Fleet managers have a finger in every pie. That isn’t a bad thing. It’s how they ensure business success.
They are often responsible for empowering their fleet and figuring out how to implement the best practices for overall fleet efficiency.
From customer and client services to ensuring timeous fleet activity, cutting costs, and improving efficiency, to seeing that drivers and fleet vehicles are in tip-top shape.
Let’s unpack the key to fleet management best practices.
Fleet management is all about overseeing the operation of various types of vehicles e.g. buses, cars, trucks and even other assets used for business purposes. It's not just about keeping them fueled and maintained; it's about building a system that ensures efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness.
Fleet management priorities can vary depending on the specific industry, company size, and individual fleet goals. However, some key priorities are generally applicable across most contexts:
These are the general properties that fleet managers concern themselves with daily. By developing a comprehensive and effective fleet management strategy, fleet managers can improve vehicle and driver safety, maximise efficiency and increase cost savings.
Let’s take a look at the common fleet management practices involved in a fleet system.
Fleet management is the smartest way that businesses with moving assets can improve their operations, from productivity, security, compliance, safety and reduced costs. Strategic fleet management has plenty of benefits that guarantee a well-oiled fleet operation.
Here are the top benefits of fleet management:
With fleet management, it’s not only about acquiring more vehicles or getting more drivers. Every link in the chain is supposed to result in increased revenue for the company. This can only be achieved by implementing best practices for fleet management.
These five best practices for fleet management can help you increase your revenue:
Fleet data management refers to the processes of using the powers of GPS, AI and other tech, to gather, organise, consolidate, analyse and report on the fleet operations in a business.
This is a strategic way of creating a system for fleet diagnosis which helps businesses to identify areas for improvement, optimise performance, and prevent problems.
There are a few strategies businesses can use to ensure they are on the right track:
Introducing fuel monitoring strategies and fuel cost management solutions is one of the smartest decisions fleet managers can make. Businesses are challenged by the rising fuel costs, as well as other pain points like fuel theft and fuel waste caused by poor route planning.
These best practices for fuel management will help businesses increase their revenue:
Driver administration in fleet management involves managing your workforce who drive your wheels. It's about ensuring your drivers are qualified, understand safe driving practices, can be productive and ultimately that they successfully drive your fleet.
These best practices for hiring and managing drivers will help businesses increase their revenue. Here are some best practices:
The best way to stay on top of your fleet’s performance is to get ahead of your fleet maintenance strategy. Fleet managers can ensure their vehicle stays on the road longer and reduce the cost of upkeep, by using fleet maintenance. Whether the maintenance strategy is preventative or predictive, you get to decide the smartest strategy for your fleet
Here are the best approaches for fleet maintenance for businesses:
Client satisfaction is the number one priority for your business to ensure and improve the revenue of your business. Focusing on customers leads to increased sales, and higher customer loyalty and will help you gain new customers. By running efficient operations, fleet managers and business owners, gain in every way possible.
Here are some best practices to boost customer satisfaction:
Every business is unique and has its fleet challenges. A small business, for example, may have 5-10 vehicles, while a more established fleet company can have over 50, and even 100 fleet vehicles to manage. Businesses in different industries also have unique challenges, relating to their fleet operation.
Let’s have a look at this guide for different businesses.
A fleet management plan is valuable for companies in different industries, including companies in construction, oil and gas, cold chain supply, engineering, logistics and even finance or security services.
Here’s a quick guide on how to build a fleet management plan in three types of industries to combat various business challenges.
Construction businesses face unique challenges when it comes to managing their fleets. Beyond the usual concerns of cost, efficiency, and safety, specific factors in the construction environment add an extra layer of complexity. Here are some key challenges that a fleet management plan can help businesses in construction.
Common Fleet Challenges
From trucking companies to ride-sharing platforms, all transportation businesses, face a unique set of challenges in managing their fleet. Challenges that are more prevalent in this industry. Here are some of the challenges that a fleet management plan can help a transportation business with.
Common Fleet Challenges
Transporting temperature or time-sensitive goods is a challenging task for fleet management, but in the food industry, it’s not something that can be compromised. The biggest challenge for these businesses is that it is highly customer/business partner-centric, and share similar pain points.
