What is Fleet Management
in 2021?

Fleet management refers to the administration, monitoring and coordination of a fleet. For each individual fleet car, fleet management can consist of all of the following tasks:

• Purchasing/leasing
• Vehicle maintenance
• Licensing and insurance handling
• Compliance with relevant laws and regulations (e.g. health and safety legislation)
• Damage and accident management
• Fuel management
• Vehicle telematics
• Vehicle resale/return to leasing agency
• Driver management

Fleet management is applicable to companies with a small, medium, or large inventory of cars and is hugely relevant in vehicle-related sectors such as taxi companies, rescue organisations and shipping companies.

A fleet manager is the employee responsible for vehicle fleet management. Whether the fleet be large or small, there are a wide range of topics - each requiring deep knowledge - that every manager of a fleet should cover. Below are some of the core tasks of a fleet manager, broken down:

Procurement

• Purchasing or leasing of the fleet
• Negotiating the terms of purchase/leasing agreements
• Vehicle management (e.g. tires and repairs)
• Eventual disposal management
  
  

Administration

• Parking ticket management
• Management of ‘smart repairs’
• Tank fraud
• Theft protection
• Analyses of fleet’s health and safety and accident prevention
• MOT checks

Driver management

• Communication with drivers
• Mileage tracking
• Driver license check
• Definition of ‘fair wear and tear’ on company cars

Sustainability management

• Environmental protection measures
• Cost containment through low fleet carbon emission: limited taxation and fuel consumption

Route history

You can view your vehicles’ route history with exact coordinates, including any stops made and the duration of each job. A fleet manager is then able to find any gaps in route efficiency and optimise the fleet accordingly.

Find The Nearest Vehicle

Locate and dispatch your nearest vehicles to a drop off/pick up request, provide accurate ETAs to clients and respond to last minute changes - essentially, be able to provide improved customer service.

Theft Warning

You can protect your fleet by receiving live alerts whenever a vehicle moves beyond a designated area or turns on outside of working hours.

Geofencing

Create virtual barriers around specified locations and be notified when a vehicle leaves or enters that barrier, giving you more control over your fleet and allowing you to be notified when high-priority clients are served.

Timefencing

You can set up time restrictions (and be notified when they are exceeded) to help drivers stay within legal HOS limitations.

Organised Parking

See which vehicles are on the road and which are on the premises of a business, and assign parking spots accordingly. This makes it easier for your drivers to find parking.

Data Exportation

Download all the raw data recorded by the fleet management system and put them to practical use. Instantly create employee time sheets or mileage trackers.

In the rapidly growing business terrain, fleet managers play a crucial role in industries relevant to vehicle-related sectors. Besides optimising transportation operations and overseeing vehicle maintenance, they work with other key departments to meet budgeting and organisational priorities. Here are some of the primary duties of fleet managers.

1. Record Accurate Information on Fleets

Fleet managers record and maintain correct data concerning company vehicles. Simply put, they keep a detailed history for every car in their fleet.

And that’s not all, they also examine the recorded data and extrapolate possible problems and solutions from this information. This allows them to change a travel schedule or reroute vehicles when needed.

2. Driver Retention

With driver shortages being on the rise, fleet managers help organisations stabilise and increase driver retention. By improving workplace conditions, creating mentorship programs, or simply building trust between drivers and the management, they pin down different ways to ensure drivers are satisfied and happy.

3. Fleet Tracking

To ensure vehicle and driver safety, fleet managers should know the exact location of company cars at any given time. This might seem simple enough, but the truth is tracking these vehicles can be a challenging feat regardless of the number of vehicles in the fleet.

That's where fleet management software comes in. Fleet managers mainly depend on GPS technology and other tracking systems to increase their vehicle safety and streamline their fleet operation.

4. Set Up Maintenance Schedules

It's the responsibility of fleet managers to ensure that company vehicles are in top shape to perform their various functions. This can be achieved by setting up a maintenance schedule. The service department often does vehicle maintenance.

External auto-service centers can also perform maintenance besides providing spare parts when needed. Through maintenance services, your cars will not only work flawlessly but also deliver services and products at a minimal cost.

5. Vehicle Acquisition

Fleet managers need to forecast the number and type of vehicles your fleet will need to operate effectively. You might think it's easy to purchase a new car when the need arises.

However, understanding and forecasting fleet utilisation is essential in formulating a purchase strategy. Market timing, vehicle lifecycle, and employee eligibility for a type of vehicle class all list among the crucial factors that contribute to an efficient vehicle acquisition strategy.

6. Total Cost Reduction

Another essential task for fleet managers is to identify and eliminate unnecessary expenses to help organisations create more efficient and cost-effective fleet operations. Your company's maintenance, operational, and fuel costs can quickly add up.

