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Fleet management is a series of processes that allows organizations to see and manage all information associated with their vehicles and other assets, from acquisition through to end of life. As technology has advanced more businesses have turned to fleet management software to provide better visibility into vehicle and asset utilization

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Why is fleet management important?

As fleets and companies adopt technology to differentiate themselves in a crowded market and optimize operations, fleet managers are responsible for coordinating an increasing number of systems, technologies, third-party integrations and employees. Companies must handle growing demand and tightening capacity alongside other industry challenges like the driver shortage, rising fuel prices and industry regulations. Being able to manage a fleet in its entirety, from day-to-day tasks to the big picture, is important to keep companies running smoothly and profitably, while creating a safe, comfortable environment for drivers.

With second-by-second details from fleet management solutions about vehicle location and job progress, fleet managers have access to data and insights in one central place to improve processes. Multiple data points delivered to fleet managers from telematics allows them to leverage key metrics, like vehicle usage, driver behavior and idle times, supplying answers to questions about productivity. Fleet managers are then able to make changes or improve processes during the workday and in real-time. A more efficient fleet is a more cost effective fleet; as managers identify and correct for inefficiencies like driver behavior leading to excessive idling or above-average fuel usage, they can incur cost savings.

Safety is a priority for every organization, and fleet management is an important part of building a safety-first company. Telematics allows fleet and safety managers to effectively monitor for dangerous behaviors at the individual and fleet-wide level. Data can be used to develop driver safety programs, and by integrating dashboard camera and safety analytics technology, create personalized, relevant training to coach drivers on safe behavior, creating a safer fleet.

Driver Safety Analytics

What are the responsibilities of a fleet manager? What skills do they need?
The responsibilities of a fleet manager are wide-reaching, including (but not limited to) the following:

Vehicle dispatch and route optimization (to make dispatch management and routing more efficient)

Fuel utilization (including designing and managing programs to decrease fuel usage)

Fulfilling orders (ensuring deliveries are on time, orders are met and customers are satisfied)

Understanding, managing and communicating compliance (ensuring regulations like the IFTA fuel tax and HOS regulations are followed)

Monitoring and improving driver behavior and safety (including supporting corporate and fleet-wide safety initiatives)

Setting and tracking against metrics (to keep the entire fleet on track and measure success against agreed upon metrics)

Asset acquisition, utilization and care (to ensure assets are in safe condition and save money by preventing unnecessary maintenance or replacement)

Findings savings for the bottom line (to improve cost savings for the entire company)

Fleet Managers need to be agile, forward thinking and have strong problem solving capabilities. Here are some of the skills that are most important:

Interest in technology - staying on top of digital trends and how they'll impact a company in all areas

Ability to read and understand data - making inferences and building solutions around data insights from technologies like IoT and telematics

Adaptability - the ability to multitask and manage deadlines

Problem solving - managing drivers' feedback and concerns and solving for inefficiencies

Appetite for knowledge - the ability to stay on top of technology and policy trends, and a willingness to learn new things, in a rapidly changing industry

How is the fleet management role changing?

As fleets grow, bringing on vehicles and managing new regulations to forge ahead in the market, one central change to the role is the adaptation of technology. The successful fleets are those who will integrate technologies and make the most of innovations like IoT, telematics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and more. In-vehicle telematics are quickly becoming a must-have for commercial vehicles and heavy machinery, and fleet managers must be able to understand the technology, learn how to use it and determine how it fits into their role at a company. It may also require a whole new set of skills, both technical and personal, to manage the capture and analysis of data. It's also the role of fleet managers to find efficiencies using this technology, meaning they're more closely involved in finding, selecting and implementing technology, like fleet management software solutions.

How does fleet management technology work?

Fleet management at its most basic level is based on the principal of the Internet of Things (IoT).. IoT connects physical devices, including vehicles or equipment, embedded with electronics, software, sensors and actuators, which allows the connected devices to collect and exchange data. This data, once analyzed, can provide insight into next-steps or actions. In the case of fleet management technology, a telematics device connects to an engine, either on a vehicle or piece of heavy equipment, via its on-board diagnostics (OBD) or CAN-BUS port. The sensors collect data, like engine and driver hours, speed, GPS position, time elapsed since the last maintenance service, which is then viewable in real-time through a software platform so managers have complete visibility into an asset's location and conditions at all time. As fleets monitor and track against more metrics like safety, maintenance and fuel usage, the more data is available to them. To make data management simple, fleet management solutions providers aggregate data into one central system, making it easier to digest data and examine trends via analytics.

What capabilities does fleet management software provide?

A true fleet management solution gives fleet owners and managers full visibility into fleet performance and mobile resource activity to drive efficiency in one unified platform. This includes visibility at an individual level - from a driver to a single vehicle or piece of equipment - to a high-level view of the entire fleet, including those with thousands of vehicles. One important capability of fleet management software is tracking vehicle safety. Safety analytics solutions are systems that incorporate telematics, combining the GPS tracking data with dashboard camera technology, driver scorecards and analytics measuring the safety of a fleet. At their most simple, safety analytics track unsafe events like speeding, harsh cornering or braking. At their most sophisticated, these solutions integrate cameras so managers have video footage triggered by driving incidents to view a play-by-play of the scenario and view analytics on a single platform.

What types of fleet management software are available?

There are a variety of fleet management software types. Solutions can be used for any on-road fleets, including long-haul trucking, last mile delivery and service fleets, and also for off-road fleets, to heavy equipment and high value assets on construction industry. For over the road fleets, fleet management software ensures fleet compliance with regulations like hours of service (HOS) requirements and the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate by accurate tracking engine hours, drive time and off-duty status. Vehicle location data can be used to optimize route planning and improve customer service, identify patterns in driver behavior and report on trackable metrics (fuel usage, idling, utilization, vehicle use, etc.).

For off-road fleets, fleet management collects data from heavy equipment and other construction assets, measuring equipment location, utilization and maintenance to help construction companies increase productivity, reduce costs and improve overall operations. Telematics can optimize asset utilization (track equipment location, engine hours, mileage and position, idle time, etc.), improve preventative maintenance (create logs, track hours for scheduled maintenance, plan preventative repairs, etc.), enhance operational efficiency (monitor planned progress, payloads, cycle times, daily production targets, etc.), improve safety and driver performance (identify unsafe operations, score drivers and operators, reduce equipment wear and tear, etc.) and manage fuel usage (track idle time and fuel consumption and benchmark fleet-wide fuel usage).

What should fleets look for in fleet management software?

The most important aspect of a fleet management solution is a finding a customizable solution that offers a full, 360-degree view of fleet operations and displays the data in such a way that it helps managers make critical business decisions. When researching software vendors, fleet owners and managers, along with other decision makers, should look into a company's capabilities in the following areas:

Fleet visibility: The ability to monitor a fleet of vehicles from anywhere in real-time. Decision makers should look for a solution that makes tracking driver location, fuel usage and maintenance records easy.

