Managing a fleet of drivers can be a time consuming and complex task. There’s both safety and efficiency to think about, along with ensuring to represent your brand in the best light.
More importantly, your fleet plays a crucial role in maintaining your business operations, including shipping and distribution. A leading medication distributor such as KeySource Acquisition, for instance, relies on quality fleet management to distribute thousands of products daily to pharmacies all around the United States. Ultimately, your distribution strategy matters just as much as your product quality. If fleet problems delay your operations, chances are customers will walk away, even if it means changing suppliers and supplies.
As with any management operation, getting organized is vital to success. For the best performing fleet on the roads, consider these four ideas.
1 . Regular maintenance
Rule number one for fleet management is prioritizing the regular maintenance of your vehicles. Remember, anything that goes wrong with your vehicles equals downtime and loss of revenue. Ensure that you have a high-quality maintenance provider to keep your fleet healthy and on the roads. When it comes to a fleet, regular use puts a large amount of strain on everything from the engine to the wheels. To keep your fleet in great shape, consider the use of synthetic lubricants and be sure to find yourself The Best Oil Company. A perfectly maintained fleet increases your chances of success.
- Fleet management system
It’s essential to measure your performance to ensure that your company can improve over time. The best way to do this is to get yourself a good fleet management system. This software makes the process of vehicle tracking easier, but that’s not all. With a great FMS, you’ll access ROI data with the use of route optimization features. You’ll also receive data that tracks driver behavior, which can improve your fuel economy and decrease the likelihood of an accident. What’s more, you’ll access data about the health of your vehicles plus their location and safety.
- Fuel cards
A fuel card allows the drivers in your fleet to pay for fuel whenever they need to throughout their journey. There are plenty of management advantages to using fuel cards for your fleet. First up, there’s less admin because you reduce the need of keeping receipts or claiming expenses for fuel. Secondly, you can use a fuel card to monitor the productivity of your fleet. You can track routes, stops, and mileage and then use this data to improve the planning of your regular routes. Fuel cards often include discounts on fuel, so you’ll save yourself a bit of money too.
- Ongoing training
Ensure that you provide your fleet drivers with ongoing training to ensure that productivity remains consistent. Driving for work can often involve long hours, so your workforce must understand health and safety issues. Give your drivers tips on how to stay healthy and safe within their profession. Train them on the ins and outs of the fleet management system so that they are aware of the data that is being tracked. Hold regular feedback meetings to ask your employees about ideas, concerns, and queries. Ensure that they know how to look out for vehicle maintenance issues so that these can be dealt with promptly.
To facilitate consistent improvement, be sure to analyze your performance data on a regular basis. With insights from a fleet management system, you’ll get a clear picture of your successes and weakness both.