During this time of year, many fleet managers and operators are in planning mode. They’re preparing for the start of the new year and reflecting on the wins of 2023 and growth opportunities. Two areas business owners tend to focus in on are employee and vehicle performance since these are two primary contributors to overall operational and business costs.
One way to ensure you effectively track employee and vehicle performance is by implementing GPS fleet management and tracking solutions. This way, you can know the exact location of your vehicles, your employees’ behavior and how efficiently your vehicles are being used. In this blog, we explore three ways a GPS fleet management system can help to improve operations and support your bottom line.
First, it is important to determine where there are inefficiencies in your fleet operations and business. How productive are my employees during their routes? Are they practicing safe driving behaviors? How are my vehicles performing on the road?
When your drivers are pausing their routes for long breaks or stopping at unassigned locations during the day, they are not completing jobs and are contributing to costly delays and spending. Moreover, drivers who exhibit unsafe driving behaviors like harsh braking or speeding are putting themselves, their vehicle and others at risk, leading to potential accidents, costly maintenance repairs and vehicle downtime.
A GPS management and tracking system gives you the visibility to know where your vehicles are at all times. You can track your vehicle’s route from start to finish and keep tabs on driver behavior and vehicle performance, identifying how much specific driving behaviors are costing your business.
Once you’ve identified the core inefficiencies within your fleet business, turn your attention to cost-cutting activities. When you have drivers employ more dangerous behaviors behind the wheel, this often leads to vehicle wear and tear and unscheduled maintenance. Operations are then paused, causing vehicle downtime and significant losses in daily revenue.
With GPS fleet management and tracking, you can predict when your vehicle may need its next maintenance checkup and enact a regularly scheduled maintenance plan. This proactive strategy can help save you in the long run.
In addition to fleet maintenance, fuel is another significant cost for your operations. GPS fleet management tracking systems can help identify where your fuel is being wasted, and if it stems from poor driving behavior, inefficient routing or idling practices – which has been reported to waste over six billion gallons of gasoline and diesel every year.
Having the technology to track and monitor these kinds of behaviors can elongate the lifetime of your vehicle by tracking fuel consumption and improving fuel efficiency, as well as reducing your spending on hefty fuel and maintenance costs.
Lastly, after realizing where inefficiencies lie and assessing cost-saving measures, you can leverage GPS fleet management data to identify trends and reoccurring patterns within your fleet operations.
Data is the cornerstone of connected fleet management. However, data on its own isn’t very helpful. To get the most out of your fleet data and turn the raw data into actionable insights, you need to analyze it for patterns. Working alongside a fleet management partner, you can gain a better understanding of the processes that are working well for your business, establish benchmarks and set goals with your GPS fleet management solutions.
These partners understand your business at its core and can identify the specific data you need to support and continue business growth. The end result of effective data use is better driver and vehicle safety and performance, boosted productivity and a stronger bottom line.
At MICHELIN Connected Fleet, our team of experienced fleet experts understands that improving your ROI each year is no small task. Identifying and enacting the best fleet management approach takes time and the right tools. But with enhanced technology like GPS fleet management and tracking solutions, you are better positioned to track your drivers and vehicles efficiently and reduce unnecessary spending costs. Our team can help you develop a personalized fleet management approach, accomplish your end-of-year business goals, and set you up for success in the new year.
The MICHELIN Connected Fleet team is ready to help you enhance your bottom line with GPS fleet management solutions. For more information, call 800-358-6187 or contact us online.