There are numerous kinds of fleet technologies available. Well, every technology is not going to resolve similar issues. What you need to understand is the basics of how different technologies work and what kind of advantages you are going to receive. The right Fleet management system will help you with the right solution for the fleet and make the best decisions.
What is fleet technology?
What you should know is that there is no shortage of fleet technologies that are available in the market. The fleet management systems will help in improving safety and will make the fleet run more smoothly.
There are some different fleet systems that will address and solve most of the issues. Thus, when you know what this technology is capable of, it can be very beneficial when you are searching for the best fleet solution.
You need to know your long and short-term goals for the fleet and what you are trying to improve. You also need to ensure that you consider the fleet size and the growth over time.
Benefits of automation
Heavy long hours and workloads can be a way how small fleets might have been managing all the work. There is a lot of work that goes into vehicle inspections, tracking down invoices, etc.
There is a good amount of workload that can be improved through automated workflows. Let us now take a good look at the benefits one can get through the automation of a small fleet.
Saves a lot of time
Time management is very important in the fleet business. You need a solution that can streamline your work operations. With digital inspections, it becomes quite easy to enable drivers to submit vehicle information in real time.
There is also a feature that will alert you immediately of the work that needs to be done. You will have the ability to create a digital workflow and schedule it accordingly.
Remote fleet management
With the assistance of fleet management software, it is very easy to control everyday fleet operations from a centralized system even though the vehicles are dispersed across the country.
The GPS fleet tracking will provide the managers with real-time visibility over their fleet. This will provide the fleet manager with the ability to monitor fleet movement and
- Redirecting the vehicles as it is needed.
- Estimating the arrival and delivery times.
- Also, making sure of competition for jobs.
The visibility can enable better customer service and promotes timesaving as you no longer have to get in touch with the drivers or contact them for receiving the status updates
Better Insights
Every vehicle in your fleet is generating a massive quantity of data. Well, all that information is very relevant if it has not been organized properly and directed to the right channels. Remote fleet management software can streamline the data flows so that you can get the timely and right information.
Well, from there, you can easily analyze the data from a high-level perspective and will be able to produce actionable insights that you can form for a competitive advantage.
The automated insights will also enable you to make better decisions according to your KPI that will determine if a fleet is operating at its peak capacity or not. In case, if there is any area that needs improvement, the reports will provide the professionals with the steps to take for reaching the benchmarks
The fleet management software will also provide you with a wide variety of tools and dashboards. The fleet managers can leverage these to optimize the levels of operation. within the system, you can easily make out how much every vehicle will cost you and the value it will provide. And thus, make the changes as needed.
The integration of the accounting software
Instead of manually transferring the information through a data entry procedure, the modern fleet management software will automatically provide tax and reporting information.
The integration of accounting software by small companies can eliminate data entry and improve efficiency and reduce the frustration of employees.
As there is less time spent on making the data entries, the productivity of every employee will rise and it will enable them to focus on the tasks that need expertise. The manual data is very prone to human error.
Automated accounting can easily assist you with improving the accuracy of data. With accurate data, it will empower you to make the best decisions and every tax that you owe will be paid before the deadline.
Digital accounting will enable you to get the data fast while maintaining security.
Controlling the Fuel consumption
The largest expense in any trucking company is the expense related to fuel. There must be strict control of fuel consumption. This will ensure sustainable fuel management and fuel logistics.
Sometimes, it can be difficult for budget and track fuel with the prices fluctuating at every moment. The impact of idling is huge on fuel consumption. There are some cases where the idling is justified and then there are some in which it can get out of hand.
It is impossible to differentiate between these two situations without leveraging the fleet tracking data. If the driver consistently exceeds the mileage limit, then it can happen due to many reasons.
By leveraging fleet tracking you can improve driving behavior and eliminate any excessive idling. You can also optimize the fleet routes in reducing the total miles driven. You will be able to monitor the weather conditions and the traffic.
The aspect of preventative maintenance
The fleet maintenance rides on the same cloud of expert fleet management. As more miles are recorded on an odometer, more wear, and tear on the parts are going to pile up.
With the time ticking, and as the mileage increases, the vehicle is on the path to breakdown if it is not cared for properly. It is also very cheap to take out proactive maintenance than to sit on it and wait for it to break.
Any part breakdown can impact the whole vehicle. A small issue with the tire can easily damage the axle and it can affect the brake suspension. With the help of preventative maintenance, you can keep minor issues at bay that can eventually turn into havoc.
This will help you avoid huge downtime and expensive repair and you can figure out how to reduce fleet expenses. When you are equipped with the data, then you can set the maintenance controls according to mileage, road quality, weather conditions, load utilization, and time utilization.
When you properly manage the fleet preventative maintenance, the trucks are going to run safely and this will also enhance driver safety.
Assistance in better business decisions
A big truck or a rig is not cheap at all. So, how will you make the decisions regarding purchasing a new rig or replacing it? To make an expensive investment, you cannot make this investment based on your gut instinct.
You must rely on the data for making informed decisions and that is especially when you are operating in a large fleet.
The fleet management system will provide you with the data you need for making purchasing decisions. You can find out the ROI of every truck on the road and make wise decisions for your operation in the future.
Enhanced productivity
Automation is a process that enhances productivity in many areas of the fleet. The digital inspections enable the real-time submissions of the issue as the drivers can access inspections through the app of the fleet management system.
This will speed up the service by letting you know the area that needs improvement. With the digital workflow, the technicians will be able to clock proper time on the job and leave comments on the work performed.
The digital work orders have the feature that they can automatically pull any upcoming service information for the vehicles that might be in question.
Efficiency shoots up
Time management and productivity considerably play a major role in improving fleet efficiency. The fleet management systems enable the team to tag the users in the tasks and make sure that the right person is notified immediately after the identification of the issue.
This helps in minimizing the communication gap which can be very frustrating. The FMS will show you important data such as fuel consumption, GPS tracking, driver behavior, and routes.
Uptime improvement
The uptime can be improved through a proactive schedule of maintenance. The automation will help you in encouraging proactive maintenance habits and will enable you to set the schedule. This can either be in bulk or it can be by an individual vehicle.
You can easily customize those schedules that are based on various criteria such as mileage, vehicle age, and many others. You can also set reminders that can be sent to the technicians and the drivers so that your vehicle is never missing a service.
In conclusion
The Fleet management system will allow every fleet size to gain an in-depth understanding of every vehicle. The automated data collection is going to make it easy for accessing important fleet reports that include service histories, vehicle downtime, and much more.
With the fleet management system, find important information without wasting more precious time.
