What is Fleet Management Software and its benefits?
If you have a fleet of vehicles you should be using some form of fleet management software. Managing a fleet of vehicles is challenging, no matter how many vehicles you are responsible for. If you’re trying to do it without robust software, you’re leaving yourself open to legal penalties, and are certainly incurring additional time and financial costs.
Managing a fleet of vehicles is no easy task. Modern fleet management involves keeping on top of ever-changing compliance, vehicle maintenance, managing drivers, continually optimising performance, asset management, and much more. Whether you have two vehicles or 2,000, the only way to effectively manage your fleet and identify data-backed insights into how you can improve performance is by using Fleet Management Software.
Obviously, fleet management software comes at a cost. But day-to-day tasks, compliance, and logistics aside, using the right fleet management software is going to save you money in the long run – and we can easily prove this to you. That's why ABAX partnered with FleetCheck, the UK's most recommended fleet management system that is approved by FORS.
10 benefits of fleet management software like FleetCheck:
1. Vehicle management
Vehicle management is the backbone of fleet management software. It allows the fleet manager to have all the relevant information about their fleet of vehicles at a click of a button. The software will take all those time-consuming daily tasks that can be automated off your hands. Drilling into the data allows you to save costs in a number of areas. Most importantly, fleet software scales with the size of your fleet. It allows you to manage your fleet as it grows without costing you more in administration costs.
Every vehicle used on company business must be:
Fit for the purpose for which is it being used
Correctly maintained to a safe condition
Regularly inspected for defects and damage
Adequately equipped with properly fitted/maintained safety provisions
2. Monitoring costs
Without a robust system to track all fleet-related costs, it’s easy to lose track and overspend. All good fleet management systems will have financial controls. FleetCheck have taken this a step further. Their unique dashboard makes it easy to set and track financial KPIs. With hundreds of pre-set reporting options this gives you the power to drill deeper and run any custom reports of your choosing.
3. Safety
Daily driver safety checks are a legal requirement, and it is vital that daily checks are carried out thoroughly. Speeding up the administration part is a huge plus and a benefit of using fleet management software as you’re also able to keep up-to-date with changes in legislation through your dashboard as global notifications are sent out.
4. Fuel management
Fuel is one of the variable costs of running a fleet where you can make huge savings by implementing a few subtle changes. FleetCheck reporting software shows you exactly how much fuel your fleet is using, and highlights areas where you can make those savings. You can integrate your fuel card data into your FleetCheck account, which enables you to receive MPG analysis, spot maintenance issues causing excessive fuel consumption, identify possible fuel theft, and more.
5. Driver management
Fleet management software doesn’t just stop with your vehicles. There are also a number of important driver management features to ensure your drivers are legally eligible to drive and you can also schedule medical checks for your drivers, set up reminders for upcoming training, and flag drivers “high risk” drivers.
Staff members driving for your company (even occasionally) must be:
Competent and capable of driving in a way that is safe for them and other people
Hold the appropriate licence for the vehicle they drive and be properly trained
Aware of the minimum standards of driving and vehicle use expected by the company
Adequately fit and healthy to drive safely and not put themselves or others at risk
6. Route planning
Route planning plays a large role in almost all fleet operations, particularly for logistics companies. Fleetcheck uses telematics like ABAX solutions and GPS to provide real-time location and movement details for every vehicle in your fleet. This enables you to plan more efficient routes, notify drivers of delays, and make other adjustments while they’re on the road. You can also use this data to analyse driver performance, improve security, and a number of other benefits.
Routes need to be planned in a way that maximises safety and helps drivers avoid hazards
Work schedules must be realistic
Expectations of the drivers in terms of their hours/rest breaks must be reasonable
Consideration needs to be given in the event of adverse weather conditions
7. Notifications and Alarms
As a fleet grows, it becomes increasingly challenging to keep on top of maintenance, driver maintenance, and other key dates and reminders. Using Fleetcheck, you can set reminders and alerts so you’re notified of key dates and when something comes up that needs your attention. One of the main advantages of software is that it scales as your business does without the need to add more employee hours.
8. Improved compliance
Compliance plays an important – but complex – role in fleet management. Using a robust fleet management system is the only way to be sure you’re staying 100% compliant with the various policies, O Licences, and industry accreditations. Fleet managers are also able to roll out communications fleet-wide when necessary, and store documents electronically.
9. Analytics and reporting
Fleet-related decisions can only be as good as the data a fleet manager has to work with. The way you can view and dynamically use fleet data using software is a gamechanger for fleet managers. Being able to drill down on data to a granular level gives you the confidence to make better decisions. In addition to this, you can produce and share reports internally or externally with ease.
10. Reduced accidents and lower insurance
Fleet management software has been proven to help fleet managers reduce road accidents and improve driver safety. This is primarily due to being able to identify ‘high-risk’ driver behaviors and take action before they’re involved in an accident. As well as identifying vehicle maintenance issues before they become more serious. If you speak with your insurance provider, you may also be able to have your premium reduced due to having GPS, dash cams, and other technology that satisfies them that your drivers are better equipped.
How much does a Fleet Management System cost?
FleetCheck fleet management system will cost £6 per month per vehicle for their most popular ‘Professional’ plan. This works out at £720 per year for a fleet of 10 vehicles.
You can get a live demo of FleetCheck if you want to see the software in action and ask any questions. As ABAX partner, FleetCheck are able to integrate your ABAX mobility data into their platform giving you the best of both worlds.