage daily activities such as planning routes, scheduling deliveries, processing invoices, checking vehicle availability, and monitoring driver activity to ensure compliance with company policy.
Despite the advantages of fleet management, you can face some challenges. To achieve optimal performance from your fleet, you need to overcome three critical challenges:
- collect real-time data from your vehicles and drivers
- analyze that data to identify opportunities to improve performance
- implement new policies and processes to realize those opportunities
How to improve real-time fleet operations data:
1. Create alerts for vehicles that encounter problems
2. Analyze the vehicle data collected from your fleet to determine which metrics are most important for your business.
Real-time reporting means that detailed information is available as it happens instead of after the fact. In fleet operations, real-time data provides a significant competitive advantage. But it has to be presented to provide meaningful information to help you make smart business decisions.
A large percentage of fleet operators are still relying on manual processes to collect and analyze data, and this can cause inefficiency and cost increases. Companies should consider identifying a single platform that provides real-time data for every aspect of their operations to improve fleet operations. It includes:
- Operator details such as licenses, certifications, vehicle allocations, and more
- Maintenance schedules for their vehicles
- Fuel management
- Safety metrics such as driving performance and incidents
- Billing information for customers
- Tracking and monitoring the location of all assets in real-time with GPS technology
Real-time reporting can help you:
- Improve profitability
- Reduce fuel costs
- Optimize driver behavior
- Manage maintenance and compliance issues
- Improve customer service
Fleet management refers to the oversight and management of vehicles and drivers used by commercial, public or private organizations. The fleet operators remain responsible for the condition of their equipment, including its maintenance, fuel usage, and insurance requirements. However, many things are involved in ensuring the asset is managed appropriately for optimization. The fleet manager makes decisions about the routes driven, reviews load schedules, discusses hours of service regulations with the driver, and monitors utilization levels through GPS tracking devices. It takes an understanding of legal concerns and an insight into operating costs to manage a fleet best. Fleet management requires proper planning to support the entire operation, from obtaining vehicles and spare parts to analyzing vehicle utilization and maintenance. Fleets should be properly evaluated, repaired, maintained, and utilized to increase their longevity. Detailed maintenance records should be maintained for each fleet to facilitate easier maintenance procedures.
