Fleet Management Software - Get more for less. This blog outlines ten practical ways to optimize the use of fleet management software while reducing costs. By implementing these tactics, fleet managers can streamline operations, and reduce overall expenses, while still achieving their business objectives.
ROI, Return on Investment is the number one factor any business would look at before spending on any asset. The same applies to Fleet Management Software.
Only if the vehicle management system provides a monetary benefit directly or indirectly it makes sense to use it. In today’s fast-paced world, Time = Money. If the Fleet Management Solution saves a Manager, Driver, and Mechanics time, it is definitely a good investment.
You might wonder, is there a perfect vehicle management software and how it stands out from the rest? Yes, the best fleet management software that can cater to all the needs of your vehicles without breaking your business, is your perfect fleet management system.
How can you choose the right Truck Maintenance Software to get to work the best to meet your business needs?
We took the task of compiling the top 10 ways you can get more from the fleet management system without drilling a hole in your pockets.
Knowing The Correct Fleet Size
It is known that the cost of fleet management is directly proportional to the size of the fleet.
It boils down to the number of vehicles and any spare vehicles needed in case of uncertainties. Apart from these specific needs, the unused vehicles if any with minimum life can be discarded from the fleet for better purposes.
Choosing the right fleet vehicles is an important part of fleet management.
Make sure you choose the right type of vehicle for your operation. Apart from quantity, the capacity of the vehicle plays a vital role.
Pros: This not only will give you more space but also keep tabs on the durability of running vehicles, and the money saved in maintaining unused vehicles!
Mileage Log
Yes, your fleet tracking software can manage the miles driven and analyzing it helps with saving more. Finding the shortest distances for trips help with miles reduction thesis saving you more on fuel costs and other expenses. Fleet managers should keep an eye on how many miles vehicles are driving before scheduling preventive maintenance. Companies that adopt these solutions reduce total miles driven by 5%-10%.
Pros: Mileage reduction as it helps you in many ways like cutting fuel costs, increasing the productivity of the driver, reducing risks, saving maintenance costs, and helping the environment breathe clean.
Fleet Fuel Cost Reduction
Regular monitoring of fleet vehicles includes checking fuel logs, and you can surprisingly save more than you expected on that part. Monitor the fuel logs for running vehicles and educate the drivers on ways to save fuel during trips and keep a tab of every fuel receipt to review later. The program will automatically add up all your fuel expenses for you, so it is easy to see how much you are spending per month. As per data, fuel accounts for nearly 40% of fleet ownership
Pros: Fuel costs are an important cost for any company and a big portion of a fleet budget. By cutting down the fuel costs, you are not just saving money but the environment we live in too.
Truck Driver Records
94% of accidents occur from poor driver choices rather than equipment failure, and unless a driver corrects their bad habits, they cannot drive for your fleet. Yes, with the help of a fleet management system you can keep track of the driver records and understand the productivity of the driver, you can evaluate the driver's behavior, not just for the sake of the vehicle but your business as a whole. You can also track the total maintenance cost of a particular driver’s truck.
The fleet management software helps in monitoring the driver's records to avoid any unfortunate incidents.
Pros: Analyzing the driver's behavior will help you stop unwanted expenditures by them and also educate them to take better care of the vehicles they are assigned with.
Higher Resale Value of Vehicle
A properly maintained vehicle with preventive maintenance and vehicle inspection will fetch you more at the time of resale. The fleet management app takes proper care of the maintenance schedules and repair services if any are required. A vehicle properly maintained is like investing your money in funds that promise good returns.
Pros: You can save much money by avoiding unwanted maintenance or services due to negligence.
Reduce Your Fleet Maintenance Costs
The fleet management system helps you with maintenance schedules and tabs on vehicle history. Regularly analyzing the vehicles and educating the drivers to handle the vehicle properly will help you save more on maintenance and services. Be it a running vehicle or a standby vehicle; it is essential to get the vehicles inspected with a routine to know if it is in their best condition. You can set reminders for maintenance on the app. This way, you can avoid any surprises at the time of maintenance and services.
Pros: You can avoid add-on services charged at the time of maintenance and save more on that part as your vehicle is maintained as it should be.
Reduce Downtime
As long as a vehicle is on road it generates income. A truck at the mechanic for any reason is a loss of time and money to the business. Preventive maintenance, Reminders for daily, weekly, monthly and annual inspections, timely update of defects, and immediate action due to online updates helps considerably in reducing the downtime of the vehicle. Predictive maintenance systems can save money and increase productivity. Longer-lasting vehicles mean less downtime and lower costs.
Taking Measurable Risks and Improve Fleet Safety
The fleet manager must keep a record of the vehicle running and the spare ones in the garage. Also, regular inspection of the vehicles along with the assignee, will help understanding if the vehicles are appropriately managed. Acquiring proper documents from the drivers will help in getting a thorough background verification.
Pros: Imparting the drivers with regular training programs on safety measurements will save you unfortunate losses.
Identifying and Lowering Your ABC(Activity-Based Costing)
Some indirect costs also known as overhead costs include the expenditure of fleet management and administrative regulators, building space and facilities accommodating the vehicles, including fuel costs, computer systems, and other utilities, tools, taxes, and many other factors that cannot be attributed directly to a vehicle. Here comes the Activity Based Costing, which is merely identifying these costs causing extra expenditure. All these expenses are recorded and displayed under the expenses tab who gives helps in better decision-making.
Pros: Cutting down unused vehicles and other utilities will help you save more in terms of money and space.
Total Cost of Ownership decreases
Calculating the Total Cost of Ownership of a vehicle provides a bigger picture for future decisions. The cost of a truck, fuel costs, insurance, maintenance cost, repairs, and finally the return on sale totally is the TCO. It’s easier to calculate the TCO with the Fleet Management Software and take a well-informed decision on the purchase or sale of a vehicle.
Pros: Though the results of lowering the fleet management cost vary depending on the mileage and usage of the vehicles, many users witnessed almost a 15 percent TCO reduction over the years.
Lower Fleet Management Cost
You can reduce or lower the overall fleet management cost by cutting down the fleet size, monitoring fuel costs, and taking strict control of other costs leading to unnecessary expenditure. The regular monitoring of fleet management costs will help in reducing the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) of a vehicle, thus saving you much money.
Fleet Management System for Small Business - Simply Fleet
We have a good number of FMS in the market to cater to the needs of all businesses. If you are into a small business and if you are looking for an FMS that can very well take care of your fleet, look nowhere beyond Simply Fleet. Simply Fleet helps small businesses grow with its user-friendly and affordable price. Starting at just $26 per month for upto 30 vehicles.
Pros: Customize your package based on the business needs and get your FMS at a comparatively lesser price.
You have seen the top 10 ways to get more out of fleet management software. Use these hacks to grow your business in no time. When time permits, feel free to check us to know more about fleet management.