Vehicle and trailer tracking: Look for a platform that allows fleet managers to track trailers and assets 24/7 to maintain security and monitor activity. These capabilities can allow fleet owners and managers to assess productivity and implementation procedures to optimize equipment and personnel.

Compliance: A top fleet management solution streamline safety and compliance process, eliminate hours of paperwork and avoid costly fines and penalties for compliance with IFTA, ELD and DVIR.

Maintenance: Select a fleet management platform that enables a strong preventative maintenance program to properly take care of vehicles and assets and keep them on the road.

Fleet safety: Fleet owners and managers should look for a solution with a wide range of safety-specific solutions built into the platform to create a safe environment for drivers and save money on insurance premiums. Features to look for include driver scorecards, safety analytics, event viewers, in-vehicle notifications and in-cab cameras.
Reporting and analytics: Access information securely and electronically with customizable dashboards, reports and real-time alerts. Fleet managers should look for a solution that offers personalization and functionality when building reports and tracking the most critical KPIs.

Learn More About Fleet Management

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Explore Our Platform As fleets and companies adopt technology to differentiate themselves in a crowded market and optimize operations, fleet managers are responsible for coordinating an increasing number of systems, technologies, third-party integrations and employees. Companies must handle growing demand and tightening capacity alongside other industry challenges like the driver shortage, rising fuel prices and industry regulations.

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Using fleet management technology can provide clarity into fleet performance, and by accessing a variety of data, such as vehicle and driver performance, managers can monitor safety, manage compliance and track efficiency. These solutions not only help you see where your drivers and vehicles

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Fleet management is all about enabling your business to reduce costs, improve efficiency and ensure compliance across an entire fleet operation. Fleet management systems have been making fleet managers' lives easier for decades and continue to advance, but what exactly do they do?

Simply put, these systems are a digital platform for tracking, monitoring and managing data from commercial vehicles. Fleet management tools like Trimble Fleet Manager ™ help those in the back office gain real-time visibility into fleet performance and compliance via cutting-edge driver and equipment tracking. What's more, a fleet management platform stores, processes, gathers, monitors, reports on and exports information as a valuable tool for vehicle and driver safety and efficiency.

Technology-focused fleet management started to take shape in the 1970s and 1980s as computers became widely available. As time has gone on, fleet management systems have grown more complex in the quality and quantity of data they track, and can now provide more insightful, intuitive recommendations faster than ever before. By tracking key metrics like vehicle maintenance, route optimization and driver performance on a daily basis, companies can move goods more efficiently and with reduced downtime.

Fleet management: a range of capabilities

Fleet management systems offer a variety of functionalities, including:

Tracking the physical location of a fleet's vehicles

Using telematics that combine GPS navigation with on-board diagnostic sensors to track safe driving habits

Tracking real-time driver and vehicle performance data, including a driver's hours of service (HOS), vehicle idle time, fuel efficiency, speed and revolutions per minute (RPM)

Monitoring the maintenance and lifecycle of a vehicle

Performing vehicle diagnostics

Improving security management

Providing reports and recommendations on safety, compliance and business opportunities

Using fleet management technology can provide clarity into fleet performance, and by accessing a variety of data, such as vehicle and driver performance, managers can monitor safety, manage compliance and track efficiency. These solutions not only help you see where your drivers and vehicles are, but also empowers you to better utilize your personnel and equipment.

By spotting key trends in real time, you can maximize your fleet's performance to reduce out-of-route miles, eliminate empty loads and make the most of your drivers' available hours. An intuitive and easy-to-use platform is vital to a smooth operation and effective communication with drivers.

While a fleet management dashboard captures this driver and vehicle-centric data, it is also important to ensure that back office personnel like fleet and safety managers can access this data to make decisions to improve fleet performance and efficiency.

For example, the data displayed in Trimble Fleet Manager can be customized to specific roles, in order for safety managers, operations personnel and others to easily see the metrics that matter to them. Trimble Fleet Manager is also built on a highly secure, cloud-based infrastructure that is trusted to keep your data safe today and in the years ahead.

The benefits of using fleet management technology

Some of the benefits of deploying fleet management technology include:
Reduced costs and maintenance

A fleet management platform reduces transportation complexities as well as costs. This includes better fuel and maintenance management thanks to predictive analytics and accurate reporting that leads to reduced fuel costs and out-of-route miles.

Simplified regulatory compliance

There are strict regulations around a driver's HOS, and federal law mandates that drivers use electronic logging devices (ELDs) to record data related to the operation of the vehicle and driver activity. Fleet management technology can help you manage electronic logging as well as automated fuel tax reporting, electronic driver vehicle inspection reports (eDVIR) and log auditing. By using this technology, fleet managers can easily stay up-to-date on these regulations, preventing noncompliance issues that could lead to penalties or fines.

Improved fleet and driver safety

From fatigue and speed monitoring, to tire pressure monitoring and vehicle and asset tracking, fleet management solutions can break down safety data into easy-to-understand information that allows you to highlight driving patterns in need of coaching and takes the complexity out of managing drivers.

Increased productivity

With visibility into the operational and historical data of a fleet, you can minimize risks and identify opportunities to increase efficiency and overall productivity.

Better communication and customer service

Through the streamlined communication of a fleet management platform, everyone from the driver to the operations manager can stay on the same page about fleet operations. By keeping an eye on your fleet at all times, you can also provide better customer service.

Fleet management systems often get confused with transportation management systems (TMS), which instead of focusing on the visibility and movement of vehicles, optimize shipping routes, automate dispatching of tasks and provide real-time visibility on job fulfilment status. The two are typically used in tandem to increase the efficiency of delivery operations.

Enhance fleet performance, safety and compliance

The powerful capabilities of fleet management platforms provide fleet managers with visibility into the operational data essential to manage a fleet intelligently and efficiently. Trimble integrates with dozens of other technology providers, enabling you to connect driver and vehicle data into your back-office systems, streamlining the flow of information across your fleet faster and more efficiently than ever before.

Are you ready to see how Trimble can help you leverage a fleet management system to unlock the full potential of your business? Discover how our comprehensive fleet management solutions can help you reach new levels of safety, productivity and efficiency.

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Fleet management is all about enabling your business to reduce costs, improve efficiency and ensure compliance across an entire fleet operation. Fleet management systems have been making fleet managers' lives easier for decades and continue to advance, but what exactly do they do?

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Fleet Management - What is it and what you need to know.

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Fleet Management - What is it and what you need to know.

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The purpose of fleet management for any organization is to maximize the efficiency of the vehicles or equipment it owns and operates. Maximizing the efficiency of any organization's asset often directly equates to increased productivity and overall safety for the vehicle drivers and equipment operators.

