If you have recently been promoted to a fleet manager, or if you’ve got to manage a fleet as part of your job role, it can be complex. It can feel like you have a lot of different elements to manage, and it’s vital you keep everything running smoothly. Luckily, if you have the right strategies in place, you can keep it all ticking along, save your business money and also improve the productivity of those driving the vehicles. But how might you ask? In this article we take a look at some practical tips for managing a fleet in the most effective way. Keep on reading to find out more.
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Use a reliable fleet management software
Fleet management software is super useful, and the amount they enable you to do, can make a huge difference to your business. The software will automate tasks such as scheduling maintenance, tracking fuel use, and monitoring the routes your drivers take with GPS tracking for fleets. It can highlight inefficiencies such as fuel wastage and poor driving habits, and help you to cut costs with preventative maintenance reminders. Using fleet tracking means you can know where your vehicles are at all times, enabling you to find the best routes, deliver customer updates and have overall accountability.
Monitor the fuel consumption of drivers
Fuel is often one of the biggest expenses in fleet management. Use telematics to track driver habits such as idling, speeding, and unnecessary mileage, and provide training to improve fuel efficiency. This can help you to save costs which you can then use in other parts of your business, enabling you to be more effective with your spending and hopefully bring money in other ways. You can see if drivers are taking inefficient routes, perhaps filling up in expensive petrol stations such as in service stations, and monitor other behavior that might be racking up costs.
Analyze data to help plan for the future
When you run a fleet, you should analyse the data to help you improve. Review reports regularly to identify trends, such as vehicles costing more to run or routes that waste fuel, and take action. Over time, small optimisations lead to big savings. You should also use this data to consider when vehicles need upgrading and whether switching to hybrids or EVs could reduce long-term costs and improve sustainability. Think about things like how far your drivers need to go, the sort of routes they take (countryside or highway) and how much storage space they need for goods to be transported.
These are just a few top tips that can help you to effectively manage a fleet. Whether you’re looking to improve the way things are run, want to excel in a new role, or just be more efficient personally, this can help you immensely. What are some top tips you have for effectively managing a fleet? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.
