Fleet management involves a number of procedures to ensure that there is maximum benefit with the fewest number of negative repercussions; in essence, fleet management has the aim of making the fleet as efficient and as safe as possible. Since all operations regarding fleet management are very interconnected, it’s sometimes hard to decide which policies to implement and which not. That’s where tracking comes in – the data learned by tracking gives you a new database to work with. Ever wonder how tracking can benefit your company? Here’s how tracking can really benefit your fleet management operations.
Fuel management
Fuel costs a lot of money and needs to be rationed. A tracking system does not just ensure that the fuel (which belongs to the company) does not get abused by the driver, it also allows the management to plan better routes for fuel efficiency – pick better roads, avoid traffic, and so on. It will also help create more accurate reports for taxation purposes.
Fighting crime
GPS tracking helps to drastically reduce cases of theft or loss; a stolen or lost vehicle can cost a company at least £15,000 a case – which does not yet include the valuable contents. Even if the vehicle can be recovered, the incident can cause the halting of normal operations and seriously hamper the profit of the enterprise.
Maintenance
Most vehicle tracking systems are powered by the engine, which means it’s usually possible to use special software to alert you if a certain maintenance task needs to be performed. Preventive maintenance and a good upkeep programme lets you save money and eliminates a problem before it can rear its ugly head.
Reducing accidents
A large fleet often incurs accidents – and this result in vehicle expense, halted operations, and even serious physical harm to the driver. GPS helps prevent accidents by maximising safety due to better routing and driver coaching.
Getting it right
GPS tracking allows you to optimise your fleet in several ways, making it more efficient. Products are delivered faster (ensuring quality), for instance. It’s also possible to keep track of a full or empty vehicle, leading to the best asset utilisation.
The truth is that there is an optimum efficiency for your driver, and an optimum efficiency for the vehicle – discovering where the optimum efficiency for both (whilst keeping in line with all the laws and regulations that are in place) is the key to maximum profit (or minimal costs). It’s about operational cost-effectiveness. It’s about safety. It’s about maintenance, and about driver consciousness. There are often difficult concepts to quantify – but tracking, especially the right tracking from firms like VirtusFleet.co.uk, will help you do exactly that. Having that data at hand will put you ahead of the game and allow you to come up with great new strategies.
