Company owners that rely heavily on commercial transportation need a system that helps simplify fleet maintenance. Food delivery, emergency medical services, trucking companies, and more usually have significant operating costs that can be trimmed down with a fleet management system. Even if a business does not have its own fleet, chances are it outsources deliveries to another company.
Effective fleet management systems help companies run their business more effectively. The ultimate goal of using fleet management tools is to manage the lifecycle of a fleet. That means companies need a system that would allow them to reduce costs, improve productivity, minimize risks, and ensure compliance.
With the use of fleet management software like Netradyne’s Driver•i, safety managers get real-time insight into their daily operations. In this blog, we will weigh in on the importance of fleet management systems in daily vehicle operations.
What is fleet management?
Whether you are running a fleet of 10 or 100, intelligent fleet safety software can help you streamline operations and meet your market’s demands.
Fleet management helps lower business costs and keep drivers and operating managers happy. As a discipline, fleet management includes overseeing drivers, assets (vehicles and equipment), and procurement (fuel, insurance, procurement, etc.). This practice ensures that commercial fleets are used safely and efficiently and that all assets are well-maintained to avoid high operational costs.
As a tool, fleet management software gives managers visibility into their daily operations. This aspect includes using:
- Predictive analysis to decrease fuel usage
- In-cab monitoring systems to prevent distracted driving
- GPS tracking to monitor vehicle location and delivery progress
- Monitoring data for vehicle use (faulty engine, sudden breakage, etc.)
- Accurate reporting for positive safety improvements and driver satisfaction
How does fleet management work?
Fleet management has different roles, which include vehicle tracking, diagnostics, telematics, and driver management. Each function allows companies to know the location of their fleet, comply with government rules and regulations, reduce costs, improve productivity, and prolong the life of vehicles.
All these functions are traditionally tracked, measured, and observed manually. But with the use of fleet management software, owners can view and analyze information in one place–from dispatching drivers to sending updates to customers.
Once you have installed fleet management software, the tool will automatically collect data from vehicles through GPS. Telematics technology enables you to see remotely where vehicles are and know which ones to dispatch. Driver•i has a live GPS that gives you real-time visibility into your vehicles on the road. Combined with a 360-degree camera live stream, you can identify the engine’s speed and status–and who’s using the vehicle–right from your device’s dashboard.
This feature and the easy-to-analyze reports will give you a comprehensive insight into your fleet’s performance that you can use to improve your processes.
Why do fleet owners need fleet management software?
Operating a fleet has its risks and challenges. But you don’t have to be on the road with the drivers to know exactly what is going on. To mitigate risks, you need to have an automated system, so you don’t overlook key parts of your operations. This is where fleet management software comes in.
Here are some of the benefits of using fleet management software:
- See all your fleet activities. A fleet management system allows you to see what your fleet is doing without being on the road. Is the driver distracted driving? Are there other routes the vehicle can take to ensure timely deliveries? Which vehicle is nearest the designated pick-up point? These things are practically impossible to track manually without losing precious time, but with a fleet management system, all the information is available to you in just a few taps on the dashboard.
- Reduce fuel and maintenance costs. Effective fuel management is essential in all fleet operations. With fleet management systems, you will know exactly the number of miles traveled by a vehicle and how much fuel was consumed. This feature allows managers to allocate fuel based on usage. In addition, fleet management software also has built-in tracking tools that allow you to see which vehicle parts need repair.
- Quickly access important data. Having instant access to data is one of the best benefits of fleet management. The software gives managers a glimpse into actual numbers, allowing them to analyze reports properly and streamline their operations.
- Increase customer satisfaction. Tracking vehicles allows companies to provide vehicles’ location and accurate delivery times to customers. Fleet management systems provide real-time updates that let customers know if there are any issues or delays with their orders. Since managers have access to vehicle information, they are able to communicate information better to customers and help resolve issues if there are any.
- Enhance dispatch processes. Telematics lets you find out where a vehicle is in an instant. You no longer have to radio in your request because you can see in real-time where the fleet is and where it is headed. This feature allows you to optimize routes so that you can send the nearest driver to their next job.
- Improve safety and compliance. Driver behavior is one of the things you can track and measure with fleet management software. Distracted driving is a serious safety risk and liability for all fleets. In-cab dash cams like Driveri® help monitor drivers’ behaviors on the road, ultimately preventing damage and improving safety. This AI-powered dash cam sends in-cab alerts and notifications whenever a driver is driving too close to another vehicle or is using a cell phone on the road.
- Receive real-time notifications. Fleet management systems provide critical information from mapping routes to driver updates. Having data at their fingertips allows managers to update their teams and make logical decisions based on accurate information.
Final Thoughts
Managing a fleet is never an easy task. But with fleet management systems, daily operations can run more smoothly and efficiently. These tools remove the inconvenience of manual work–from checking where drivers are to providing customer updates.
When you need accurate information in real-time, you can rely on Netradyne’s AI-powered technology to deliver critical data that your team needs to streamline operations.
