Fleet Management is an intricate process and many a times fleet managers misinterpret their fleet efficiency, which draws them to take decisions on the basis of apparent costs involved instead of wide-ranging fleet management data. While the fleet managers feel that they are more or less in control of the costs, yet the chances are that they may have been ignorant about certain aspects of fleet data without which the real cost of the fleet management cannot be calculated! So the question, which arises here is- how can fleet data be obtained that will enable the fleet manager to put to the best use to maximize fleet efficiency?
Many fleet managers overlook vital fleet data like idle time for a particular vehicle or a set of vehicles. It is this data that can spin around fortunes in favor of the organization. But the naivety and ignorance about the fleet management data fails many in taking effective decisions.
Many fleet managers overlook vital fleet data like idle time for a particular vehicle or a set of vehicles. It is this data that can spin around fortunes in favor of the organization. But the naivety and ignorance about the fleet management data fails many in taking effective decisions.
Thus, it is imperative to have data for the smooth functioning and management of the overall fleet and take critical business decisions. Let us delve into the reasons that explain the importance of fleet management data. Here we go:
1. Weak Reporting
If you are facing challenges in completing a report in detail and are unable to squeeze vital inputs like service history data, future purchases, and asset retirement, you know you have a weak report that misses out this vital data. No doubts guessing that without comprehensive data it is absolutely difficult to prepare such reports. Had you mapped the total miles driven for the pre-defined time or the rules broken by drivers through the journey, you would have been in a position to answer the same. Every detail is important in lieu of collating data across the fleet. Concise fleet data is a must to guarantee compliance. This can be achieved with the use of various tools like MS Excel and other high end software readily available in the market and helps in preparing business reports for planning, reviewing and budgeting. However, the mandatory requirement is that the Fleet Management software should provide the facility to track these vital data for you, from which you could extract the requisite data and conduct the analysis in MS Excel. There are many companies which provide Fleet Management Software which can help in achieving this.
2. Repair Decisions
It's so simple to answer questions about a vehicle that needs to be fixed or repaired. However, how about dealing with bosses who shower a volley of unexpected questions like:
1. What's the impact of the repair of this particular vehicle on the profits?
2. What's the degree of repair requirement - minimum or maximum?
3. Is repairing the vehicle better than a replacement?
4. Describe the cycle of failure between the next repair window?
5. How much time is wasted while the vehicle remains at the repairing center and is fit to assume charge?
Such questions are thrown back at the data analysts by the fleet managers and the process takes a while, hence, a lot of time is wasted. However, if only the data is streamlined and process automated, it will help in easy maintenance and extraction thereby saving a lot of time.
3. Incorrect Fuel Information
One of the toughest challenges faced by the fleet managers is the correct record of fuel expenses, which come handy during budgeting, planning and mitigation. The volatility of fuel prices makes it all the more difficult to keep a track record manually, which in turn is a requisite for cost-management strategy. Real time fuel updates include total consumption, excess and under mileage calculations. This is yet another hassle for the management. Thus, the compulsive need for comprehensive data arises as it forms an important part of cost-reduction solutions. However, a modern fleet management solution takes care of all the dynamic cost analysis and helps sort your business needs.
4. Optimum Use of the Vehicles
As and when the fleet grows, it is important for an organization to track the usability of its vehicles and to ensure that the vehicles of the fleet are used optimally such that the case of one vehicle is not being used at all while the other vehicle being preferred for all the duties, resulting into extensive use. This need should be managed by your Fleet Management Software. So long as the comprehensive data is missing, fleet managers will have a tough time in checking, which vehicles are lying idle in the parking space and which ones are used extensively. Hence the need for a viable fleet management solution is a must to keep a tab on all the vehicles and ensure that every vehicle is used to the best of its capability.
