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The current global pandemic has seen many businesses integrate or extend fleets on the fly. There is a rising need to deliver customer orders placed online and come up with means to cover the rocketing demand for at-home services. Most businesses opt to use fleets because of the positive impact they can have on the brand image, finances, and general business operation.

Benefits of a Fleet to Your Business

When adding a fleet to your business, you can choose to lease or buy the vehicles. Owning a fleet has many benefits, such as tax advantages of depreciation on the trucks. Leasing also has benefits such as lower maintenance costs.

What is Fleet Management?

Fleet management refers to managing commercial vehicles to ensure efficiency, safety, and proper maintenance. It involves tracking company assets and managing equipment such as bulldozers and generators. It also covers tracking vehicles and fuel consumption, monitoring driver activity, and managing vehicle maintenance.

Advantages of Proper Fleet management

▪       Improves Fleet Efficiency

Efficient transfer of information ensures proper coordination to achieve business goals. Fleet management systems provide data useful when organizing, informing, and coordinating the team.

▪       Improve Fleet Security

Fleet management increases asset security. It provides access to historical and real-time data on tracking of mobile and fixed assets. In case of unusual activity, like when you fail to account for an asset, you can get alerts and online reports. Electronic tagging, beacons, and geo-fencing allow you to create customized networks for communication.

▪       Improved Fuel Management

With proper fleet management, drivers can generate reports about the fuel consumption, mileage, and challenges they face. This allows you to plan for maintenance procedures, saving you both time and money.

Efficient fleet management allows you to plan your routes to avoid traffic. As a result, you’ll register lower fuel consumption and reduced fuel costs.

Fleet Management Challenges and How to Overcome Them

1.    Time Spent on Administrative Tasks

The time spent on administrative tasks can be an expense that builds up in fleet management. For instance, tasks like creating quotes and invoices can reduce the time you spend on tasks that generate revenue.

▪       How to create extra time

Incorporating a digitized workflow translates to less of your time spent on the tasks. It also minimizes the risk of human error and misinterpretation of information.

2.    Accurate Message Communication to Fleet Drivers

Fleet Clean notes that communicating with drivers on the move can be challenging, as reaching them via phone, email, text message, or radio is not always an option. Misinterpretation of communication can have adverse effects, such as neglecting allocated schedules. The time spent trying to communicate lowers productivity in general.

▪       How to improve communication

Currently, most businesses are using software and digital solutions to manage their teams on the go. You can clearly communicate your messages and orders to drivers while vehicles send automatic updates about the order status and estimated arrival time. You can use telematics to develop a flexible workflow and have a comprehensive view of the fleet performance.

You also need to communicate and execute proper shift scheduling for your drivers in order to have an efficient fleet. To accomplish this, you can use online platforms such as QuickBooks Time. This type of software will keep your team informed, improve your record-keeping, and ensure that you always comply with the labor laws.

 

As you can see, with the right resources, fleet management can be simplified and stress-free.