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Fleet management and the technology and best practices involved are developing and advancing at a rapid pace. In this blog about fleet management, we will cover several topics in depth:

What is Fleet Management? - A Definition

Fleet management is a broad topic and encompasses many aspects depending on your industry. A statement defining ' Fleet Management ' can be found in Wikipedia and states as follows, "Fleet Management is a function which allows companies which rely on transportation in business to remove or minimize the risks associated with vehicle investment, improving effici ency, produ ctivity and reducing their overall transportation and staff costs, providing 100% compliance with government legislation (duty of care) and many more." The functions of fleet management encompasses vehicle and assets from acquisition to disposal. Many topics associated with fleet management will be discussed in this article in greater detail.

Fleet Management - The Purpose

The purpose of fleet management for any organization is to maximize the efficiency of the vehicles or equipment it owns and operates. Maximizing the efficiency of any organization's asset often directly equates to increased productivity and overall safety for the vehicle drivers and equipment operators. Let's look into this and the general reasons for proper fleet management in a little more detail.

1. For better safety (occupational health & safety) and environmental protection: When an organization practices these principles and makes it an important part of their day-to-day operations, they become a responsible corporate citizen within their community because of less accidents, less injury to employees or third parties. Today, public perception of any organization is important and organizations need to be aware of how the public perceives their operations. Better safety and updated compliant environmental procedures looks good all around for the company, the executives, the employees and stakeholders.

2. For better cost control: A well-managed fleet will keep operation costs at a minimum. Fleet costs will vary according to the level of control the fleet manager exercises over the fleet in general. A well planned maintenance program is far cheaper than adopting a random haphazard strategy that will, in the long run, result in multiple unplanned breakdowns.

3. For overall cost reduction: A well-managed fleet costs less over the life cycle of the asset because the fleet is normally in better shape in many aspects. Good management provides better service (up-time which brings value to the organization) than a poorly managed fleet. Better service can be defined as the number of customer's service calls on-site per day, number of deliveries per shift, amount of product produced per shift. Poor service can be defined in terms of late deliveries per shift, lower service calls vs the number of service calls scheduled or lower production per shift.

4. For employee retention: A well managed fleet, brings better employee retention and more relaxed employees. A well-managed fleet is generally a good place to work. Operators then have a well-maintained clean vehicle/equipment, and safe equipment to operate. Mechanics have a safe and manageable workload and the workshop is clean and safe. Many organizations implement a mentoring program to incorporate new drivers into the organization's fleet culture.

5. For reducing stressful situations: Unscheduled breakdowns bring panic by customers, production managers, management in general and stress is added to all involved who have to adjust to overcome the shortcomings a breakdown entails.

6. For quality of work life : The quality of work life for all involved is higher when vehicles and equipment is properly maintained. Mechanics are happy because they receive less 'middle-of-the-night' roadside breakdown calls and almost all maintenance is never left to improvisation. Everything is planned and scheduled.

Fleet Management - Integration

There are many elements to manage within a fleet. Equipment and vehicle maintenance, driver safety, fuel management and optimization of service routes to name just a few. For the fleet manager, their challenge is to integrate all of the important elements in a measurable and manageable process. Another integration that is required for any specialized fleet management software is the ability to communicate seamlessly with the organization's enterprise resource platform (ERP). Let's Look into some of the types of integration that are important for a fleet manager's responsibility.

Fleet Vehicle Tracking Systems - Telematics/GPS

When an organization heavily relies on its vehicles or equipment for running an efficient and profitable operation, a fleet vehicle tracking system can provide the information to measure key performance indicators/information (KPI's). Fleet managers have many difficult areas they must manage such as driver safety, efficient routing, controlling operating costs and proper use of equipment in pre-designated areas. They need to know where all vehicles and equipment are at any given time on any given day. Here are some ways a global positioning system (GPS) can assist.

Fleet Driver Behavior and Supervision

Poor driving habits can result in increased accidents and that explodes into a series of additional issues for the organization. Excessive speeding and braking can be monitored so that identified drivers with poor skills can obtain the training required to keep traffic fines and incidents at a minimum. This keeps insurance premiums to a minimum, production efficiency or delivery times/quantity are maximized. If the organization has a mentoring program, the mentors can be alerted to the areas they need to discuss and work on with the drivers they are mentoring.

Proper Authorized Equipment Use

Telematics can track to ensure equipment and vehicles stay within predefined geographical areas. This can keep personal use of company assets to a minimum or within the company policies. Misuse of company vehicles will depreciate the vehicle faster. Preventing or minimizing off-shift vehicle use will affect the operating life of your asset and also add to the resale value when it comes time to trade in for a newer vehicle. Unauthorized vehicle use will happen ... it just does. The challenge is to know when and where it happens and at what frequency. Personal vehicle use can have tax and insurance premium implications. Being able to track any and all personal use incidents can provide great savings in the long run. A fleet telematics system can help fleet managers in this area.

Telematics can allow the creation of geofencing and restrict the entrance or exit of a vehicle from a predefined area. One example of how such a set-up can save an organization occurs when a client the organization has several identical vehicles parked in the yard. Two of the vehicles are in bad need of new brakes. Telematics and a well defined geofence can restrict the two vehicles from leaving the yard. An employee may not be aware of which vehicle is in need of scheduled maintenance and select a vehicle that could be a hazard on the road. Telematics and geofencing would not allow the vehicle to pass through the yard's gate if it is in need of scheduled maintenance. Here the safety of the driver is maintained and the risk of an accident due to poorly functioning brakes is averted.

What is the Role of the Fleet Manager?

The role of a fleet manager is complicated to define mainly because it depends on which industry you are in and the type of organization and your company culture.

For example, a mid-sized busy airport or an open pit mining site can have a Fleet Operation Manager or Operation Manager. This manager has to deal with his Fleet Maintenance Manager or Maintenance Manager to get the most up-time for all the vehicles/equipment he needs in order to operate on an optimal basis, keep operations running smoothly and production running at peak efficiency.

Often with smaller organizations, a Fleet Manager will be in charge of almost everything. They will probably be a good/excellent mechanic. Often this may not be enough and it would be ideal to have someone with previous excellent Fleet Manager experience with other organizations.

If you are a fleet manager and find yourself in such a situation, your responsibilities can include/but not limited to:

DOT documentation and federal, state/province compliance regulations and reporting.

Corporate Information (e.g., an Enterprise Management System EMS is not a Computerized Maintenance Management System or CMMS. A CMMS is required for proper maintenance management and vital information needs to be fed and integrated with the EMS).

Operation and management of a fleet information system and/or CMMS if your organization has it. Often however, it is an assistant who can take care of the administration and information input and updates.

Customer services. Customer service could include working with other departments within the organization or actual customers outside the organization.

Drivers (behaviors, management, training, testing and licensing).

Safety, Occupational Health and Environment (SIMDUT, lift security, cleaning, etc.)

Accounting of fixed asset management (generators, but also workshop equipment such as lifts, compressors etc.)

Fuel management and control of fuel tanks and of fuel cards.

Fuel taxes and reporting.

