Effective management means learning to save
It may seem counter-intuitive, but the truth is, it is quite possible (and easier than you may think) to manage your fleet effectively, while keeping overhead costs down. Certain sustainable practices will make all the difference come the end of the month, regardless of whether you operate a large, medium or small fleet.More so than ever before, given the current economic context, the field of fleet management is highly focused on cost management. Not only is cost-saving a major issue for organizations, fleet management operators are also keen to develop and deliver market solutions and services that are aligned with this preoccupation.
The first step is to realize that fleet management’s adoption of good practices can significantly reduce costs without neglecting either customer satisfaction or your own productivity. Too often, the initial hurdle is lack of awareness of what is available on the market, combined with lack of time and even willingness to conduct a thorough analysis, set priorities and decide what needs to change to accomplish better overhead control.
I believe there are some key issues that are fundamental in this respect:
- Improve vehicle selection, which means that the vehicle selection should include screen for such factors as fuel efficiency and durability;
- Provide company vehicles to employees who really need them, because in most cases doing the math will prove this is more cost-effective than reimbursement;
- Organize vehicles regular maintenance. Doing it you will certainly reduce both fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions;
- Run an adequately sized fleet for your operations, which involves objectively evaluating whether you have too many or too few vehicles for your actual needs;
- Encourage the adoption of a more economic and environmentally friendly driving conduct including promoting appropriate training.
Yet another key aspect is the choice of a suitable and efficient vehicle tracking system, meaning that it must really meet your company’s needs. Specifically, this should equate to a system able to draw and use the information provided from the various monitoring software tools available – keeping in mind that the purpose of such a system is to enable organizations to improve their business planning and know exactly what they can count on from their fleets.
The goal being, of course, to improve daily operations: gain time, enable real-time monitoring of what’s going on with company vehicles; improve customer service standards, enable near instant location of vehicles and, by offering a more complete service, allow you to organize more efficiently and distribute work, according to the needs of each client and capacity of the company. The sum of these actions will surely equate to savings!
I can assure you that if you keep in mind the issues that I’ve mentioned, and combine these with the right equipment, you are guaranteed to achieve a much better control of your fleet, increase productivity, and reduce costs.
Article written by Manuel Gomes Mota, CEO of Frotcom Lusitana (Portugal) in Fleet Magazine.