A good business owner or fleet manager is always on the lookout for ways to save money while improving service to their customers or constituents. Increasing the efficiency of your vehicle fleet is a great way to achieve both simultaneously. Here are a few methods that can help you make it happen for your business:
Cut fuel costs
Fuel is expensive, and it’s one of the biggest concerns for any fleet manager. Finding ways to reduce fuel usage is a major priority, but with a whole fleet of vehicles and a team of drivers to manage, it’s not an easy task. Fuel card reporting is a solution that allows you to monitor expenses and usage of fuel across single vehicles and fleets.
Two crucial weapons are data and communication. Knowing how often and for how long your vehicles are in use can help you to better manage your fleet and reduce fuel usage. You can use GPS data to communicate with drivers about wasteful driving habits while educating them on how to change for the better.
Reduce time and money spent on repair issues
A broken-down vehicle creates a long-list of problems for your fleet. Routes get diverted or missed, you can’t cover your whole territory and you might even be paying drivers to sit by while repairs are being made. At worst, a vehicle’s lifespan could be shortened dramatically. The best way to keep any of that from happening is to prevent major mechanical issues before they happen, while they’re still minor problems that can be addressed with minimal downtime and expense.
Knowing what’s going on inside your vehicles means that you can see what’s coming. Long periods of downtime are avoided. Your vehicles remain in the field, your drivers keep busy and your clients stay happy.
Increase driver safety
Reckless driving is deadly. It can also hurt your business even if your drivers never end up in an accident. If a motorist is cut off by someone driving a truck with your business’ name on it, that motorist goes from potential customer to outspoken critic.
Speeding and reckless driving can also cause unnecessary wear and tear on vehicles, and increase the time and money you have to spend on wear and tear items and vehicle replacement. It can even raise your fuel costs. Training your drivers to operate their vehicles safely and efficiently can save a lot of money. It can also save lives.
Monitor vehicle and equipment locations
As your fleet grows, it gets harder and harder to manage. Things fall through the cracks. Sometimes equipment can end up lost or stolen from a worksite. Having to replace equipment that’s disappeared without a trace gets expensive quickly. Making an effort to track your equipment closely, with detailed reporting, will help you save thousands on replacement spending. Asset tracking can help you always know where your equipment is - and easily locate it if it goes missing.
Find the best routes
The shortest path to fleet efficiency is just that – finding the shortest and simplest routes for your drivers to use. Don’t just guess when drawing up routes – gather data to make informed decisions, and then make sure your drivers are following the proper routes.
Of course, all of these tactics are much easier when you have comprehensive data at your disposal – the kind of data Synovia GPS-powered tools provide. Vehicle monitoring allows you to track fuel consumption and maintenance needs as they arise. Location tracking means you’ll always know where your equipment is. Request a demo or begin your free trial today. You’ll love what Synovia Solutions GPS tracking technology can do for you.