Other government requirements (ex. Proper tire and used oil disposal)

Life cycle costing of fleet units (including trailers and special vehicles)

Maintenance (corrective maintenance, urgent situations, special projects) and preventative maintenance (including planned maintenance)

Human Resources such as training, shift schedules, work related issues of tradesmen, mechanics and all other personnel involved in the Fleet Management service.

Other transportation systems

Permits and licences in conformity, including driver and operators

Insurance

Physical security of sites and audits

Cleaning procedures and Cleaning staff (internal or outsourced teams)

Shop/Garage management

Staff deployment

Planning and Scheduling of works

Tire management

Dispatch of vehicles/equipment

Warranty recovery

Control on recycling of parts and returns

Warehousing and parts inventory

Fleet efficiency and effectiveness

Reporting on many issues and topics demanded from upper management

Follow-up on fleet day-to-day activities

Budgeting and forecasting

This list will not include everything and will depend on the type of organization, industry and company culture. However it does give a representation of the many tasks and responsibilities of a fleet manager.

What are the challenges Faced by Fleet Managers?

Vehicle Acquisition:

This can also be tricky, if we think about our SM2 maintain, the system can be used to determine what kind of pick-up truck for instance has a better ROI when compared to another one. If we have information coming from the CMMS (maintenance cost, fuel cost, labor cost, acquisition cost, insurance cost, etc.), this can help to produce a fair analysis for the acquisition of a similar vehicle. But nevertheless, it is important to understand buying the next F-150, 2021 is not the same as buying a 2017 F-150.

The vehicle and equipment acquisition process is an art. The most important thing to understand is to ensure the equipment specification satisfies the need. For instance, if we plan to buy a Ford-150 and in fact the real need was more for a Ford-350 4x4, we will end up with a vehicle that will often break and will not be able to deliver the function and performance that we are looking for.

Maintenance history will go a long way in creating sound equipment specification. Bad specs will destroy your maintenance service. Imagine acquiring 23 Silverado 1500's and the real need should be to acquire seventeen (17) Ford F-250 4x4's and only six (6) Silverado 1500's. Soon, your workshop repair islands will face the invasion of Silverado 1500 breakdowns.

As your organization evolves along with your fleet needs, the Fleet Manager needs to know and decide if it is better to buy or to rent? Questions like:

What is the capacity we require?

What time if year do we need the vehicles?

If we buy, should we let maintenance be completed by the dealership?

What is the dealer price for a 3-year maintenance contract?

What are the details and fine print of the leasing contract?

Do we need a courtesy vehicle during scheduled maintenance?

What are the details about the type of warranty?

A Fleet Manager will need to obtain a lot of data and work closely with the accounting department to find an answer to many of the questions.

Fuel Management

Fuel or energy is a good slice of the total annual operating cost of a fleet. So a fleet manager wants to be informed about fuel (energy consumption) activities.

Fuel inventory shrinkage through such activities as theft, can add up in overall fuel costs. By implementing specific measures, this can dramatically reduce the possibility of inventory shrinkage in the minds of your personnel.

A sound fleet fuel management system can provide daily and monthly inventory reconciliation for government compliance needs. It can also reduce the chances of running out of fuel and allocating the proper amounts of fuel to the vehicles and equipment that require it. Real-time reporting with flexible ability to display key performance indicators goes a long way to making the fleet manager's work responsibilities much more palatable.

Vehicle Maintenance

The most integrated and interesting challenge that affects VALUES and UP-TIME are deciding when and how to start a World Class Maintenance Management in any organization. World class management results in a cooperative environment, ultra-professional, where everyone knows their responsibilities and wants to work for the common goal. Why? Because nothing is left to improvise. Improvisation is cool on stage from a jazz trio but can be ugly in a maintenance workshop.

With a world class maintenance management system, everything is planned, no one is stressed and efficiency is maximized. The workshops are clean and well organized. Safety is excellent. All tools and maintenance equipment are in excellent condition and well maintained. Everyone wants to work there. Skilled employee retention is high as well.

If a workshop is working on urgent maintenance, the maintenance manager has less time to be proactive, listen to the suggestions of his staff and to plan for improvements. When a manager spends their time 'fighting fires', it becomes exhausting, demoralizing and discouraging.

A great first step in starting a world class maintenance program is to start using the Manufacturer's Published Preventative Maintenance Plans and stick to them. Over time, using good sound logical judgement, adjustments to the CMMS can and will provide good, clear information on maintained vehicles and equipment. This is the easiest way to get on track to establishing a world class program.

Another challenge that is often overlooked by fleet managers is effective management. Management encompasses many things but the ability to communicate new ideas, new ways of thinking and being able to manage the changes required to reach 'world class' levels is difficult. People management, change management and change leadership are soft skills that often do not enter into the overall organizational strategy. Organizational culture also plays a main role and how upper management accepts and supports new ideas and ways of improvement and increasing efficiency.

Health & Safety

Health and safety for any fleet needs to be instilled in the culture of the company. In simple terms, safety needs to be a top priority for your drivers and equipment operators. It is the responsibility of the fleet manager to keep the employees safe. This can be accomplished through proper and ongoing training. The training programs and attendance needs to be logged. Thorough training will save the organization money in the long run by reducing accidents, injury, loss of work hours, down time and insurance payments.

New equipment or regulations will require further ongoing training with reminders and checks implemented so the changes are understood, remembered and employees adapt their behavior to comply with the new safety training. Many fleet managers offer their drivers and equipment operators incentives to encourage active participation in training programs and follow through on the implementation of the training.

Accidents will happen from time to time. When an unfortunate incident occurs, a committee or group should review the accident to determine what happened, who may be liable, what needs to be changed so it does not occur again. Changes such as additional training, additional information sessions or change in maintenance process. A solid communications plan needs to be in place to get the message to the right people.

A world class maintenance program will keep your vehicles well maintained and result in fewer incidents. The use of technology such as telematics and dash cams can provide beneficial feedback to even the most experienced drivers on your team. A solid CMMS will help measure the checks and balances being introduced along your path to continuous improvement.

Meeting Compliance Requirements

The list of compliance duties, checks and balances are numerous and will involve many team members. Drivers will be responsible for daily routine vehicle or equipment inspections and record keeping, daily dips of fuel storage tanks and recording of totalizers must be logged and reconciled monthly. There are health, safety and environmental compliance reports required to be maintained. A good CMMS will assist your team in keeping track and maintaining the records necessary so the organization remains compliant. Automation of some of these routine inspections such as daily dips of fuel tanks can go a long way in relieving the stress of keeping records and maintaining compliance. A CMMS will document the history of the fleet and assist in maintaining statutory maintenance tasks with the creation of automated work orders to be issued.

Compliance does not need to be overwhelming for a fleet manager and their team. Make sure you select a CMMS that is flexible to adapt to your needs. Even the best off-the-shelf CMMS software will require some level of customization in order to provide the greatest benefit to the management of the fleet.

