The use of dedicated computer software is a beneficial solution in many industries, including transportation and forwarding. Running a transport company is inextricably involved with the need to manage a pool of commercial vehicles. Many external factors may hinder this process, such as rising costs, employee insubordination, or even road accidents.
The right software can save you a lot of trouble and allow you to monitor your company’s workflow better. So what are the main benefits of fleet management software?
What is a fleet management system?
The fleet management system is a method adopted by many transportation companies. Its purpose is to oversee fleet performance and maintenance to improve business productivity by implementing tech-based solutions. It can include a wide range of functions like tracking the vehicle’s route and fuel consumption, monitoring the driver’s health, or driving skills.
Furthermore, the fleet management system can improve vehicle maintenance and asset utilization or help you decrease waste instances.
Any company that focuses on the transportation industry needs well-organized fleet management to track the entire workflow of commercial machines alongside increasing its efficiency.
Who uses fleet management software?
The car fleet management software is a solution valued by many fleet managers. Not only does it take the burden of responsibility off their shoulders, but also it can bring many savings as it is significantly less cost-consuming than hiring an additional task force to fulfill the assignment. Thus, as an entrepreneur, you don’t have to worry about any issues related to vehicle administration in the company. Instead, you can focus directly on running your business, planning future investments, and marketing strategy.
Implementing fleet management software will make you become more efficient and effective in your job. If you are a fleet manager, you know that you are one of the most important business drivers, and looking for automated solutions is a must.
What is the main use of fleet management tools?
Fleet management is a complex and challenging task, especially when you are the one managing it.
It doesn’t only focus on the fleet’s schedule management anymore. Today’s effective managers are obliged to coordinate multiple parties like the fleet team, drivers, or business owners. Furthermore, they need to be tactical but also business-minded and tech-savvy. This is where software tools come into play.
A variety of fleet management tools in today’s market may be overwhelming. However, if you conduct the proper research, it can result worth the effort. The main purpose of those tools is to simplify most of the processes and actions that need to be done for a successful vehicle administration. Carefully chosen advanced technology will let you minimize costs, monitor driver’s safety, and track driving events such as speeding or idling. It can also help you in following the vehicle’s route and attending planned inspections.
Key benefits of fleet management software
Implementation of fleet-improving software is an integral part of successful transportation management. It streamlines the whole workflow and enables better fleet monitoring. Let’s dive into the advantages of a fleet management system!
Fuel management
What was your biggest cost-saving challenge can now be much easier thanks to tech-based solutions for your fleet management strategy? If ever-growing fuel costs keep haunting you, you should know that there are options that will benefit in reducing fuel costs and utilization. How will that happen?
By exchanging manual calculations for fleet management software, you will minimize the risk of error, notice speeding, and track fuel expense and idle times in specific routes or distances in nearly real-time. Thus, with the knowledge of what’s causing yet another additional fuel cost, you will know better how to prevent it from happening in the future.
Maintenance reports
Another advantage is about reducing the costs of vehicle maintenance. Regular machine checkups and unexpected breakdowns are a high expense. However, by adopting an accurate fleet management tool, you could reduce some of the costs.
You will be able to track vehicle performance and use the acquired data to plan needed repairs. Moreover, some programs will even set a tailored schedule automatically, so you know the best time to take some preventive action.
Such software keeps a record of the vehicle’s health. Thus, whenever any unexpected malfunction occurs and you need to outsource help, you can share the data and facilitate the repair work.
Insurance benefits
Did you know that you could get a discount from the insurance company by installing extra safety features on your vehicles?
Many of them have such an offer to encourage trucking businesses to use robust fleet management systems. This is a win-win solution as it helps protect people on the road at the same time improving your standing with insurance companies. The more you adhere to the safety guidelines, the more benefits you will get. Furthermore, implementing fleet management software tools will likely be mandatory to get vehicle coverage in the future.
Reduce a fraud risk
Many transportation companies use Fuel Cards as they enable seamless billing, provide detailed information on transactions, and require a lot less paper than expenses forms. However, they can be easily targeted by fraud as they work similarly to banking cards.
With the help of technological solutions for fleet management, you could reduce a fraud risk significantly. One of them is a Chip and Pin (Contact EMV) system. It is a method that lets your card machine take payments safely from your customers using their credit or debit cards – with EMV it is much harder to duplicate them, so the risks are minimized.
Thanks to real-time reports delivered to you straight from the road, you will be able to spot suspicious events much easier and faster. Keep an eye on frequent refilling petrol and the number of stops. Compare reports to be able to estimate how far the vehicle can travel without stopping. Any deviation from the rule may indicate that something suspicious is happening. Collected data and proof will help you discover quickly any fraudulent behavior.
Improve driver and fleet security
Assuring driver’s safety along with fleet security is the fleet manager’s priority. It is known that most accidents happen because of speeding incidents and other dangerous driving habits. This is where fleet management tools can help. Tracking capabilities such as live reporting of machine conditions and location are the key to preventing many incidents from happening.
For instance, you could install dashboard video cameras that allow you to monitor your employees’ route and driving skills. You could also adopt software that sends you real-time alerts and notifications whenever there is some kind of danger. Thus, you can prevent accidents, or if anything happens, you know why it occurred and where to send help.
A real-life example of such a fleet management tool is one of our projects. Safeway is an innovative system protecting drivers from stealing, assault, and stowaway passengers. It helps prevent hazardous situations to the drivers or fleet safety that can emerge from the issues such as unplanned stops for indefinite periods that could damage the cargo or illegal border crossing.
What is the future of fleet management?
There are currently many programs on the market to support fleet management in transport and shipping companies and in companies that engage mobile workers, such as sales representatives, service technicians, couriers, and interviewers. With fleet management technologies evolving in so many industries, we can be sure that the business will grow and gain even more importance in planning transportation strategy. According to a Marketsanmarkets report, the global fleet management market size is expected to grow from USD 19.9 billion in 2020 to USD 34.0 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.3% during the forecast period.
The increasing need for operational efficiency among fleet entrepreneurs, the need to optimize operating expenses, or enhanced government regulations are just a few of the reasons why this is happening. The ever-growing demand for automated solutions will rise following new technologies emerging on the market. Even though the number of those technologies might be overwhelming, you should stay up-to-date with recent trends at all times if you want your company to lead robust fleet management.
Conclusion
A well-planned fleet management strategy is a crucial tool for every transport company that seeks to enhance drivers’ productivity, reduce assault or fraud risk, minimize operating costs and develop a successful business. If you think tech-based tools have the potential to help you achieve all that, but you are overwhelmed by the amount of them – not to worry! We will help you develop the best solution tailored to your needs.
February 2, 2022
