Fleet management is an umbrella term that covers the actions and processes used to manage a fleet of vehicles, so they run on time, at maximum efficiency, and within budget. Traditionally, fleet managers have used different tools to manage their fleets, including spreadsheets, worksheets, and work logs. However, these options have limitations that make them unsuitable for fast-paced modern businesses.
In their place, businesses now use different tools, including GPS trackers, apps, and software, to better manage their fleets.
The Challenges of Traditional Fleet Management
For decades, businesses relied on manual fleet management processes. These came with several issues that made them challenging to use even though they were still the best options businesses had. The main issue with these options is the possibility of entering erroneous data. As we know today, manual data entry methods are prone to errors, which is why many businesses have switched to automated processes through their digitisation efforts.
Second, they provide limited data visibility. With data stored in files, folders, and file cabinets, it was difficult for managers to access the data they needed quickly. The lack of real-time data on fuel consumption, vehicle location, driver behaviour, and others provided by a modern vehicle tracker made them severely limited in their role.
Modern Fleet Management
Understandably, many businesses that own one or two vehicles are comfortable using traditional vehicle management tools. However, this is not possible for modern businesses with large fleets or that provide transportation services.
Modern fleet management uses different tools, sensors, and software to provide the data and visibility businesses need for their vehicles and assets. A GPS tracker for car, lorries, and more, for example, tell them where their vehicles are, how far they have travelled and how long they have been on the road, how much fuel they have consumed, and how long they have spent at stops.
Businesses can combine a GPS tracker with a dashcam for better fleet management. They can use the dashcam and its footage to monitor driver behaviour, ensure they drive safely, resolve incidents and disputes when they arise, and comply with reporting and auditing requirements.
Managing Vehicle Safety
Another way GPS trackers are changing how we view fleet management is the ability they give businesses to keep their vehicles safe. Businesses are already able to track their vehicles regardless of where they are. A GPS tracker for cars, trucks, or business vehicles can set geofencing zones that are virtual barriers around specific zones from which a vehicle cannot leave.
In the past, anyone with the keys or able to start a vehicle could leave with it. This has become a lot harder because the geofencing feature of modern GPS trackers alerts the driver and the business if it leaves the geofenced zone. The added benefit is that the manager or business can start the recovery process sooner, increasing the chances of finding the vehicle and its cargo intact.
Modern GPS trackers for cars, lorries and more also come with immobilisation features. A fleet manager can immobilise a vehicle at any time if they see it going out of a set zone, see the driver putting road users in danger, or, most commonly, when the vehicle is stolen. The latter is especially useful for workers who visit numerous sites daily, which can put vehicles at risk of being stolen.
Access To Data
Fleet management has also changed from only being about knowing where vehicles are and what drivers are doing to using data to optimize the fleet and business operations. Modern fleet management tools provide businesses with vast amounts of data they can analyse and use in different ways.
Businesses can, for example, use GPS trackers and dash cams to monitor driver behaviour. They can note things like aggressive acceleration, braking, and driving that increase fuel and maintenance costs. Fleet managers can use this data to create personalised training and coaching programs for individual drivers, helping them improve their driving, improving safety, and saving a business money.
Fleet managers can also use the data they collect to optimise delivery routes and reduce delivery times. With the ability to store and access historical data, fleet managers can use analytics techniques to predict how weather patterns, seasons, road conditions, and traffic levels will affect specific routes so drivers can use or avoid them.
Doing this was not possible when businesses used traditional tracking options because they would only rely on weather forecasts provided a few hours earlier and had no way of bringing together different types of data to make accurate road and route predictions.
Technology has changed numerous parts of our lives and how we do business. Advancements like GPS tracking and integrated dashcams have provided businesses with additional tools that have helped them streamline and optimise fleet management, forever changing how we view this crucial part of running any business that owns more than a few vehicles.