Controlling Costs

Cost control for any fleet is of high importance and sound historical record keeping of vehicles and equipment goes a long way in assisting the fleet manager with their cost analysis. There are several areas to pay special attention when controlling fleet management costs:

Total Costs of Vehicle or Equipment Ownership - A good cloud-based fleet management software system will go a long way in keeping accurate records for a vehicle's fixed costs such as loan or lease payments, taxes, asset depreciation, licenses, permits and insurances. Variable costs also need to be recorded such as fuel or energy consumption, maintenance and parts replacements. When this type of information is recorded in a CMMS for the life of a vehicle or piece of equipment, the information can be easily extracted for a single unit, analyzed and decisions can be made regarding cost reduction measures for other vehicles, equipment and replacement units. Good CMMS systems will allow you to create and manage this data into effective dashboards that can be reviewed as routinely required.

Fleet Maintenance Planning - Following the suggested preventative maintenance program the fleet's vehicles or equipment will go a long way in reducing unexpected breakdowns and unscheduled repair work. Unexpected breakdowns create a domino effect in added costs from the cost of emergency repairs, costs of downtime, added expenses of expediting replacement parts, loss of production or late deliveries, scheduling back-up units to fill the void with added overtime for operators/drivers. Accidents can result from poor maintenance which can result in elevated insurance premiums, litigation from other parties involved and lowered public perception.

Manage Fuel Expenses - If your organization has one or several fuel storage tanks for your fleet, it is paramount that you automate recording of the fuel dispensed into each vehicle. It would also be ideal to be able to measure idling time and keep that to a minimum to reduce fuel costs and emissions into the environment. Fuel prices will always fluctuate and are impossible to control. Monitor and measure what you can control with accurate accounting of fuel dispensed, fuel delivered to your storage tanks and keep an eye on possible storage fuel tank leaks or fuel inventory shrinkage.

Controlling Parts Inventory - If your maintenance is preventative in nature, the fleet and/or maintenance manager can have better control of inventory levels and keep inventories at an ideal level. Being under or over stocked has its issues. Proper proactive maintenance planning will reduce excessive investment in unnecessary parts inventory.

Proper Vehicle Specification and Selection - Over time through good historical record keeping on maintenance and breakdowns, the fleet manager can better specify the right type of equipment for the required duty. Underutilized assets cost the organization money and could be sold or replaced with units that are more urgently required. When a vehicle or piece of equipment is under specified for the job required, increased frequencies of breakdowns can be expected. Proper vehicle specification and selection for the required task can be refined when the historical data is easily found and analyzed.

Proper Efficient Asset Utilization - Where are the fleet's vehicles and equipment? When requirements demand deployment of an asset, is the closest unit available commissioned into use? Are there assets that are idle for much of the time? Asset management software assists in the optimization of your fleet. Telematics and GPS can help keep track of the physical location of the asset so a fleet manager can orchestrate the most effective and efficient deployment to accomplish the task at hand.

Sound Asset Replacement Programs - When is the optimum time to replace an asset before it becomes a continuous maintenance liability? Should the asset be replaced with an identical unit, should it be upgraded or downgraded? Under performing vehicles or equipment are in constant need of repair. Where is that sweet spot that alerts the fleet manager it is time to replace the asset? What key performance indicators need to be tracked so sound decisions can be made? A good CMMS will help track this vital information and having the ability to create effective dashboards that display key information at the click of a button helps in the decision making process.

Controlling costs in a continuous journey that never ends. With better and more accurate operational information on a fleet, better decisions can be made to keep moving forward in the cost controlling and cost reduction journey.

Dealing With Information Overload

There are two extremes within fleet management. At one end, a more archaic system of manual data collection exists with information stored on spreadsheets. It is surprising in this day and age of technology that some organizations are still using paper forms, manual data entry and physical storage of information. At the other end we have fleets moving towards total connectivity not only for the information collected on the vehicle, external information such as weather and road conditions, facial recognition to detect drowsiness, dashboard cameras and in the not so future, driver-less vehicles. More and more vehicles are becoming connected and this is resulting in a reported 25 gigabytes of information being streamed to a central database every hour for a single vehicle.

Information overload is a big issue with fleet managers who are caught in the middle of insatiable information requested from upper management and similar requests coming from other departments and subordinates. Information is only data unless it can be accurately collected, managed, measured and analysed with the organization's goals in mind. A CMMS system needs to be fully integrated to address all the aspects of managing a fleet. Fuel, maintenance, training, compliance, telematics, geofencing, spares inventory, asset tracking and utilization needs to be automated as much as possible so accurate data can be recorded. The CMMS must also have the capabilities to set up customized dashboards the right information is displayed and relayed in the proper format to others in the organization who need it.Since every organization has its unique culture and way of doing things, off-the-shelf software without customization will only add stress to the fleet manager who needs to then work extra hard in managing the information.

What is a CMMS or What is a Fleet Management Software?

A good CMMS/ Fleet Management Software should have at least four (4) main components. These components need to interact with each other in order to provide a complete picture story of the fleet and its operations. The completeness and quality of this story will depend on the features and thought the designers take into account when developing these components.
Daily Maintenance Transactions:

1. Being able to create work orders and define the priority as Urgent, Corrective Maintenance, Preventative Maintenance and Project.

2. Parts usage and supply information.

3. Inventory (fuel, spare parts, personnel)

4. Receipts of parts, time invested completing tasks on work orders, compliance tasks and information recording, etc.

Daily transactions need to be managed as quickly and easily as possible, utilizing automation whenever possible.

Master File Maintenance:
Information about parts, inventory, maintenance, vehicle processes and personnel need to be updated as needed. This information needs to be kept as complete as possible and enough storage capacity needs to be available to keep everything in order.
Processing Information
Historically processing information was conducted in batches however today, real-time online processing of data is required. Therefore the enterprise fleet management system must ensure accuracy and completeness of the information. 'Garbage-In-Garbage-Out' or GIGO will provide little or no benefit. The system needs to have the speed to produce the information when it is urgently required. As with any real-time operation, bugs will be identified most often during unusual and urgent processing conditions so good technical software support is needed.
Information Demands
Information is demanded and expected immediately from upper management, other departments and team members within the fleet. Information needs to be managed in reports that are easy to read and understand. Data should have the ability of being displayed in different formats. Useful KPIs need to be captured and dashboards set up so these KPIs can be monitored and reviewed daily, weekly, monthly and annually by several people within the organization. Finally, reports and inquiries should have the ability to be customized and revised as the organization's demands change.

