Do you struggle with the complexities of fleet management? With tracking, tour management, fuel monitoring, drive supervision, and consignment safety, there’s a lot on your plate, right? Do you get time to sit down with a cup of coffee and strategize, or a cup of tea to relax?
Are you wondering why we didn’t mention vehicle performance management in the above list? Because we know it is one of the more complex tasks of the system! Therefore, there is no way you should keep handling it manually!
If you’ve been wishing to make your life simpler, the best way to do it is to let technology handle what it can. In this article, we will talk about why you should use a fleet management software system to manage your vehicles’ performance. Dive into the article and see how your vehicles and business will thank you for using fleet management software!
Why Should You Care About Vehicle Performance?
Vehicles are all that your fleet is made of. Therefore, isn’t it obvious that the better the fleet’s primary component would be, the better your returns will be?
Let us make it clearer with an example. Imagine one of your organs malfunctioning for more than a week. In that case, your entire routine and bodily functioning will get disturbed and you’ll not be your most productive. Similarly, if even one vehicle doesn’t work well in a fleet, the entire system crumbles down and productivity falls exponentially.
While vehicles constitute your fleet, several things constitute the vehicle. This is exactly why vehicle performance maintenance can be so complex. To take care of your vehicle, you have to ensure that each part of it works properly – from the vehicle to the tires.
Managing so many things at once manually is almost impossible. After all, it is not only one but several vehicles and their smallest of components that need your attention. So, what do you do when you have so many responsibilities at hand but so few resources?
The answer is simple! You use your resources correctly and make the most use out of what you have. To manage your fleet effectively, you do not need to hire ten other people to take care of vehicle and route components. Instead, all you have to do is buy a subscription to a fleet management software system that will take care of all the manual work for you!
What Does Commercial Vehicle Management Include?
As we mentioned before, there is a lot more commercial vehicle management than what meets the eye. When we get into the nitty-gritty of what all a manager might have to oversee in a commercial fleet, here’s what we come up with:
- Engine maintenance schedules
- Engine diagnostics
- Tire health and pressure
- Doors and locks
- Movable components such as steering wheel and pedals’ mobility
- Each sensor’s health and functioning
- Software connectivity
- Wires and small vehicular components
- Vehicle leasing, licensing, and financing
- Generating vehicle’s performance reports
- Stolen vehicle recovery
- Collapsed vehicle recovery
This is only a shortlist of everything that constitutes commercial vehicle management. Each of the sectors mentioned in this list has several other things that make up for the whole category. So much so that with multiple vehicles on the run, each component in this list requires a dedicated person to oversee functions.
Most fleet managers make the mistake of thinking that stolen and collision vehicle management is not too much. After all, with good security systems and drivers, how many times a week might managers have to deal with such traffic problems?
However, in practice, if a manager handles a fleet of 1,000 vehicles, there is a good chance for them to have to handle at least one such case each week. And each stolen vehicle recovery or collision vehicle management case takes the most time out of all vehicular management functions combined.
While managing one vehicle itself can be a cumbersome job, managing a fleet of several commercial vehicles is extraordinary. Therefore, in the next section, we will discuss how you can use fleet management software to easily manage your commercial fleet’s vehicles.
How to Use Fleet Management Software for Better Fleet Performance
Now that you know the kind of care vehicles in a commercial fleet need, you can imagine how complex doing it without technology would be. You’ll have time for nothing but vehicle management and will miss out on fruitful opportunities for your business!
In this section, let us look at the different ways you can use a fleet management software system to manage your commercial vehicles!
Complete Vehicle Log
When managing a huge fleet, managers can lose track of the number of vehicles they are managing. Therefore, they can negate specific vehicles that usually function smoothly and hence, do not need a lot of attenuation in general.
However, missing out on maintaining and supervising each vehicle is a huge issue in fleet management. At the same time, a single person can’t remember and keep tabs on over ten vehicles in one go.
This problem is easily solved by software. Wondering how? Let us explain!
Whenever a manager procures a new vehicle for their fleet, they need to enter its information on their fleet management software. By adding such information, the software displays the vehicle on the dashboard among the other vehicles in the fleet. Since all vehicles will be clearly displayed on the first page of software, managers can keep up with all the vehicles in real-time.
Disconnectivity Sign-on Software Dashboard
The whole point of fleet management software is that vehicles are connected to the cloud for seamless data transfer. However, many-a-times for several unforeseen reasons, the vehicles might lose connection and hence cannot be tracked and managed.
If you use a good fleet management software solution, this problem can easily be overthrown. The dashboard where all vehicles are logged should show which vehicle is connected and which isn’t.
Since this is not the information most managers would actively be looking for, software should show this status on the very first page. Therefore, whenever a vehicle is disconnected, even the most passive fleet manager will know. Therefore, they can take timely action to avoid losing productivity.
Keep a Tab of Maintenance Schedules
The most straightforward yet tedious way of keeping up with vehicle maintenance is keeping up with maintenance schedules.
When vehicles are timely sent for maintenance, there is a larger possibility for them to be able to run efficiently. However, with multiple vehicles at hand, a fleet manager can’t know which vehicles are due for maintenance.
To negate this problem, while logging a vehicle in the software solution, managers have to also enter the maintenance schedule. It is then the software’s responsibility to send alerts to the manager reminding them of a vehicle’s due maintenance date.
Make Use of Sensor Integration
Fleet management works best with several sensors installed in the vehicle. Sensors such as tire pressure monitors offer real-time information to the manager about how well a vehicle is working.
In case of a threatening situation, such as a cabin temperature frequently fluctuating or tire pressure falling, managers can get alarms. This way, vehicles do not have to wait till their maintenance due time to get repaired. The sooner the problem is solved, the longer the vehicle will sustain.
Sensors are the best way to increase fleet efficiency because they
- Collect unique data from the vehicles
- Allow better insights to a fleet’s performance
- Constantly keep each vehicle’s functioning under surveillance
Theft and Security Alarms
Any good fleet management security system offers managers to install and activate security alarms. With functions such as parking alarm, immobility, and e-locks, managers will know if the vehicle has any movement it shouldn’t have.
For example, if the manager has set the vehicle in parking mode but it still starts moving, the manager will get an alert. Similarly, if the manager has activated an e-lock but it suddenly opens, the manager will get an alarm concerning their consignment’s safety.
These safety alarms paired with live tracking allow managers to take timely action to save their vehicles. The alarm will let them know that something fishy is going on, and then they can track the vehicle to figure out its location so that they can immediately send help.
Improve Your Fleet WIth the Best Fleet Management Software
In this article, we have walked you through all the reasons why you should get fleet management software for your vehicle’s longevity. After all, the healthier the vehicles, the better your overall fleet will be.
From manual service reminders to automatic damage detection, the best fleet management software will detect it all! What’s better is that software is much cheaper than hiring a team of freshers who perform all the software’s functions manually.
To make your fleet the strongest and most efficient, you must use the best fleet management software out there. For this, you should check out TrackoBit, India’s fastest-growing telematics software! Head to their website to get a free demo now and your vehicles will thank you!