The benefits of a fleet management solution

What business isn’t interested in technology that can help increase efficiency and productivity, while simultaneously helping to improve the safety of their vehicles and drivers? Well, fleet management solutions are turning these challenges into a reality. Thanks to telematics, they are beginning to revolutionise how businesses strategise and coordinate their workforce.

Fleet management technology offers businesses of all shapes and sizes multiple advantages. For a start, it allows them to monitor operations efficiently, serving as a digital blueprint for promoting efficient and safe driving. This can help to decrease risk and drive down costs. In many ways, it has become an essential tool for businesses.

Before we get stuck into the benefits of fleet management software, let’s take a quick look at what it’s all about.

What is fleet management?

Essentially, fleet management involves managing commercial vehicles such as cars, vans and HGVs to ensure they’re used efficiently, safely and are well maintained. Depending on the industry, it can also include asset tracking and monitoring all kinds of equipment, from heavy cranes and bulldozers to trailers and generators.

The main goals of a fleet management system are to improve the efficiency and productivity of a fleet, as well as improving the safety conditions for its drivers. This is normally achieved using a combination of vehicle tracking, fuel consumption reporting, driver behaviour monitoring and vehicle maintenance management.

Let’s dive into the details of the benefits it can bring to a business.

What are the benefits?

Fleet management technology can help businesses to enhance their operations in a number of key areas:

1. Driver Safety

Driver safety must be of paramount importance to fleet managers. A recent study concluded that speed is ‘at the core of the road safety problem’ and that ‘in around 30% of the fatal accidents speed is an essential contributory factor.’ Because of this, driver behaviour is one of the key focuses of a fleet management system.

A major benefit of fleet management software is that it produces near real-time alerts and notifications about dangerous driving habits. For example, fleet vehicle equipment such as dashboard video cameras allow fleet managers to monitor any incidences of speeding and hard cornering by their drivers.

This kind of technology is designed to help improve road safety—an area in which Ireland has a promising track record. Between 2010 and 2018, road deaths were cut by 31%. As a result, in 2018 Ireland became the second safest European Union member in terms of road mortality. While this is fantastic progress, it’s still extremely important to continue working hard to improve road safety even further.

This is where fleet management technology can help. By keeping track of their drivers, businesses can more easily monitor, deal with and ultimately help reduce the incidences of dangerous driving.

2. Fuel consumption

Ever-fluctuating fuel prices make tracking and budgeting for fuel costs a challenge. Fuel consumption is about more than just MPG, though, and easy access to fuel tracking data is another benefit of a system that includes fuel management. Using this, fleet managers can easily identify saving potentials.

Take engine idling for instance. In-depth fuel tracking data reports will separate necessary idling from wasteful idling, so that fleet managers can identify and resolve problems concerning fuel efficiency. After pinpointing the problem, they can coach drivers on more efficient driving. This could potentially  lead to reduced fuel costs and increased profits, which could have a huge impact on the business's bottom line. 

3. Real-time updates and insights 

GPS vehicle tracking software allows fleet managers to track their fleet in near real-time and re-direct vehicles when necessary. Clear overviews of where vehicles are, their job completion status, estimated arrival and delivery times will give a deeper understanding of what’s going on out there in the field. This not only makes dispatching more efficient, but also helps improve customer service and saves fleet managers valuable time. No more having to call drivers for updates.

4. Efficiency  

Increased efficiency is one of the biggest benefits of a fleet management solution. The software provides detailed, custom reports for fleet managers to turn data into actionable information. It’s so much more than just knowing the location of vehicles. Share detailed reports to give team members the opportunity to understand where improvements can be made, helping to streamline processes.

5. Vehicle maintenance 

Maintenance and vehicle lifecycles can often be areas that put a heavy strain on a business’s finances. Thankfully, fleet management solutions provide everything needed to develop a preventative fleet maintenance schedule that works.

Miles travelled, engine hours, fuel usage—just a small selection of the data points that can be used to create a preventative maintenance schedule. Fleet management software also allows managers to track breakdowns, jumpstarts, tows and emergency repairs. This can help to identify potential problem areas and repeating patterns that may need addressing or adjusting in the maintenance schedule.

Making an initial investment into this software means businesses can put a preventative maintenance plan in place that has the potential to save them a significant amount of time and money in the future on maintenance costs.

6. Customer satisfaction

Using fleet management software, fleet managers can simplify bookings and appointment reminders. Receive notifications if a technician is delayed on a job or hasn’t yet viewed a job assigned to them. Customers can benefit from improved ETA accuracy through GPS tracking data. Plus, receive confirmation of appointments and reminders shortly beforehand.

7. Route planning

Fleet tracking software helps businesses plan the days, routes and distribution of their fleet efficiently. Getting more out of the resources that they have available has the potential to save a great deal of money in the long run.

Helping fleets of the future

With these key benefits and advantages in mind, it is clear that fleet management has the potential to positively impact all kinds of businesses. In an increasingly digitised economy, fleet management technology is emerging as a powerful tool to help companies compete more effectively.

Schedule a demo today and learn how world-class fleet management software from Verizon Connect can help you get more from your fleet.