Your fleet’s growing, and you can no longer manage all the ins and outs of it with pen and paper or basic computer programs. You need a comprehensive fleet management program that can help you streamline operations and monitor costs.
With the right system in place, you’ll be better positioned to do everything from reducing wear and tear on fleet vehicles to optimizing routes for better MPGs and lower fuel use.
In this article, we discuss the foundational and practical elements of an effective fleet management program and provide insight into what you can do to make yours better.
How To Set Up An Effective Fleet Management Program
Before we get deeper into the elements of an effective fleet management program, let’s take a minute to clarify exactly what we mean by “program.”
For this article, when we say “fleet management program,” we’re referring to the overall strategy that controls the operation of your fleet.
Identify The Right Goals
Before implementing a fleet management program, clearly define your objectives by asking and answering two key questions:
- What are my primary fleet management goals?
- What metrics will I use to measure the success of those goals?
For example, you may want to reduce costs or improve safety within your fleet, but other goals include:
- Increasing efficiency
- Maximizing vehicle use
- Stabilizing driver turnover
- Extending vehicle life
To measure the success of those goals, you may choose to focus on analytics such as telematics data (e.g., acceleration and braking), total cost of ownership, vehicle cost per mile, and miles per gallon.
Conduct A Fleet Assessment
A fleet assessment is an in-depth evaluation of your vehicles and how they contribute to the overall health, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of your operations. A good understanding of your fleet allows you to plan maintenance operations and gain visibility into your vehicle lifecycle.
When conducting a fleet assessment, gather details such as the type, number, age, and mileage of each vehicle, as well as other variables, including:
- Maintenance history
- Fuel consumption
- Total cost of ownership
- Vehicle cost per mile
With this data in hand, you’ll be better positioned to plan all the aspects of your fleet management program.
Focus On Cost Control And Budgeting
Regardless of whether you’re building a new fleet management program or revamping an existing one, establishing cost controls and building a budget will go a long way toward keeping your operation in the black.
Take the time to track and analyze all fleet costs so you have a baseline for any improvements or changes you make to your fleet processes.
At the same time, develop a fleet budget to allocate resources, and then look for ways to reduce fleet expenses (e.g., consolidating routes; negotiating better deals with suppliers, insurance companies, and the like; and optimizing vehicle utilization).
Including these elements as part of your overall strategy gives you points of comparison that you can use to track the success or failure of any changes you make to the operation.
Utilize Data Analysis And Reporting
Setting up a schedule for data analysis and reporting helps you better track your fleet and the steps necessary to improve its activity.
At first, you may want to monitor fleet activity through data analysis and reporting every day in order to ensure that everything is moving according to plan.
Once new systems are in place and running smoothly, you can make a plan to monitor fleet activity at regular intervals, depending on the needs of your business.
Take Advantage Of Technology And Tracking
Now, let’s move into the technology components of an effective fleet management program.
Software for fleet management typically includes fleet management software, telematics, and smart fuel card software. These tools can have a profound effect on what you spend to field and maintain your fleet.
In fact, 62% of GPS tracking users noted a positive return on investment with just that simple addition to their workflow.
Adding the other elements of the tech stack can take that ROI even higher and make managing your fleet much simpler. The Bug Master, an 80 vehicle fleet in Austin, TX, uses a combination of telematics, fleet management software, and smart fuel card software to get real-time updates on fleet uptime, fuel economy, and vehicle health.
Implement A Fuel Management System
Fuel management is, perhaps, one of the most important elements of a successful fleet management program because it helps control one of the biggest, most expensive cost centers that fleets have to deal with.
If you don’t have a fuel management system in place, consider this: 55% of fleets reported reduced fuel costs after using telematics and fuel card software.
In addition to a fuel management system, fleet managers can come up with a variety of best practices for effective fuel management. Consider keeping vehicle speed governed to a limited maximum, tracking and discouraging idling incidents, as well as route planning that takes into account well-priced fuel along the way.
Train And Monitor Drivers
Fleet management software and other components of your tech stack allow you to monitor driver behavior and techniques and build training programs to improve both on the road.
For example, telematics and smart fuel card software show you that Driver A uses more fuel than Driver B when piloting the same vehicle over the same route in identical conditions. Why is that? Likely, it’s the way Driver A operates the vehicle.
Further investigation into your telematics data may reveal that Driver A accelerates hard from a full stop, doesn’t use the cruise control on long highway stretches, and leaves the vehicle idling longer than necessary.
All of these behaviors contribute to increased fuel use.
Armed with that knowledge, you can design a training program that helps Driver A learn to pilot their vehicle with more fuel-efficient techniques.
Keep Up With Vehicle Maintenance
With help from fleet management software, telematics, and smart fuel card software, you’ll have the information necessary to build vehicle maintenance policies and programs that prevent catastrophic (and expensive) breakdowns and keep everyone safe on the road.
Not only does good vehicle maintenance safeguard drivers and keep repair costs low, but it also helps you avoid unplanned downtime, unexpected vehicle replacement, service delays, and compliance penalties enforced by the DOT, FMCSA, and CVSA.
Use your fleet management program to set up both a preventative maintenance plan and an emergency maintenance plan.
The former typically includes things like pre- and post-trip inspections and regularly scheduled maintenance that is customized to the unique needs of each vehicle.
The latter typically includes putting procedures in place that provide guidance on exactly what should happen if the vehicle is involved in an accident or breaks down away from home base.
Stay In Compliance
All effective fleet management programs should include some form of compliance monitoring and control.
The right technology can automatically track all the details that go into making sure your vehicles stay legal on the road, including ELD laws, interstate commercial motor vehicle criteria, weight classes, hazardous waste handling, and many more.
Getting The Right Tech In Place For Your Fleet Management Program
A smart fuel card program is an essential component of an efficient fleet management program. With a smart fuel card, you can set specific rules for your fleet spending, get reporting and visibility into fleet and fuel transactions, and integrate with other essential fleet technology, like telematics systems.
Coast’s smart fuel card system lets you set your categories and spend limits exactly as you need them based on day, week, or month as well as by individual driver, card, or vehicle. It gives you real-time alerts enhanced by telematics integrations, as well as the ability to quickly respond and restrict or expand capabilities based on circumstances on the ground.
Integration with telematics providers like Samsara and Geotab helps to block suspicious fuel transactions while automatically collecting odometer data. You’ll have greater confidence in the accuracy of the data and get insights like precise MPG that allow you to identify potential issues like driver behavior, maintenance needs, or card misuse and abuse.
See how Coast can supercharge your fleet management program here.
