When setting business goals for the New Year, many small business owners look to increase efficiency and productivity while not necessarily adding manpower or additional expenses. If your business operates a fleet of vehicles, you should view your vehicle management as an opportunity to create savings. A strategic fleet management plan can help not only cut business costs, but also increase productivity and improve customer experience.
Here are 3 ways that a fleet tracking solution can help reach your business goals:
1. Lower business costs
If one of your business goals for 2014 is to save money so that your company can increase its bottom line, a fleet management solution could help. Many businesses that use vehicles for transportation, delivery, or other commercial services don’t always realize how much fuel is wasted by idling. Many first time Fleetmatics users allow their fleet to operate normally for a few weeks after installing the solution. After seeing a breakdown of how many hours are spent idling, a business owner can then set an idling threshold and be alerted when vehicles cross it. By cutting back on rampant idling, a company can reduce fuel costs.
Aside from fuel spend, another possible business cost is lost revenue from the result of vehicle breakdown due to improper maintenance. A fleet tracking solution can allow a fleet manager to keep track of last maintenance and even be alerted when service is due. Preventative maintenance can help keep vehicles on the road and in service, so that a business can continue to operate and earn revenue.
2. Streamline manual processes
Many fleet managers assume that their employees are telling the truth when reporting hours worked. However, when an employee rounds up hours worked or doesn’t document a lunch break, a business can lose money. Time card reports can help track payroll hours that reflect when a vehicle is started up in the morning and when it is shut off at the end of the day. Not only this, but these reports can be automatically generated and emailed to the payroll department or owner. When a company cuts back on manual processes such as logging timesheets, more time is available to focus on other aspects of the business.
3. Impress and delight your customers
A real-time fleet management solution allows the user to see exactly where every vehicle is at any given time. This can be a helpful tool when an emergency situation emerges at a customer site. A fleet manager may need to reroute a technician to get there as soon as possible. The manager can see which vehicle is closest to the customer and route the closest driver. When a business is able to serve its customers quicker and more efficiently, it can lead to a life-long relationship.
In addition to being able to attend to customers in an emergency situation, a fleet tracking solution also helps provide more accurate ETA or delivery estimates. When a customer calls the office to see when a technician is supposed to arrive, the dispatcher can easily check to see how far away the driver is and provide an update for the customer. In service industries, this can help lower estimated windows of time that a customer must wait for service.
Other benefits
A fleet management strategy can show additional benefits that stem from these three examples. If one of your business’s New Year’s goals is to decrease environmental impact, reducing fuel usage and costs also reduces the amount of emissions. This means that while your business is saving money and fuel, it is also lowering its carbon footprint. Improving customer support can not only create life-long relationships with customers, but spread the word about the great level of service that your company provides. With online reviews and word of mouth to spread customers’ positive experiences, you may also steal some of your competition’s business. A successful fleet management solution can help your business not only achieve New Year’s goals, but also to grow your customer base in the new year.
