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Okay, let’s get something out of the way first: fleet management is challenging. And it can get really challenging depending on the season, industry, area, you get the gist!
Imagine, it’s time for the workshop team to check compliance and you need some new parts at the same time. But a vehicle on the road has just blown a head gasket, another driver has used the wrong checklist and you need to find out which vehicles have rego coming up.
Also, is the insurance due?!
Nonetheless, fleet management is important for ensuring smooth fleet operations. It encompasses a series of processes including vehicle maintenance, driver safety, and fuel cost optimisation. The overarching goal is to lower driver turnover and of course, increase the efficiency of your fleet.
So, in this article we’ve wrapped up everything you need to know about fleet management, and how to choose the right software for your business.
What is fleet management and how does it work?
How to improve fleet management?
What is fleet management software
How does fleet management work?
Fleet management is a system of technologies and procedures that helps you manage your entire fleet efficiently.
Fleet managers play a crucial role in this cycle. They’re in charge of coordinating various systems, technologies, integrations, and employees to handle industry challenges and ensure smooth and profitable operations.
A fleet management system simplifies tracking data, improves vehicle and fleet performance, and controls costs related to fleet operations. As your business faces growing demand and other industry challenges, automating workflows within your fleet management strategy helps you stay competitive.
Modern fleet management solutions streamline fleet operations and data management by tailoring maintenance schedules for each vehicle and aggregating data into a single platform for easier analysis.
It works by controlling the entire lifecycle of commercial vehicles as well as reducing risk, increasing productivity, improving efficiency and ensuring compliance.
So, how is effective fleet management ensured in your business on a daily basis? Let’s tackle that in the next section.
Fleet Management Platforms
As we’ve established, many fleet managers rely on fleet management software to keep their fleet running efficiently. When you’re searching for the right solution for your business, make sure that it covers these things. The right solution for you will be customisable and allow easy access to your data so you can make informed business decisions.
In practical terms, here’s what that means for you.
Fleet visibility
Effective fleet management software lets you monitor your fleet performance in real time and from anywhere. Look for a solution that makes tracking your drivers, fuel usage and maintenance records quick and easy.
Vehicle tracking
You’ll know that in this industry you need to track fleet vehicles and assets 24/7. This is so that you can maintain security and monitor activity on the road. It’s also essential to avoid vehicle downtime and keep deliveries on track.
Maintenance and fuel usage
Choose fleet management software that has a strong preventative maintenance program. It saves you time, lowers your overall costs and keeps your drivers safer.
Monitoring fuel consumption is crucial as well since it helps track driver behavior and vehicle usage, which can enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs.
Fleet safety
Think fleet safety is just about the actual safety of your drivers and vehicles? Think again, it’s also about lowering the cost of your insurance premiums.
Of course, your people are your most important asset and keeping them safe should be your number one priority. Features to look for include driver scorecards, event viewers, safety analytics and driver notifications.
Compliance
When looking for a fleet management solution, ensure it helps maintain compliance.
Whether it’s Workplace Health and Safety, Chain of Responsibility or other compliance regulations, this part of the job can be finicky and time-consuming.
Find a solution which can identify those repetitive tasks and automate them for you. You can eliminate hours of paperwork and avoid costly fines and penalties.
Reporting and analytics for fleet performance
Choose a solution which includes fleet management systems that allow you easy access to your information with customisable dashboards, reports and real-time alerts.
Personalisation and flexibility are important to build the reports you need to track your most critical KPIs.
How to improve fleet management
Clearly, fleet management is complex. There are so many moving parts that you need to control. Improving means cutting costs, improving safety or simply making the job easier and less stressful for your fleet manager to stay on top of. Effective route planning is crucial in optimizing fleet operations, reducing travel time, and enhancing customer service.
Lower your costs with driver and GPS tracking. You’ll see less disruption on the road when you don’t have to interrupt your drivers to find out where they are or where their freight is. GPS tracking gives you instant location records for POD, helping to give you 100% visibility across your supply chain.
You can also solve problems quickly and give better customer service with automatic updates and accurate ETAs. All of this adds up to significant time and wages saved. Additionally, fuel management plays a vital role in tracking fuel usage and expenses, helping to identify behaviors that affect fuel consumption.
Improve safety by using data to further develop your driver training program. Review customised reporting and analytics that are targeted to driver behaviour and safety data. Then use your findings to create personalised, relevant training and build a safer fleet.
Now, when it comes to making the role of fleet manager less stressful? Find a fleet management solution that is comprehensive yet simple to use, and that you trust to manage all those moving parts.
Using fleet management software
Fleet managers wear a lot of different hats. They’re responsible for coordinating an increasing number of systems, technologies, third-party integrations and employees.
Modernizing fleet vehicle management by moving fleet documents to the cloud is crucial for easy access to fleet information.
It helps you manage your fleet in its entirety: from day-to-day tasks right through to top-level, strategic decisions about the direction of your business.
A full-featured and flexible software manages and improves your:
vehicles, equipment and assets
maintenance and repair
drivers
workshops and scheduling
parts and inventory
fuel usage and emissions
accident and risk management
regulatory and legal compliance
budget and forecasting.
It works because the software captures information about driver behaviour, vehicle movement and operational activities. Devices transmit data from the vehicle to the cloud and that data is then used by the software.
Fleet management software gives you instant access to things like: vehicle maintenance, compliance and location. Usability is key to a great software, so this information should be simple to access with an easy-to-understand reporting dashboard.
Some software will also give you advanced insights into route optimisation and job status.
Actionable insights are also fundamental, helping you identify areas for improvement and quickly take action. That means giving you easy access to powerful data that simply isn’t possible in a paper-based system.
Final thoughts
We all know fleet management isn’t easy. But it doesn’t have to be so hard to keep up with. Use the right kind of software and you’ll save time, lower costs, and get your freight where it needs to be faster.
How do you know which software is right for you? Take some time to look into the developer and provider. TransVirtual was developed after a lifetime in the transport industry, and is now the preferred Transport Management System of Australia’s leading national carriers.
We hope this guide to fleet management software has helped you, if you still have questions try our article Fleet Management Software: is it right for you?