The Benefits of Fleet Management

Future trends in fleet management are indicating a more connected, real-time information gathering world. The benefits of fleet management are apparent. The challenge going forward is to understand the world of fleet management is changing at a lightning quick pace. Fleet management software, hardware peripherals and demands for more information is increasing. For a fleet manager, it is time to reflect about where your organization is heading, what new demands and measures are being required within your industry. A fleet manager needs to automate the measurement and collection of data. It needs to be cloud-based so it is accessible from anywhere and the information needs to managed so all parties within the organization get their required data quickly and in some cases instantly, in a clear, customizable and understandable format. Off-the-shelf fleet management software is a thing of the past. The overall management system must be fully integrated so all the information can be in one place and logically understandable. In three simple words:

Automated - Integrated - Customized

Conclusion - A Case For Integrated Fleet Management Software

Fleet management is becoing more complex. This article could not document all the responsibilities or challenges you, the fleet manager faces each and every day. As a fleet manager, you need to analyze your specific organization, identify how you operate, the challenges and what is important to you. In the end, addressing the main cost factors such as fuel management and maintenance management are key. However there is an increasing need for you to know the location of all assets both on site and remote, with a click of a button. Security of the organization's assets is also paramount. When looking for a fleet management solution, it should involve a sophisticated software that can gather the required data from all areas identified using dedicated hardware peripherals. You need the solution to be flexible to manage all the data and automatically display a meaningful dashboard combined with instantaneously reporting to the departments in your organiation that require the information. The fleet management solution needs to communicate with your organization's existing ERP.

A proper fleet management solution requires extensive integration of all areas of fleet management. Because your organization's fleet is uniquely managed, an off-the-shelf solution will not satisfy your needs as the fleet manager. Your solution must offer a solid techincal support team to help tweak the software to suit you and how you operate. A fleet managment solution must be fully integrated in order to give you the tools to manage your fleet proactively. When you are considering to implement such a solution, give us a call. We will be happy to assist you.

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Fleet Management - What is it and what you need to know.

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Fleet management and the technology and best practices involved are developing and advancing at a rapid pace. In this blog about fleet management, we will cover several topics in depth: Fleet management is a broad topic and encompasses many aspects depending on your industry.

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Fleet management is a series of processes that allows organizations to see and manage all information associated with their vehicles and other assets, from acquisition through to end of life. As technology has advanced more businesses have turned to fleet management software to provide better visibility into vehicle and asset utilization, improve maintenance planning and manage cost of ownership.

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Explore Our Platform

Why is fleet management important?

As fleets and companies adopt technology to differentiate themselves in a crowded market and optimize operations, fleet managers are responsible for coordinating an increasing number of systems, technologies, third-party integrations and employees. Companies must handle growing demand and tightening capacity alongside other industry challenges like the driver shortage, rising fuel prices and industry regulations. Being able to manage a fleet in its entirety, from day-to-day tasks to the big picture, is important to keep companies running smoothly and profitably, while creating a safe, comfortable environment for drivers.

With second-by-second details from fleet management solutions about vehicle location and job progress, fleet managers have access to data and insights in one central place to improve processes. Multiple data points delivered to fleet managers from telematics allows them to leverage key metrics, like vehicle usage, driver behavior and idle times, supplying answers to questions about productivity. Fleet managers are then able to make changes or improve processes during the workday and in real-time. A more efficient fleet is a more cost effective fleet; as managers identify and correct for inefficiencies like driver behavior leading to excessive idling or above-average fuel usage, they can incur cost savings.

Safety is a priority for every organization, and fleet management is an important part of building a safety-first company. Telematics allows fleet and safety managers to effectively monitor for dangerous behaviors at the individual and fleet-wide level. Data can be used to develop driver safety programs, and by integrating dashboard camera and safety analytics technology, create personalized, relevant training to coach drivers on safe behavior, creating a safer fleet.

Driver Safety Analytics

What are the responsibilities of a fleet manager? What skills do they need?
The responsibilities of a fleet manager are wide-reaching, including (but not limited to) the following:

Vehicle dispatch and route optimization (to make dispatch management and routing more efficient)

Fuel utilization (including designing and managing programs to decrease fuel usage)

Fulfilling orders (ensuring deliveries are on time, orders are met and customers are satisfied)

Understanding, managing and communicating compliance (ensuring regulations like the IFTA fuel tax and HOS regulations are followed)

Monitoring and improving driver behavior and safety (including supporting corporate and fleet-wide safety initiatives)

Setting and tracking against metrics (to keep the entire fleet on track and measure success against agreed upon metrics)

Asset acquisition, utilization and care (to ensure assets are in safe condition and save money by preventing unnecessary maintenance or replacement)

Findings savings for the bottom line (to improve cost savings for the entire company)

Fleet Managers need to be agile, forward thinking and have strong problem solving capabilities. Here are some of the skills that are most important:

Interest in technology - staying on top of digital trends and how they'll impact a company in all areas

Ability to read and understand data - making inferences and building solutions around data insights from technologies like IoT and telematics

Adaptability - the ability to multitask and manage deadlines

Problem solving - managing drivers' feedback and concerns and solving for inefficiencies

Appetite for knowledge - the ability to stay on top of technology and policy trends, and a willingness to learn new things, in a rapidly changing industry

How is the fleet management role changing?

As fleets grow, bringing on vehicles and managing new regulations to forge ahead in the market, one central change to the role is the adaptation of technology. The successful fleets are those who will integrate technologies and make the most of innovations like IoT, telematics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and more. In-vehicle telematics are quickly becoming a must-have for commercial vehicles and heavy machinery, and fleet managers must be able to understand the technology, learn how to use it and determine how it fits into their role at a company. It may also require a whole new set of skills, both technical and personal, to manage the capture and analysis of data. It's also the role of fleet managers to find efficiencies using this technology, meaning they're more closely involved in finding, selecting and implementing technology, like fleet management software solutions.

How does fleet management technology work?

Fleet management at its most basic level is based on the principal of the Internet of Things (IoT).. IoT connects physical devices, including vehicles or equipment, embedded with electronics, software, sensors and actuators, which allows the connected devices to collect and exchange data. This data, once analyzed, can provide insight into next-steps or actions. In the case of fleet management technology, a telematics device connects to an engine, either on a vehicle or piece of heavy equipment, via its on-board diagnostics (OBD) or CAN-BUS port. The sensors collect data, like engine and driver hours, speed, GPS position, time elapsed since the last maintenance service, which is then viewable in real-time through a software platform so managers have complete visibility into an asset's location and conditions at all time. As fleets monitor and track against more metrics like safety, maintenance and fuel usage, the more data is available to them. To make data management simple, fleet management solutions providers aggregate data into one central system, making it easier to digest data and examine trends via analytics.

What capabilities does fleet management software provide?

A true fleet management solution gives fleet owners and managers full visibility into fleet performance and mobile resource activity to drive efficiency in one unified platform. This includes visibility at an individual level - from a driver to a single vehicle or piece of equipment - to a high-level view of the entire fleet, including those with thousands of vehicles. One important capability of fleet management software is tracking vehicle safety. Safety analytics solutions are systems that incorporate telematics, combining the GPS tracking data with dashboard camera technology, driver scorecards and analytics measuring the safety of a fleet. At their most simple, safety analytics track unsafe events like speeding, harsh cornering or braking. At their most sophisticated, these solutions integrate cameras so managers have video footage triggered by driving incidents to view a play-by-play of the scenario and view analytics on a single platform.

