Fleet management embraces an integrated approach to telematics that offers more than viewing vehicles on your map. Combining basic telematics with other tools and enablers, fleet management solutions will deliver powerful results for solving complex driver-related issues.
Fleets worldwide operate in an environment full of challenges and risks. However, telematics reduces these difficulties.
Overall, fleet management technology is concerned with solving all these risks related to fuel consumption, safety and maintenance costs.
Let’s dive deeper into this article to learn more about the advantages you have of using fleet management technology.
11 Advantages you get by using fleet management technology
1. Equipment management software
Have you ever heard of equipment management software? Well, it’s a powerful software specifically used for managing your fleet’s small equipment and tools in one place.
Equipment management software allows you to eliminate spreadsheets, increasing efficiency by managing an entire fleet in one system. Moreover, the software will enable you to track all the small equipment your organization relies on and how it’s used.
Team members can collaborate by sharing documents and tagging each other in the comment section. Nevertheless, it’s an easy solution for everyone who wants to take advantage of how their small equipment is used.
2. Fleet management technology improves fleet safety
Fleet management technology undoubtedly improves fleet safety. It monitors and records driving behaviors such as hard braking, the speed you are going at, idling time, online information, and more.
Additionally, it provides 24/7 access to your analytics, so you can always report and review what’s happening. Viewing your analytics at all times allows you to offer customizable reports with your collected data, especially when a driver is at risk.
Overall, the technology is increasing safety awareness and personal responsibility amongst all drivers that use the performance apps. Also, it allows you to provide training and reward programs using driver and vehicle data to create accurate scores.
3. Allows you to manage the fleet remotely
What better way than to manage a fleet while you are working remotely? Technology has given us the freedom to do this. However, let’s not forget that the daily operations for fleets of all sizes involve several components, which can be challenging to manage sometimes.
Implementing fleet management software allows you to view each aspect of a vehicle remotely, even if the car isn’t near you and across the countryside. How interesting is that?
4. Increases profitability
Expenses significantly drop when your fleet is running smoothly and effectively. As a result, your profitability rates increase, allowing you to expand your business by acquiring new vehicles, hiring new drivers, and increasing service offers.
Profitability is directly linked with service delivery and helps a company deliver orders right on time, making customers satisfied and happy. When customers are happy, they’ll spread the word about their positive experience, and you win their trust in the long term. This leads to repeat purchases in the future.
Overall, stats show that it takes a customer, on average, about five purchases to be considered a loyal customer.
5. Increases fuel efficiency
The largest expense of fleet management is fuel. Roughly 20-30% of major expenses are by fuel in fleet management. Therefore, when costs aren’t regulated, it can directly affect the overall budget of the business, leaving fewer finances for investing in other activities.
Moreover, manually calculating expenses might get annoying and increase the space for errors. However, the fleet management system relieves you of these pain points.
The software effectively tracks information regarding fuel consumption and the costs associated with it. This data helps you make the necessary adjustments the vehicle is using for driving patterns.
6. Improves safety
Safety on the road is crucial. It only takes one accident to change someone’s life and create long-lasting impacts. Therefore, it’s important to always stay safe on the road. In addition, it speeds up the administration part, a top benefit for fleet management. In this case, you keep yourself updated with legislation changes in your dashboard as worldwide notifications are sent out.
7. Improves driving performance
Fleet management isn’t only responsible for fuel efficiency and helping drivers increase their performance. For instance, a fleet management system can help monitor driving styles, routines, idling time, braking, and more.
Additionally, it’ll inform you of upcoming traffic and suggest new routes for avoiding traffic jams.
8. Increases the vehicle’s lifespan
Investing in a new vehicle is not easy, so everyone would love to keep them as long as possible. Fleet managers track the cars with a GPS, allowing them to monitor the performance maintenance issues they may have.
The primary factors of the vehicle’s lifespan are tire wear, mileage, braking habits, oil services, which all affect the vehicle’s lifespan. Therefore, fleet management carefully monitors these and encourages the required changes that need to be made.
9. Increases customer satisfaction
Customers want to know more about their delivery and when it is expected to arrive. Fleet management software offers real-time updates and troubleshooting that don’t delay when needed, providing real-time notifications and instantly addressing issues.
10. Theft prevention
Fleet management software decreases fraud and theft since it can effectively monitor the vehicle’s fuel economy. For example, when a vehicle’s fuel economy reduces, this might be a sign of fuel theft, and it could mean that the driver used a flexible tube by removing the fuel cap (stealing fuel).
Additionally, you can monitor fuel purchases by using fleet management software. It showed when the vehicle was refueled and how much it was refueled. You match the data from the fleet management software with your field card and even show the area the vehicle was refueled.
If you identify that your fuel cards are used in areas where vehicles are refueled, it can be a sign of theft. Fleet management software is here to eliminate these issues.
11. Better working experience
Back-and-forth communication isn’t only lengthy. But it can be distracting for customers and drivers. In some cases, it may negatively affect the work experience of the operator.
Sometimes, communication requires a driver to pull over, which is time-consuming. However, using the proper fleet management software eliminates this issue. Additionally, most calls the driver will receive will be about their current location, but fleet management software removes this issue.
Fleet managers can visit their software’s online dashboard and locate drivers anytime. A real-time view of the driver’s location is essential for a vehicle’s emergency. In other words, the fleet manager can accurately detect where the driver is and send out a rescue team.
Drivers are continuously moving, so you never know where they might be. However, let’s not forget that they might be stuck in areas with no signal or dangerous areas. This technology is beneficial and can significantly save the lives of several drivers who might be in danger. It’s not easy to be somewhere alone and have a breakdown.
How do you identify which is the best fleet management software to use?
Most companies think of providing a service involving vehicles that rely on fleet management for creating an organized and structured system. Therefore, choosing suitable software is essential, but several options are available for selecting the proper fleet management software.
Whenever you decide which is the top software for your business, you need to look at a few factors:
- Ease of use: Choose software that is easier to use and provides a more effortless onboarding experience but offers lots of customer support for questions and issues.
- The must-haves: There are software features that might not be negotiable for your business, so you’ll need to ensure they are included in a package price.
- The software design: Ask who is using this software and if it identifies the right fit for your company’s size and type.
- Total costs: Look at the price of the software, but also for the ongoing fees like extra features, licensing, and more.
The whole idea of fleet management technology
Fleet management technology has come a long way and is changing how we interact remotely with our fleet. It’s not only an advantage, but it contributes to many important factors in fleet management. These factors include the overall safety of the drivers, which is crucial when they are far from you. The last thing you want is to put someone in danger.
Moreover, fleet management technology has managed to lower costs in a critical area, fuel. Although fuel was claimed as one of the biggest contributors to higher expenses and working to reduce costs and decrease fraud, it’s an excellent achievement to be proud of.
