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9 Secrets to Reducing your Fleet Expenses
As a fleet owner, your day-to-day costs can quickly add up. What you don’t know is there are further hidden, expensive...
Read moreThe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic remains a rollercoaster, not least for those in the fleet industry.
After facing a near-total shutdown in the Spring, many industries are now once again showing signs of growth, with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) reporting a 6.6% GDP increase back in July.
Government statistics have also tracked business traffic slowly returning to the UK’s roads. Both LCVs and HGVs are travelling above average daily levels in recent months.
But with restrictions expected across much of the world for the next six months at least, we’re still some way from business as usual.
With that in mind, here are a few simple ways to manage your fleet in the midst of a global pandemic.
Focus on your customers
Customer retention is more important than ever before. Many service providers are going above and beyond to attract new customer and you must do the same to keep the ones you already have.
You must find ways to differentiate your service from your competitors’, adding an extra layer of value where possible. This could mean offering more specific time slots, providing accurate and up to the minute ETAs, or allowing customers to track your vehicles in near real-time.
Attend to maintenance
Downtime is never good news for a fleet-reliant business. But downtime, when you’re already striving to meet increased demand or working with limited resources, is potentially disastrous.
No matter how stretched you may be, always make time to see to routine vehicle checks, maintenance and repairs. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
As well as helping to keep your vehicles on the road, routine servicing such as tyre changes and filter replacements can also improve vehicle performance and reduce fuel consumption.
Route out inefficiencies
With a greater focus on margins, efficiency and productivity, now is the perfect time to confirm that every aspect of your fleet is performing as it should be. This means monitoring key events, in detail, across all vehicles, assets and employees.
It does you little good to know that Driver X is overperforming in every area if you have no information on the day to day performance of Driver Y. You need total visibility of every vehicle and driver in your operation. Only then can you spot patterns and anomalies to drive greater efficiency.
Embrace new technologies
Businesses across all industries are looking to do more with less, with many turning to technology to make this possible.
Any tool that can help to streamline processes, improve scheduling, iron out inefficiencies, or accommodate more jobs into the working day should be embraced.
For fleet-reliant businesses, there are many such tools on offer, from basic GPS solutions to comprehensive systems incorporating fleet data, driver behaviour, tachograph, integrated video and more.
Do more with your fleet data
Deploying a comprehensive GPS fleet management solution is an easy way to get more from your fleet data.
The Verizon Connect solution can help you achieve the aims above. Get total visibility of your operation, offer accurate ETAs to your customers, stay ahead of maintenance and much more.
Want to see our solution in action? Click here to arrange a 15-minute demo.