What types of fleet management software are available?

There are a variety of fleet management software types. Solutions can be used for any on-road fleets, including long-haul trucking, last mile delivery and service fleets, and also for off-road fleets, to heavy equipment and high value assets on construction industry. For over the road fleets, fleet management software ensures fleet compliance with regulations like hours of service (HOS) requirements and the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate by accurate tracking engine hours, drive time and off-duty status. Vehicle location data can be used to optimize route planning and improve customer service, identify patterns in driver behavior and report on trackable metrics (fuel usage, idling, utilization, vehicle use, etc.).

For off-road fleets, fleet management collects data from heavy equipment and other construction assets, measuring equipment location, utilization and maintenance to help construction companies increase productivity, reduce costs and improve overall operations. Telematics can optimize asset utilization (track equipment location, engine hours, mileage and position, idle time, etc.), improve preventative maintenance (create logs, track hours for scheduled maintenance, plan preventative repairs, etc.), enhance operational efficiency (monitor planned progress, payloads, cycle times, daily production targets, etc.), improve safety and driver performance (identify unsafe operations, score drivers and operators, reduce equipment wear and tear, etc.) and manage fuel usage (track idle time and fuel consumption and benchmark fleet-wide fuel usage).

What should fleets look for in fleet management software?

The most important aspect of a fleet management solution is a finding a customizable solution that offers a full, 360-degree view of fleet operations and displays the data in such a way that it helps managers make critical business decisions. When researching software vendors, fleet owners and managers, along with other decision makers, should look into a company's capabilities in the following areas:

Fleet visibility: The ability to monitor a fleet of vehicles from anywhere in real-time. Decision makers should look for a solution that makes tracking driver location, fuel usage and maintenance records easy.

Vehicle and trailer tracking: Look for a platform that allows fleet managers to track trailers and assets 24/7 to maintain security and monitor activity. These capabilities can allow fleet owners and managers to assess productivity and implementation procedures to optimize equipment and personnel.

Compliance: A top fleet management solution streamline safety and compliance process, eliminate hours of paperwork and avoid costly fines and penalties for compliance with IFTA, ELD and DVIR.

Maintenance: Select a fleet management platform that enables a strong preventative maintenance program to properly take care of vehicles and assets and keep them on the road.

Fleet safety: Fleet owners and managers should look for a solution with a wide range of safety-specific solutions built into the platform to create a safe environment for drivers and save money on insurance premiums. Features to look for include driver scorecards, safety analytics, event viewers, in-vehicle notifications and in-cab cameras.
Reporting and analytics: Access information securely and electronically with customizable dashboards, reports and real-time alerts. Fleet managers should look for a solution that offers personalization and functionality when building reports and tracking the most critical KPIs.

Learn More About Fleet Management

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Explore Our Platform As fleets and companies adopt technology to differentiate themselves in a crowded market and optimize operations, fleet managers are responsible for coordinating an increasing number of systems, technologies, third-party integrations and employees. Companies must handle growing demand and tightening capacity alongside other industry challenges like the driver shortage, rising fuel prices and industry regulations.

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What is Fleet Management? Everything You Need To Know About Fleet

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What is Fleet Management? Everything You Need To Know About Fleet

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Fleet management is the process your business uses to manage all fleet and asset information, from acquisition through to disposal. This enables your business to reduce costs, improve efficiency and ensure compliance across an entire fleet operation.

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Learning Zone

Everything You Need to Know About Fleet Management

By Ellen Sowerby 25 January 2021

Fleet management is the process your business uses to manage all fleet and asset information, from acquisition through to disposal. This enables your business to reduce costs, improve efficiency and ensure compliance across an entire fleet operation.

We know that managing a pool of commercial vehicles can be a challenge at the best of times. Add to this external influences that a fleet manager faces but has little control over, such as legislation, car market uncertainty and spiralling costs, and the task can soon become overwhelming. In our view, the relevant software can play an enormous part in co-ordinating your fleet management activities.

So, what is the purpose of fleet management and what role does fleet management software have to play?

What is the purpose of fleet management?

If your business uses vehicles for commercial purposes, then you'll need some form of professional fleet management. The aim of the operation will be to control the entire lifecycle of commercial vehicles alongside reducing associated risk, improving efficiency, increasing productivity and ensuring compliance with legislation. Employee vehicles used for work purposes, known as the grey fleet, should also be included in this process.

Companies with fleets are extensive. Hauliers, couriers, sales, service, utilities, public transport and the emergency services all have fleets that need managing. Having a grasp of the processes required to run a fleet will enable your company to control associated costs, remain competitive in the market place and help meet your customers' expectations.

Fleet management can be carried out within the business, usually by the appointment of a fleet manager, or outsourced to an external fleet solutions provider.

What is fleet management software?

Fleet management software gives your business all the relevant information on the performance of your fleet whenever you want it. In effect, it is a sophisticated database with numerous applications that enables you to record and report the key attributes that can help improve efficiencies and drive down costs by reducing downtime and improving productivity.

In summary, incorporating a software system into fleet management improves the management of:

Vehicles, assets and equipment

Maintenance and repair

Fuel and emissions

Drivers including driver licence checks

Workshops and scheduling - inspections, defect reporting and audits

Parts and inventory

Accident and risk management

Regulatory and legal compliance

Budget and forecasting

Fleet management solutions integrate with almost any third-party data provider or software application to streamline processes such as ordering, arranging delivery and making payments autonomously. Such integrations remove the lengthy administration processes and improve employee time management too. And the addition of supporting mobile apps to carry out the tasks and input relevant data within the field further enhances the benefits of implementing such a system.

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What is Fleet Management? Everything You Need To Know About Fleet

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Learning Zone By Ellen Sowerby 25 January 2021 Fleet management is the process your business uses to manage all fleet and asset information, from acquisition through to disposal. This enables your business to reduce costs, improve efficiency and ensure compliance across an entire fleet operation.

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Everything You Need to Know About Fleet Management

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Everything You Need to Know About Fleet Management

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Fleet management tools can help fleet managers gain real-time visibility into their operations while increasing driver satisfaction and decreasing fuel usage through predictive analytics and accurate reporting.

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What is fleet management?

Any organization that needs commercial vehicles to function engages in some form of fleet operations and fleet management. The purpose of fleet management is to oversee all fleet performance and fleet maintenance in order to increase productivity and help a business run as smoothly as possible.

Fleet managers are in charge of fleet operations and might be tasked with responsibilities that include vehicle maintenance, overseeing fuel consumption and fuel costs, driver management, asset utilization, route planning, and the implementation of any programs that increase company productivity and decrease instances of waste.

Fleet management companies often use vehicle telematics or fleet management software, like Samsara, to increase fleet efficiency and help reduce operational costs.

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What does a fleet manager do?

