Whether your fleet is just a few vehicles or a few hundred, properly managing it and staying on top of the multiple challenges, details and requirements can be an overwhelming task.
From finding cost-effective solutions that control fuel prices and cut operational expenses, to figuring out new ways to ensure driver safety while complying with government regulations, fleet management can be a complicated undertaking with lots of disconnected nuts and bolts coming at you from every direction.
However, fleet management doesn’t have to be so co
mplicated and discombobulated. Software solutions and technologies can simplify and streamline the management of your assets on a single platform that is cost-effective and comprehensive.
How Single is Smarter
A single platform can help you save time and money and improve fleet efficiency, productivity and profitability by providing useful and measurable data through the monitoring of various metrics, such as:
- Driver behavior, including speeding, excessive idling, harsh accelerating and braking
- Time drivers spend on-site
- Route efficiency, including if drivers are following approved routes, making unscheduled stops or taking extended breaks
- Number of deliveries/jobs completed per day
- Fuel efficiency and tank monitoring, including idle time for each vehicle, empty miles, fuel delivery scheduling, inventory monitoring and tank readings to detect leaks or theft
- Vehicle availability
- Fleet asset utilization
- Preventative maintenance and unscheduled repairs
- Hours of Service (HOS) recording and EPA compliance
With the data collected on the platform, you gain insight into your overall fleet operations, which gives you the ability to:
- More easily identify opportunities that can provide a competitive edge
- Make quicker and more-informed decisions
- Develop cost-effective strategies that improve efficiency and profitability
- Uncover problem areas and make improvements
Why One Can Be Greater than Two
With fleet data collected in one centralized place, a single platform saves you the time-consuming hassle of searching for bits and pieces of information over several platforms and the even more time-consuming task of connecting it all together to draw conclusions, make decisions or solve problems.
The data you need is where you need it, available when you need it and is not only accurate and detailed, but is also presented in a format that’s just as easy for you to read as it is to share with your colleagues.
Additionally, a single platform gives you the freedom to spend more time on doing, rather than on training. With just one type of software/technology, getting everyone up to speed is a much quicker and less confusing process than if training was required on multiple software solutions or technologies.
Plus, there are clear advantages of partnering with a single vendor, including:
- Problems that occur will likely be resolved much quicker than they would be if you were working with multiple vendors
- Less compatibility issues, because the products are designed by the vendor to seamlessly work together
- The ability to deploy new features more quickly, since running on one vendor’s platform means you have the necessary infrastructure in place to make changes
- Simplified billing — one vendor, one invoice
- Typically lower in cost, since you’re not buying individual software solutions and technology
There’s a wide range of single-solution platforms in the marketplace. Getting the greatest and fastest ROI from a single platform means choosing a vendor that has the data collecting, monitoring and reporting capabilities that best suit your fleet’s needs, objectives and budget.
It also means, when speaking with potential vendors, ask questions, check references, learn how they manage product and make sure they have the training and technical support capabilities you require.
Learn how PS Energy’s asset management platform etrac™ can help you improve the efficiency and productivity of your fleet operations.