Imagine this scenario:
You arrive at your worksite to find all your vehicles fueled and job ready before your drivers have arrived for the day. Even better—you have a report in your inbox detailing the number of gallons fueled, the type of fuel dispensed and the odometer reading for each vehicle. Now you notice in the report, a .08 savings per gallon over the price at the pump.
This scenario is not a fleet fairytale, it is mobile or on-site fueling. If you are looking to drive real cost savings by improving efficiencies, working with a fuel provider to develop a mobile fueling program for your fleet will get those objectives accomplished – all while lightening your workload.
Fuel is one of the biggest expenses and challenges that fleet owners face. Let’s take a closer look at how a mobile fuel program can help conquer some of those challenges and boost your bottom line.
Improving Driver Efficiencies
If your drivers fuel their own vehicles, you are not only paying for fuel—you are paying for the time and mileage it takes your drivers to get to the pump and the time it takes for them to fuel their vehicles.
This time consuming process is not making the most efficient use of your drivers’ time. It is taking away from what they are supposed to be doing which is delivering your products and services. Time lost equals revenue lost, which over time can really add up.
Furthermore, putting your drivers in charge of the vehicle fueling process opens up the possibility for errors such as inaccurately recording the number of gallons, misreading the odometer, losing or forgetting to turn in receipts, and possibly fleet fuel fraud.
No one likes to think of their employees ever wanting to steal from them, but unfortunately it does happen. With a fuel provider managing the entire fuel process—buying, auditing, pricing and checking—fuel fraud is not even a part of the conversation.
More than Providing Fuel
A mobile fuel program takes your drivers totally out of the fueling process picture. Here is how it works:
- A fleet fueling driver from your provider arrives at your facility and pulls up to the first vehicle
- He scans the vehicle’s barcode with a handheld device to confirm the fuel product the vehicle uses and records the odometer reading
- He fuels the vehicle and the handheld device wirelessly reads the fuel truck’s meter
- The process is repeated until all vehicles are fueled
- A comprehensive, detailed report is sent to your inbox unless you require a paper receipt to be left behind
Fleet fueling drivers are expertly trained and can fuel an entire fleet faster and safer than having each of your drivers refuel their own vehicle at a retail or card-lock facility. You get the gallons you pay for—no spillage, no gallons lost from vehicle idling, no fuel wasted to find a fueling location, no driver recording error, no lost receipts, no driver downtime and no fuel fraud. But yes, you do get savings and a streamlined process.
Hi-Tech Meets Personal Service
Mobile fueling requires more than a reliable truck and driver and the proper fueling equipment—it also requires a provider with the necessary software and technology to make the fuel managing process efficient for the parties involved.
Inventory management technology, fuel authentication software, geofencing software, billing software and data warehousing software are just a few of the technologies required.
While all of this technology is an essential part of a successful program, it is worth nothing if your provider is not delivering the best customer service. You should expect them to be readily available and supported by knowledgeable fuel experts who can leverage purchasing, pricing and hedging across multiple customers to provide savings and price predictability.
To get the ball rolling on a mobile fuel program for your fleet, talk with providers and go in with high expectations. To make your mobile fueling process as streamlined as possible, make sure a potential provider has a clear understanding of the travel habits related to miles per route, miles per gallon, types of assets and their tank size and times of dispatching routes.
Expect from your provider:
- Automated and validated transaction data supported by an electronic invoice down to each asset
- A service interval that gives you the best rate
- A plan that maximizes the fuel provider’s efficiencies so that you have a successful, long-term fuel program
- Reliable and dependable service
If your provider meets these expectations, you can expect one more thing—peace of mind knowing you are controlling costs while keeping your fleet running at full speed.
Talk to the team of fuel experts at PS Energy about their mobile fueling program.