Boosting Fleet Management Productivity: Tips For Success
How do you juggle time-consuming, never-ending tasks like quoting, invoicing, or monitoring drivers, and be productive without feeling frustrated? Read on to see our fleet management productivity tips
Productivity is something you can’t overlook when you’re a fleet manager. After all, you want to outshine competitors and meet the changing needs of customers. But how do you juggle time-consuming, never-ending tasks like quoting, invoicing, or monitoring drivers, and be productive without feeling frustrated?
Report findings shared by Trackobit reveal, fleet managers spend 40% of their time on tedious admin tasks. Also, fleet managers encounter another productivity challenge, poor communication that affects 30% of fleet operations, leading to mistakes and lost revenue. That said, what are some ways you can boost productivity and efficiency in your fleet business?
Right Vehicle Selection
When you think of it, managing a productive fleet business is impossible without efficient vehicles. How can you fleet drivers be productive if your vehicles break down frequently while on transit?
With this in mind, develop a guideline for purchasing the right fleet vehicles. You should have a policy that ensures the vehicles you purchase match their intended use.
For example, if your operations target customers who need a fleet for cargo delivery, assess your options to identify vehicles that meet your requirements. Research vehicle types suited for your operations and read reviews on their performance.
Checking ratings for the best cars and trucks based on customer experiences helps you assess which models are ideal for transporting staff or cargo deliveries. Follow the same tactic when shopping for trailers or buses for your fleet.
For enhanced productivity, look out for auto-mobiles with high miles per gallon (MPG) ratings because they are fuel efficient. Also, make sure the upkeep requirements of your fleet vehicles aren’t burdensome and expensive.
You don’t want your vehicles staying at the repair shop for months, as that will cause downtime, resulting in low productivity and lost revenue. Equally important, choose models that are safe to operate. Drivers will be more productive when they are assured of their well-being because they’ll focus on the set goals rather than worry about safety.
Automate Management Processes
Automation is a must-do activity in today’s business operations, including fleet management. Reason being, it frees your time and that of employees from menial tasks. For example, shifting from outdated paperwork to digital data management saves your team the hustle of tracking documents manually.
The time you or your staff would spend on sifting through paper files can be directed to evaluating operations. You can then act on insights that support improvement and efficiency.
For instance, you could automate fuel card purchases to promote timely recharging and reduce accounting errors. Or you could automate driver scorecard feedback to get logical insights on driver behavior and fuel spend.
With real-time feedback in driver performance and fuel consumption, you can quickly identify leverage points like route optimization to reduce fuel costs and improve delivery times.
Prioritize Effective Communication
Effective communication is a vital aspect of productive and efficient fleet management practices. In a recent workplace communication survey, 86% of workers say lack of communication and collaboration are the major causes of workplace failures.
Conversely, enhancing communications within an organization increased productivity by 25%. So, how can you streamline communication when managing tens or even hundreds of vehicles?
First, identify communication challenges. Is it a lack of communication technology, poor leadership, or a language barrier?
Whatever the communication obstacle, you can expect mistakes like deliveries being dropped off at the wrong addresses. Drivers might not conduct maintenance checks as scheduled, causing frequent vehicle breakdowns. You can foster good communication by paying attention to your team.
Have you noticed a pattern of delays or missed appointments? This could be a sign drivers and dispatchers are not well informed and can’t reach you. Creating an open door policy that encourages staff to communicate with you effortlessly is one way to mitigate internal communication issues.
Leverage different channels of communication to ensure teams reach you anytime, anywhere. Organize workshops or trainings to communicate company policies and procedures like efficient driving habits effectively.
Use GPS And Telematics
Imagine tracking a fleet of multiple vehicles heading to different routes manually. You’ll feel exhausted calling drivers every few hours to know where they are. It’s also difficult to know the condition of each vehicle or even determine the arrival times of your drivers.
That said, integrate GPS tracking to monitor vehicles on transit. With GPS systems in place, you can analyze driver behavior and identify ways to improve fleet performance. Apart from GPS tracking, use telematics to receive timely notifications of potential issues affecting vehicle performance.
Real-time updates on automobile health helps set maintenance schedule, thus preventing breakdowns and downtime. Together, GPS and telematics enable efficient route mapping, predictive maintenance, and improved driving habits.
You have probably heard the phrase ‘fleet management is not for the faint hearted’. That’s because it entails handling multiple tasks all at once, an act that causes frustrations, burnout, and low productivity.
But fleet management can be less stressfully and more productive if you automate repetitive processes like driver monitoring, invoicing, and quoting.
You also help your team stay productive by purchasing efficient vehicles, nurturing good communication, and using telematics and GPS systems for tracking and predictive maintenance.