An organization that owns, leases or relies on some form of commercial transportation for their business is engaged in some form of fleet management. The purpose of fleet management is to improve efficiency by reducing the overall costs of transportation and staying in compliance by keeping up-to-date with legislation changes and new regulations.
The responsibilities of the Fleet Manager can include vehicle maintenance, driver management and route planning. Managing a fleet can be a real challenge and can include implementation of a fleet management software or vehicle telematics.
To help fleets streamline customer service they can implement telematics with navigation and transport management systems to track real-time deliveries and report an accurate ETA – Estimated time of arrival to the customer. Click Here to schedule a time to see what impac can offer for your specific industry.
Key Telematics and TMS Integration:
- Safety and compliance reporting
- (HOS) Hours of Service
- (DVIR) Driver Vehicle Inspection Reporting
- Route optimization
- Real-time navigation
- IFTA tax reporting
- Vehicle diagnostics
- Driver behaviors
Why Should You Use Fleet Management System?
A well designed and implemented fleet management system can:
- Save on fuel consumption
- Reduce road accidents
- Improve driving habits
- Track and recover lost vehicles
- Reduce cost of insurance
- Prevent unauthorized use of vehicles
- Improve on-time deliveries
Where Do I Start if I Want to Implement a Fleet Management System?
Start by getting organized. Get every piece of information you can – invoices, VIN, purchase records, etc. Do your homework, research, research, research. Meet with the drivers, discuss the importance of gathering accurate and timely data. Encourage feedback and participation, be clear on everyone’s specific responsibilities and the expected outcomes that come with them.
To help you answer additional questions and make sure you are on the right track, we would be happy to schedule time to meet with you and discuss the available fleet management tools specific to your company needs.
Fleet Management Challenges
As your fleet grows in size fleet managers will face more and more new and complex challenges. The modern day manager is tech savvy, business-minded and has to have an insight into fuel efficiency, federal and state regulations, driver safety and vehicle maintenance.
Some of the more complex concerns can be simply trying to cope with information overload. The selection and use of fleet software, tracking, integration of fleet data and making sure all assets are being fully utilized.
Another challenge is solving problems on the fly while effectively directing assets and keeping drivers safe on the road. Time management, safety education programs, driver productivity, proper use of technology and finding and hiring experienced drivers with clean records, are just a few of the challenges of the fleet manager.
TIP: Keep-up-to-date. Communicate and share your experiences and challenges with fellow fleet managers – utilize blogs and industry groups on social media sites like LinkedIN & Facebook. Sign-up for industry news.
LinkedIN Tip: in the search field at the top of the LinkedIN page type #fleetmanagement, this will bring up article posts from fellow fleet managers and fleet companies.
Fuel Programs
One of the quickest ways to minimize fuel spend is to integrate fuel cards with your fleet management program. With the right fuel card system you can compare actual fuel consumption to the amount of fuel a vehicle can hold and see exactly how much each driver spends on fuel. Check out our article “How Do Fleet Managers Reduce Fuel Spend?” for more fuel saving tips and to compare our fleet fuel cards.
To ensure a true customized solution, it is important to set the restrictions and controls of the fleet fuel cards that are ideal for the drivers and vehicles that make up a specific fleet. Check out our article “4 Purchase Controls Fleet Fuel Cards Offer“.
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Please check out our blog page for additional real time tracking, fleet fuel card, and fleet fuel management solutions, along with other industry related articles.