Common Fleet Challenges
With each of these challenges affecting different industries, introducing a general fleet management plan will not automatically improve some business operations. Your fleet management plan should be strategic and incorporate best practices for efficiency and to ensure revenue.
When you are ready to transform your fleet management practices, from common to best practices, then Cartrack’s advanced software offers the smartest solutions.
Here are four ways Cartrack’s Fleet Management Software can help your business establish best practices for increased revenue.
As a fleet manager, you may often encounter challenges in maintaining accurate and up-to-date information about the location of fleet vehicles, assets, or cargo.
With telematics installation in your fleet vehicles, trailers and assets, fleet managers can ensure the reliability of the data and monitor their vehicle and equipment activities. Fleet managers gain a comprehensive view of their fleet performance and operation with Cartrack’s Fleet Pages. Fleet managers can optimise fleet routes, monitor their fleet vehicle usage, and access vehicle and driver reports. With the addition of sensors, fleet managers can also ensure the safe transportation of their cargo.
Our advanced Internet of Things (IoT) tech goes beyond vehicle tracking and provides accurate data about your fleet that can be used to improve the overall efficiency and performance of your business operations.
Fuel is one of the largest expenses in a fleet business, and with fuel costs being so volatile, managers need to conserve and monitor every drop in their fleet. The lack of fuel efficiency can impact the productivity and profits of a business.
With Cartrack’s fuel sensors, you can accurately measure the amount of fuel in your vehicle tank. These sensors are installed in a vehicle, such as a truck, bus or private car, as well as ships and also stationary equipment like generators. With these sensors, fleet managers can know about any increases or decreases in fuel levels, and accurately monitor any refills or fuel waste and loss events. With additional software integration like MiFleet, fleet managers can also have the system automatically review all their fuel transactions, match fuel receipts with vehicle telemetry data and receive alerts on any abnormal fuel costs. This helps them detect any fuel theft or fraud. Our fuel monitoring and management software is one of the most advanced ways to monitor your fleet's overall fuel consumption and compile reports on fuel expenditure, levies and taxes.
Often vehicle and equipment breakdowns directly affect business revenues. If your fleet is not operating or your equipment is non-operational, your business loses money on downtime.
One of the most effective ways to avoid vehicle downtime is through fleet maintenance. Businesses can avoid reactive maintenance on their fleet by introducing a predictive or preventative fleet maintenance solution. This helps businesses stay ahead of any vehicle breakdown.
Cartrack’s fleet management system is a quick and accessible way to schedule maintenance for your fleet. On this all-in-one platform fleet managers can receive notifications about their vehicles' condition. For example, they can receive information about engine faults and various reminders about when to get an oil change or change tyres based on the vehicle mileage. This makes it easy for fleet managers to schedule vehicle maintenance and set up any other reminders/alerts for vehicle services and repairs.
Whether it’s recklessness, negligence or apathy, your drivers’ behaviour on the road could cost your business more than just a few speeding fines.
Cartrack’s driver safety and SmartCabin camera technology help managers monitor driver performance using various in-built software. SmartCabin uses live streaming, AI cameras and real-time audible alerts to record and discourage dangerous activity while drivers are en route. These cameras can detect events such as distracted/fatigued driving and phone use while driving. It also gives front collision warnings to help drivers quickly change their actions and prevent accidents.
By monitoring driver performance behind the wheel, fleet managers can cut inefficient practices that hurt your business's revenue. With Cartrack’s IoT, managers can also access driver reports to discourage bad driving habits. Installing telematics solutions and smart AI-powered cameras can help fleet managers identify poor driving practices, high-risk driving behaviour and various safety violations. Fleet managers can use this information to get proactive about driver, cargo and fleet safety, creating a safer driving culture.
Secure your business's bottom line, quarter after quarter by implementing these essential guides for fleet management best practices.
With Cartrack’s fleet management solutions, you can turn this roadmap into a sure way to unlock sustained financial growth as a fleet manager.
Contact us today and let us help you go from common practices to the best.
