Fleet management ensures that all commercial vehicles, such as trucks, vans, and cars, and other assets like bulldozers and cranes are maintained well and used safely and efficiently. Thus, a system for managing the fleet is designed to improve a fleet’s productivity and efficiency while also ensuring the drivers’ safety. That said, there are more benefits to such a system, and this article highlights six of them below.
Table of Contents
1. Improves Driver Safety
Speed is one of the major contributing factors to fatal road accidents. Thus, driver safety is critical to every fleet manager. It ensures the team members are at minimal risk of injury or worse, which is also, of course, beneficial to the company.
So, management software provides almost real-time alerts to managers if a fleet driver is engaging in dangerous driving habits. In addition to that, the inclusion of dashboard cameras allows managers to view video footage of the drivers’ runs, enabling them to determine if there are any cases of speeding, harsh cornering, or hard braking.
2. Includes Real-Time GPS Monitoring
Fleet managers can track the whereabouts of every single driver via real-time GPS monitoring integrated into the management system. As a result, they can determine if drivers are on schedule, the status of a delivery, and an estimated time of delivery. It surely saves managers a lot of time calling drivers for updates. Moreover, it can improve efficiency and customer service. Managers can make relatively accurate estimations of when a product will reach a client or customer. In addition to that, they can inform them if they expect a delay in the delivery.
3. Provides Low Fuel Consumption
With the consistently rising price of fuel, looking for a way to reduce fuel consumption costs is a must for any logistics company. Software for fleet management often includes fuel consumption reports with active tracking of causes of excessive consumption. So, the reports can help differentiate between regular vehicle idling to excessive idling. Thus, managers can use that information to inform their drivers of more economical driving tips.
4. Improves Vehicle Maintenance
Management software often provides detailed maintenance schedules for when you should change certain parts of the vehicle or send it for servicing. Therefore, preventative maintenance can help keep your vehicles running well for a long time and keep repair costs to a minimum. Even if one vehicle stops functioning, it can cause a significant problem to your logistics. So, preventative maintenance is a much better option than waiting for the vehicle to get damaged, especially during a job.
5. Improves Route Planning
Access to GPS tracking and fuel consumption allows fleet managers to gather enough information on which route offers the best efficiency and the lowest costs. It can take some time due to trial and error, but managers can improve route planning greatly just by having access to such software.
6. Reduces Paperwork
Managing a fleet without digital software will require a lot of paperwork. So, planning can be tedious and take a lot of time, and it also means that you’ll have to use a lot of space to store the papers. Well, management software helps eliminate that with all information present on a secure digital platform.
Last Few Words
Perhaps the biggest benefit of software for managing fleets is that it provides data that can be used as actionable information. The detailed reports offer unique ways through which managers can improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of managing their fleet, allowing for smoother logistic operations.
