The developments in the field of GPS have provided businesses all over the world with a new and revolutionary tool: GPS based fleet management systems. It is a well-known fact that fleet businesses require a lot of investment and it is important to protect that investment by maintaining your fleet effectively.
The financial and logistical advantages that come with fleet tracking systems revolutionized the way companies operate and manage their workforce. Fleet management solutions include hardware and software bundles to allow the owners and managers to monitor their workforce using nothing but a PC. The software offers instruments that combine and simplify the processes involved in running a fleet.
Unlike larger fleet businesses that include a few thousands of vehicles, SMEs have to run a tight ship and have no room for error, because, every penny counts when you are just starting a business. An unexpected and sizeable expense can cause the company to go belly up. Owners of the smaller companies tend to think that GPS tracking systems aren’t as effective or affordable as they are for the large fleet companies.
Regardless of the number of vehicles you have; every fleet has significant costs regarding fuel, insurance, repairs, and fines. It is important to make sure that employees use the fleet vehicles in ways that keep operational costs in check, and that is why fleet management systems are a necessity especially for SMEs.
Fleet management systems are mainly beneficial for three key aspects of a business; fuel management, maintenance planning and driver management. If you have plans to get your company up and running, here is how you can do it with the help of a fleet management solution.
IMAGE: GPS LIVE
Reasons For Using A Fleet Management System
If you own a company that relies on a fleet of vehicles, Increasing gas prices, reckless drivers, employee error and false gas claims can cause a serious financial problem in the long run. While you can’t completely cut the fuel costs, GPS tracking allows a fleet manager to observe the fuel consumption of every vehicle.
The monitoring software provides all the necessary information to identify the causes of excess fuel usage. Proper route planning, eliminating driving habits such as speeding and putting a stop to excessive idling will lead to an optimized fuel usage throughout the fleet. So even if you have a small business, if you manage your drivers you will end up saving up to 30-40% on fuel costs.
Business vehicles spend a lot of time on the roads and suffer engine wear and tear at an accelerated rate compared to regular vehicles. Heavy use of the vehicles makes it hard to predict when a company car needs maintenance. That is the main reason why most managers schedule their fleet for maintenance at certain intervals.
Back in the day, there was no reliable to way to know when to take the vehicles in for servicing; this could result in unexpected vehicle breakdowns in remote locations which could spell doom for a company with a few vehicles in their fleet. The operational downtime, additional costs for a tow truck or road assistance and customer complaints can cause a financial crisis.
Fleet tracking devices transmit engine error codes to the cloud-based software granting the fleet managers ability to determine exactly when a truck needs repairs. Preventive maintenance not only saves money on unnecessary upkeeps, but it also reduces vehicle downtime increasing customer satisfaction as a bonus.
IMAGE: GPS LIVE
Drivers are the backbone of every fleet company. They represent your company, and their behavior behind the wheel reflects your reputation; good or bad. Poor driving habits endanger the well-being of the locals and the drivers themselves as well as increase the likelihood of accidents.
Fleet tracking software collects and generates detailed trip reports which can be used to assess driver performance. With this data at hand, you can enforce drivers to follow the rules and reduce the possibility of accidents. While improving the safety of both your vehicles and drivers, your company will also benefit from lower insurance premiums. Insurance providers consider vehicles with a tracking device low-risk. Monthly insurance premiums will be lowered just by having a tracking system integrated into your infrastructure.
No more calling drivers on the radio to locate them! In this modern age, track your drivers with a vehicle tracking portal provided by the fleet management systems. What used to take 3 minutes, takes only 3 seconds now by using a tracking interface.
It may seem unrealistic, but all you need to do is to access the tracking screen and pinpoint the exact location of your employees. Managers can multitask and focus on more important tasks with the additional time they have on their hands. Streamline your operations and supervise your fleet through online tools from anywhere, using a PC, smartphone or a tablet 24 hours a day.
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