The hidden fleet costs of inefficiency

Technology isn’t just about saving time anymore—it’s a critical tool for controlling fleet costs and boosting overall efficiency.

Today’s fleet management platforms combine real-time vehicle tracking, automated maintenance scheduling, driver behavior monitoring and more, giving businesses the visibility and insights needed to operate smarter and more cost-effectively.

If you’re looking to reduce fleet costs without sacrificing service quality, an integrated telematics solution can help you get there faster.

Here are some ways you can drive greater business efficiency while improving customer service and cutting overall fleet costs. 

If you’re not using one platform to manage your fleet costs, you’re missing out on valuable time and it’s going to cost you

Logging into multiple platforms to access fleet information is not only frustrating – it also wastes time and increases fleet costs. Disparate platforms also make it difficult to layer data sets that, when considered together, could otherwise reveal opportunities for improvement that can reduce fleet costs. 

A single platform has the following benefits:

Benefit #1: 360º visibility with near real-time vehicle tracking

To drive efficiency and control fleet costs, you need a comprehensive, near real-time view of your daily operations. Having immediate access to all vehicle locations at your fingertips allows you to dispatch the closest available vehicle, provide quick and precise updates to customers and monitor fleet trends to strengthen service consistency. Integrated systems make it easier to combine data across different platforms, systems and software, allowing you to analyze a more complete data set to derive more impactful insights that inform smarter decision making and reduce fleet costs. 

Benefit #2: A smart maintenance schedule

Preventative maintenance, efficient driving routes, safety programs and thorough inspections all help minimize wear and tear – and keep fleet costs under control. In-vehicle monitoring systems (IVMS) within GPS tracking software can help keep your fleet vehicles in top condition, thanks to valuable features like:

• Automatic alerts the moment one of your vehicles suffers maintenance issues, such as engine or transmission malfunctions.
• Instant access to complete repair and maintenance histories for every vehicle.
• Proactive reminders for tune-ups, oil changes and inspections.
• Automatic engine diagnostic alerts to help reduce costly roadside repairs.
• Monitoring exact vehicle speed, location and engine performance to curb negative driving habits that promote vehicle wear and tear.
• Accurate recordkeeping to better predict vehicle maintenance fleet costs and help decide when to replace aging, inefficient vehicles.

Benefit #3: Greater fleet control

Small fleet costs can have a big impact on a business's bottom line and mounting expenses are often caused by small inefficiencies left unchecked. A fully integrated platform helps you to manage fuel usage, monitor vehicle wear and tear and oversee driver behavior from a single interface or mobile app. Addressing these areas proactively can significantly reduce unnecessary fleet costs.

Benefit #4: Identify under-utilized assets

Asset utilization is critical for effective fleet management and controlling fleet costs, but tracking it manually is a challenge.

Without the right fleet management technology, it’s easy to miss under-performing assets, which quietly increase fleet costs. Fleet tracking provides visibility into where vehicles and equipment have been, when they arrived and how long they were idle. With this information, you can identify under-utilized assets and make informed decisions to improve utilization, ditch costly, unnecessary assets and reduce overall fleet costs.

Benefit #5: Visibility to help improve driver behavior

Poor visibility into driver behavior can be risky and costly. An integrated fleet platform with driver monitoring features helps identify and correct negative habits like harsh braking, aggressive stops or speeding, which can add up to higher fleet costs in maintenance, repairs and tickets.

In-cab and driver-facing integrated video allow you to capture and automatically classify harsh driving events in near real time with AI technology. Dashcams can do ride-alongs for you by recording key driving moments, delivering clips to view from your desk and issuing near-real time alerts for unsafe driving. Instead of relying on a one-time look into driver behavior, intelligent dashcams offer deeper visibility that gives you insights that allow you to provide custom training and coaching for every driver at scale.

Looking toward the future of your fleet

The fleet technology landscape is rapidly evolving through developments such as smarter sensors, more intuitive software and artificial intelligence. This makes near real-time and historical data more valuable than ever before.

Businesses that adopt the right technology can rise above the pack by using data to glean critical insights that guide informed operational decision-making that can reduce fleet costs. Download the full version of our eBook to learn more about how a smarter approach to fleet management can help lower your fleet costs and help set you up for long-term success.

Find out how our platform gives you the visibility you need to get more done.