1 vehicle or 100? There are many smart ways to effective fleet management.
We’ve compiled this list of eight fleet management benefits that can be achieved using a GPS based vehicle tracking solution. With the use of a GPS fleet management platform you will see some big improvements to your profitability.
1. Maximise Productivity
Maximising productivity is the number one improvement you can make to increase your bottom line. Having a more efficient route plan allows for more jobs to be completed in a day. Monitoring driver activity and performance will spur your employees on to working smarter and reduce unauthorised personal use of assets. Data insights allows for easy comparison of employee productivity to see who’s performing the best. Reward the best and correct the behaviour of the worst.
2. Reduce Labour Costs
Getting a daily report on driver activity will not only maximise productivity but also help reduce labour costs. Being able to identify when and where a vehicle has travelled, the actual hours of operation and the location of stops can reduce overtime fraud and protect the company from time theft. Having direct access to performance data eliminates prolonged stop times and under-utilised assets. Having the ability to generate time sheets for invoicing and daily travel logs for required reimbursements, all based on GPS tracking data, will greatly reduce fleet administration costs.
3. Reduce Fuel Costs
With improved job routing comes reductions in unnecessary driving. Once you have determined your fleet’s current location, you can minimise mileage by deploying the nearest vehicle to the next job. Identifying and reducing vehicle idling times can also greatly decrease fuel usage. Poorly maintained vehicles run less efficiently and use more fuel. Having a system that offers automated vehicle maintenance alerts when vehicles are due for their next service will keep you on top of this.
4. Reduce Fleet Expenses
You can take on more jobs without expanding the fleet once you have identified under-utilised assets. Resource utilisation can be improved by delivering more and driving less. Staying on top of scheduled vehicle maintenance will minimise costly vehicle breakdowns. Improving route efficiency will save you from wear and tear on vehicles. A key by-product of GPS based fleet management is that employees take more care on the roads resulting in less accidents. This may reduce insurance excess claims and potentially reduce insurance premiums.
5. Better Customer Service
When you can locate and dispatch the closest vehicle to a customer site, you not only save on fuel usage but improve on customer response times. By knowing the vehicle distance from a customer’s location, you can also provide a more timely and accurate ETA. Having the ability to generate precise activity reports for each vehicle can eliminate inefficiencies that could impede customer satisfaction and settle any customer disputes about time spent on the job.
6. Health & Safety Compliance
Effective fleet management means being responsible for the health and safety of your drivers. This is not only a legal requirement but a moral requirement for business owners. Identifying vehicle speeds and driver behaviour will let you encourage responsible driving as well as assist with fatigue management. In cases of emergencies, it is important that you know immediately when to send the help needed. Fitting every vehicle with a tool that detects accidents and sends alerts is a measure any company with a fleet of vehicles should take. There are also ways to keep your employees safe with panic alarms that can be triggered during emergencies.
7. Enhance Vehicle Security
When managing a fleet, taking care of vehicle security is extremely important. Having a vehicle out of operation can have significant impact on productivity. By installing GPS tracking in your vehicles, you can keep track of your vehicles’ location at all times. Set up virtual geo-fences to monitor when and where vehicles have entered and/or exited a defined zone. Should the worst happen, you can even remotely disable your vehicle and notify the police of its exact location for faster recovery.
8. Reduce Emissions
Go GREEN! Aside from reductions in fuel usage, running an efficient fleet also equates to a reduction in CO2 emissions, which is great for the environment. Less kilometres travelled also means less servicing and less tyre usage. It all adds up!
Interested to find out how you can be more efficient with your fleet management tasks? We have a detailed Return on Investment (ROI) calculator that will open your eyes up to the benefits. In some cases, the ROI can be achieved in a matter of months.