A fleet manager is responsible for taking care of the following tasks:

1. Driver safety

A major challenge for fleet companies or any fleet manager is keeping drivers safe. Ensuring safe driver behavior can be difficult, particularly when fleet managers are hundreds of miles away from the moving vehicle. There are helpful tools fleet managers can use -- like dash cams or vehicle tracking systems -- that bring real-time visibility into an otherwise remote vehicle and provide evidence or materials to implement driver training.

2. Driver retention

Driver shortages are a growing issue in the trucking industry. Stabilizing and increasing driver retention is something fleet managers need to always aim for. By creating mentorship programs, improving workplace conditions, or simply building stronger trust between driver and manager, fleet managers look to different approaches to ensure drivers are happy at work.

3. Fleet tracking

To ensure driver safety, fleet managers need to know exactly where individual vehicles are at any given time. Although this might seem simple enough, tracking vehicle location can be a challenging feat whether a fleet includes 5 vehicles or 5,000. Fleet managers often rely on GPS technology and other GPS tracking systems to know where their vehicles are and increase visibility into their fleet operations and vehicle safety.

4. Electronic Logging Device (ELD) compliance

The ELD mandate is a congressional mandate that went into effect December 2017 that requires commercial vehicle operators to record Hours of Service (HOS) electronically. The mandate intends to replace paper logging and reduce instances of dangerous driving caused by fatigued drivers. For fleets that are subject to the mandate, fleet managers must implement ELD compliant systems to ensure they have an accurate recording of drive time.

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5. Total cost reduction

Whether it's fuel management or lowering operating costs, fleet managers are expected to identify and weed out any unnecessary expenses to help create more cost-friendly and efficient fleet operations. Operational, fuel and maintenance costs can quickly add up. Whether it's instating fuel efficiency programs (no matter if fuel prices are high or low) or asset tracking, it's the fleet manager's responsibility to determine cost-saving solutions and help a company increase productivity.

6. Vehicle acquisition

In order to effectively manage a fleet, a fleet manager needs to forecast how many and what type of vehicles a fleet will need in order to operate efficiently. It might seem straightforward to purchase new vehicles when the need arises, but correctly understanding and forecasting fleet vehicle utilization is paramount in correctly determining a purchase strategy. Employee eligibility for a vehicle class, vehicle lifecycle, and even market timing are all significant factors that contribute to a sound vehicle acquisition strategy.

What are the benefits of fleet management?

Managing a fleet of vehicles can be challenging, no matter the fleet size. That's why over 75% of fleet managers rely on fleet management software or vehicle telmatics to help support day-to-day operations in at least some of their vehicles, according to data from Government Fleet's annual benchmarking survey.

Fleet management software can help fleet managers gain real-time visibility into their operations while increasing driver satisfaction and decreasing fuel usage through predictive analytics and accurate reporting.

What is the best fleet management software?

Samsara is a system that helps businesses improve efficiency, safety, and quality of their fleet operations with internet-connected sensors and software. From transportation and logistics to food production and construction, Samsara's fleet management system can help you stay compliant and streamline your fleet operations. Reach out to us for a demo and free trial today.

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Everything You Need to Know About Fleet Management

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Any organization that needs commercial vehicles to function engages in some form of fleet operations and fleet management. The purpose of fleet management is to oversee all fleet performance and fleet maintenance in order to increase productivity and help a business run as smoothly as possible.

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See Some Fleet Management Software Benefits You Might Not Have Know in 2022

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See Some Fleet Management Software Benefits You Might Not Have Know in 2022

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The Popularity of fleet management system is rising continuously. we'll guide you through everything you need to know about this new system to see if it's right for your business.

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It is no secret that the world and the many, many businesses within it rely on seamless logistics and supply chain operations to keep running. Do you know what keeps logistics and supply chains going? Vehicular fleets, of course. Of course, a typical fleet comprises multiple vehicles, which necessitates their proper management to glean the best value.

You would agree managing a fleet isn't easy, irrespective of whether you're managing a large-scale operation or a small or mid-sized fleet. While back in the day's real-time location tracking was the gold standard - now it's the baseline. To stay competitive, businesses must have a fleet to consider additional technology to assist in managing driver safety, fleet performance, operational and fuel efficiency, and compliance to name a few.

Today's fleet management solutions help improve drivers' performance while reducing risks and allows safe communication with drivers - right from sensor monitor speed, driving styles, aggressive acceleration or braking, unscheduled stops, excessive idling, and out-of-route miles.

But before we discuss all that, let us start with the key fleet management challenges to help demonstrate why one needs a fleet management solution.

1. Fuel management: Everyone knows costs are a major concern for a fleet business, but did you know what is the biggest contributor to such a business' expenses? Fuel, of course; now, as you can imagine, companies want to be able to keep fuel costs in check, which is a tad challenging on account of a variety of factors, such as fluctuations in fuel price.

2. Abundance of data: Data is good, that is certain; however, fleet businesses typically generate an abundance of data every single day. This excess of data, both structured and unstructured, can make it quite challenging for teams to sift through said data. Then there are also the storage issues when you are dealing with so much data.

3. Cost management: It is a given that every single company, no matter the sector it is involved in, wants to save on its costs. However, this is easier said than done when it comes to fleet management, for to achieve high levels of cost efficiency, managers must identify the opportunities for improvement. This, in turn, needs extensive analysis of existing issues, determining effective solutions, etc. and that can help companies save considerable sums across their operations.

Now, one is bound to wonder exactly who needs a fleet management system? Lots of companies based on the industry and/or department function:?Retail companies?E-commerce retailers?Manufacturers?Logistics companies?Distributors

Finally, here are some of the key benefits:

1. Automation: Fleet management solutions can help companies automate several manual tasks, thus allowing savings of precious time for employees, reduction in operational costs, etc. It also helps companies focus on the more important tasks.

2. Better customer experiences: One may not think fleet businesses have anything to do with customer satisfaction and such, but the truth is quality service is as important as it is for any other business. Fleet management helps in this regard via route planning, optimization, etc. to ensure timely deliveries, real-time tracking, etc. to ensure better customer experiences.

3. Enhanced safety: Considering the entire concept of fleets is based on vehicles, such companies must also contend with the risk of vehicular accidents on the job. Of course, the financial implications of such incidents are immense as well. Thankfully, fleet management software also offers insights about driver behavior, etc. to help identify safe driving practices, training requirements, etc.

As you can see ladies and gentlemen, there is much to be gained from fleet management software development. No matter if you are running a retail business or a logistics and supply chain company, a proper fleet management solution empowers fleet managers to manage their operations, processes, and assets as efficiently and effectively as possible. Just make sure to pick an expert service provider to help build such a solution for your business.

Passionate writer. Love to explore new topics...

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Fleet Management System: All You Need to Know

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It is no secret that the world and the many, many businesses within it rely on seamless logistics and supply chain operations to keep running. Do you know what keeps logistics and supply chains going? Vehicular fleets, of course. Of course, a typical fleet comprises multiple vehicles, which necessitates their proper management to glean the best value.