Fleet managers deal with fleet management issues as a part of their work. These “pain points” are not something that can take a company down, but they are terrible. They are also predictable, and hence preventive measures can be taken accordingly.
Large companies are spread over a vast area, own a considerable number of drivers across several countries and states, along with thousands of vehicles. These corporations are likely to face a variety of challenges when it comes to fleet management systems.
Let’s look at the seven major pain points of fleet management companies along with their solutions.
1. Information Overload
Thousands of fleets generally tend to generate a massive amount of data. The larger the fleet, the more amount of data needs to be reviewed by the fleet managers.
GPS devices frequently update their position every 2 minutes. That’s like 720 updates every day. The size of some fleets using fleet management software is around 50000 vehicles. And that’s around 36 million sets of information being sent to fleet managers for review every day.
The solution is using tools that filter the critical data for you and removes unnecessary information. For example, InSight real-time alert function gives only valuable information related to specific areas of interest. Alerts can be customized to monitor the business’s specific factors if breached; managers will immediately receive an email.
Enterprise Fleet management software provides a KPI dashboard that monitors the fleet overall instead of receiving thousands of alerts. There is a color-coded identification scheme for specific areas to avoid the paralysis of the system.
2. All Fleet Assets Should Be Utilized
Larger the company, the larger the number of assets that need to be managed. There are two possible cases of either the assets getting disappeared or not being utilized to their full extent. These are significant losses to the company.
Once the fleet management software was installed, companies rediscovered vehicles that were forgotten about but were still costing the company registration, depreciation expenses, and insurance costs.
GPS fleet tracking mixture all vehicles are used efficiently. It provides accurate information for making profitable decisions on buying which sort of vehicles or what vehicles they can replace.
The process is an excellent way to improve bottom-line results and kick start potential savings on expenses.
3. Management Of A Geographically Distributed Team
Large commercial companies also require the management of assets across large geographical areas. Fleets are operating internationally or across state borderlines and face difficulty communicating with drivers in remote areas. Locating such vehicles becomes very stressful, like scrolling and zooming across maps.
Enterprise fleet management software is equipped with spatial clustering and advanced mapping that allows managers to have a broad angle of view of the entire space.
Special clustering groups, thousands of assets to provide an organized view of the fleet, and gives a real-time view of where the vehicles are operating. It also supports international language and time zones of different places across the world.
4. Scalable Software Systems
This software grows and copes up with the growth of the organizations. Enterprise software uses cloud computing to generate massive reports.
In other software, only a restricted amount of data can be generated, but this software allows users to report large loads of data across their fleets and take advantage of advanced tech like edge computing.
5. Unauthorized Use Of Company’s Assets
Using vehicles outside of work hours or outside assigned areas can result in additional costs. Unsafe driving can also result in litigation risks.
There is software that reports alerts directly to the manager’s mobile device regarding vehicle speed, location, hard acceleration, severe braking, and more. Built-in OEM offers engine data to improve vehicle health and suggest maintenance behavior.
The entire data can potentially be divided into categories in which unwanted trends can be highlighted across the entire fleet. They assist managers in deciding how to address problems and discrepancies.
6. Finding Fleet Information And Fixing Small Problems Quickly
Finding a specific vehicle’s information in the fleet is like finding a needle in a haystack of information. It wastes time unnecessarily and brings frustration.
The enterprise fleet management dashboard gives a powerful search engine. Drivers, vehicles, and teams can be grouped under meaningful labels for rapid search.
Small problems often go unnoticed by fleet managers. These problems are discovered during some primary crisis times, which results in huge losses and revenue leaks.
Technology can help here in a very excellent way. Whenever a specific business rule is broken, the management software will email alerts to the manager. InSight alerts have a finger on the pulse of the fleet and monitors every second. It ensures that small problems don’t turn to a significant loss.
7. Integration Of Fleet Data Into Existing Software
Large companies run a lot of information systems, all of which need to run together and efficiently. Otherwise, it would reduce productivity as data has to be entered manually or multiple times in this case.
With Enterprise fleets, the company will have internal development resources and partner networks to make sure their fleet management is perfect.
APIs help in the integration with other software systems. The process allows the manager to let the existing system communicate with the software quickly. APIs are allowing employee grading by integrating driver performance. It also allows paperless timesheets, integrating with SAP systems and related notifications.
All Time Preventive Measures
Here are some preventive measures which companies can implement irrespective of any problems.
1. Use a good dashcam, which helps protect your vehicles and driver with the help of cloud-enabled cameras. It has got advanced machine vision and AI functionalities. It provides real-time in-cab alerts with 100 hours of constant video recording. These consist of a dual wide-angle lens and also 8 lumens infrared light that provides low light visibility.
2. Always communicate with the drivers and their managers. Be prepared for a replacement schedule when the model year comes to an end, and manufacturers halt production for summer.
3. Determine what new vehicles you are about to take and what to replace to avoid driver frustration.
4. To control fuel prices, use controls, and card programs that limit, I will purchase and report excess for purchase of fuel higher than tank capacity.
5. Research fuel prices and keep your drivers up to date regarding all the prices for more significant savings.
Conclusion
With a great fleet management system, you can always monitor your vehicles and drivers’ position and working condition. Resultantly, it will prevent the company from incurring any substantial losses. Also, proper utilization of your assets will be maintained.