That's why you need a fleet manager to instate fuel efficiency programs or fleet management software to help your company increase productivity. These play a pivotal role in determining cost-effective solutions for your business.

7. Establish Situational Measures for Potential Problems

Fleet managers understand how various issues can prevent your fleet from delivering services on time. They can devise situational plans and solutions when problems arise. A good fleet manager should have detailed plans for conditions like traffic crashes, vehicle breakdowns, and other incidents that may happen while vehicles are traveling to their destination.

Although fleet managers can efficiently manage your vehicles, dependable fleet management software is critical to alleviating fleet management complexities. This software helps create an optimised fleet, plus simplifies administrative tasks, and thus saving the company money.

You have to install a piece of hardware in your vehicles which records and saves data at regular intervals for later retrieval. Data transmission can be either satellite or terrestrial-based.

Car fleet management is a critical part of modern business. Most businesses rely on vehicles to deliver services and products to customers. That's why these fleets need to be managed appropriately.

Contrary to peoples' opinion, fleet management is a complex role that needs wearing different hats and wearing them well. Although most fleet managers enjoy long, exciting careers, they require specific skills to thrive in their businesses.

From communicating with an array of individuals to multi-tasking, fleet managers need to possess many dynamic qualities and to be well-versed in various disciplines.

Great Time Management Skills

The best fleet managers must know how to manage time efficiently. With many customers ranging from drivers to upper management, they have to satisfy everyone's needs while ensuring they're running smoothly. A great fleet manager can prioritise the most vital things without being side-lined by emergencies.

Goal-Oriented

In tandem with being masters of time management, the best fleet managers are goal-oriented in every aspect of fleet management. Besides that, they employ metrics like fuel management to increase productivity continually.

By dedicating their time to achieve specific results, fleet managers govern their operations effectively. This, in turn, drives them to be creative in tackling the ever-changing challenges of managing fleets.

Ability to Multitask

A fleet manager needs to know how to handle their various obligations smoothly and simultaneously. They should balance everything for the fleet to run efficiently. With handling the management, suppliers, and drivers, fleet managers need to juggle various challenges and demands. Otherwise, their time as fleet managers might be short-lived.
Strong Communication Skills.

A fleet manager should be able to conceptualise ideas and efficiently communicate them both in writing and orally. Besides, it's wise for them to convincingly articulate their thoughts to their colleagues at any management level. This gives them an easy time communicating the fleet's needs and a receptive platform when proposing new initiatives and programs.

Patient and Flexible
Patience is undoubtedly a virtue of a good fleet manager. Any fleet manager, especially the newbies in the industry, should understand that it often takes time for senior positions to recognise their contribution.

Additionally, they should be able to adapt to changing business trends through strategic planning. This is because of the highly dynamic industry that's constantly evolving. So, fleet managers must adapt as necessary to get the job done right.

Innovative
The best fleet managers are resourceful and innovative, thinking out of the box to develop new ideas. By thinking about the future and being proactive, they're able to prepare for challenges and opportunities.

Accountable
Since your company's success rests on their shoulders, fleet managers should be accountable for maintaining vehicles, policies, and programs. They must understand the importance of playing their roles effectively and taking their responsibilities seriously.

A fleet management company provides services to help improve your fleet management services. Most of these companies offer a way to digitise through fleet management software. Some of the benefits that a fleet management company brings forth include:

• Improve customer service
• Cut costs
• Prevent vehicle misuse
• Optimise routes
• Find the right drivers

With thousands of fleet management companies out there, pinning down one that's suitable for your organisation can be pretty challenging. But there's no need to panic. Here are some of the things you need to consider when choosing a fleet management company.

Easy-to-use products
Remember that it's crucial to deal with a company whose products can fit into your company's day-to-day operations. A good sign to look for is whether that company offers self-installation or not.

No hidden costs
It would help if you were extra careful when it comes to making payments. One price might be way too high than you think. So, avoid going for a fleet management company that doesn't offer administration, installation, and de-installation charges.

Otherwise, you might end up spending more in the long run. Also, remember to find a pricing plan that suits you best. A reliable company should offer multiple pricing plans ranging from long-term contracts to short-term, besides monthly contracts.

Quality customer service
Knowing whether you can work with a particular company also depends on their customer service. The company's customer service should be personalised and available at all times. That way, you can rest easy knowing that you'll use the software effectively for years to come,

Today, Fleet management has been made easier and more efficient through management software. It helps you gain real-time visibility into your day-to-day operations while increasing your drivers' satisfaction.

Don't be left out. Take advantage of Vimcar's top-rated products to optimise your fleet for a more effective and productive operation.