Effective fleet management: strategies and tools

Looking for ways to increase revenue and reduce costs in transport operations is one of the biggest challenges for transport business owners. Among these strategies are acquiring better contracts and improving fleet management efficiency. Today, we’ll focus on the latter — exploring strategies for managing a vehicle fleet using GPS technology and mobile applications.

What does fleet management mean in practice?

Fleet management encompasses all activities related to the use and maintenance of vehicles in a transport company. This involves a range of tasks, from route planning and vehicle procurement to ensuring their proper technical condition and handling all formalities related to the cars owned. 

These activities also include several less obvious but ultimately crucial tasks such as ensuring safe working conditions for drivers, equipping vehicles properly, and managing fuel cards. 

Fleet management is primarily concerned with four key functions:

• planning: acquiring transport orders and designing transport routes,
• organising: securing personnel, trucks, and other tools necessary to fulfil orders,
• managing: overseeing drivers and ensuring their training and knowledge levels,
• controlling: monitoring costs, equipment wear, and the effectiveness of plan execution.

The ultimate goal of fleet management is to increase profits and continually reduce operational costs while maintaining safety standards and legal compliance.

What are the key elements of effective vehicle fleet management?

Effective fleet management in a transport company must be based on several foundational principles, which should be defined from the outset. First, it’s crucial to determine the size of the vehicle fleet over the next few years. Similarly, estimate the number of orders, the number of employees, fixed operating costs, and variable costs such as fuel consumption. Finally, assess the current utilisation rate of the vehicles to create a baseline for making improvements.

You should also consider the tools used within the company, including appropriate software. An example is the fireTMS system, which enables you to consolidate all documents (both paper and digital) into one place. You can enter vehicles into the electronic records and add detailed information about them, such as insurance periods, permits, inspections, vehicle equipment, and more.

A TMS provides the best performance and benefits when integrated with GPS telematics and mobile apps. This is crucial for real-time transport monitoring and quick communication between dispatchers and drivers on the road. It makes it possible to verify whether planned routes are being followed and to respond immediately in case of any issues on the route.

Having a TMS integrated with GPS telematics and additional applications, allows you to manage your fleet of vehicles on an ongoing basis.

How do GPS systems and mobile apps enhance fleet efficiency? 

GPS systems have long been a cornerstone of the transport industry, providing real-time information about vehicle locations. This makes it easy to monitor the progress of orders.  A great complement to GPS telematics are applications that facilitate quick communication between the transport coordinator (such as the owner, dispatcher, or forwarder) and the drivers. For fireTMS, these are the fireTMS Dispo app for coordinators and the fireTMS Driver app for drivers. 

The fireTMS Dispo app enables:

• 24/7 access to orders,
• monitoring driver performance,
• checking transport statuses and tracking routes,
• reporting of results,
• generating reports.

The fireTMS Driver app enables:

• sending orders from the fireTMS system to the driver’s phone,
• uploading documents to the system as attachments, 
• access to truck navigation,
• access to GPS location system,
• access to online and offline maps,
• checking order status.

How to effectively plan and monitor the use of vehicles in the transport fleet?

Effective planning should be based on data analysis of the vehicles owned, their availability, and their suitability for orders. This depends on the vehicle’s condition, equipment, characteristics, type of load, and route. Using TMS software and additional solutions and devices, you can easily select the appropriate vehicle for a specific order and plan the route to minimise costs and equipment wear.

Quick analytics and easy access to reports are also crucial. These tools are invaluable in fleet management because they provide you with the means to quickly assess vehicle availability based on accumulated data, route reports, and equipment information. This is also important for handling vehicle breakdowns or expiring inspections and insurance. Using fireTMS tools, you can promptly respond by sending a vehicle for repairs, inspections, or purchasing insurance. 

Reports are also essential for understanding maintenance costs and fleet profitability. They enable you to identify profitable trucks and those that are unprofitable and should be assigned different tasks or sold. 

How can fleet management help minimise downtime and breakdowns?

By receiving information from drivers about breakdowns or equipment wear, you can plan parts replacement or repairs even before the order is completed. This helps minimise the risk of major breakdowns and reduces situations where the vehicle is in the workshop and not earning money.

For TMS systems that have advanced route planning tools using maps, detailed routes can be planned in addition, taking into account transport conditions. Additionally, you can analyse the route for empty runs and use this information when seeking orders on transport exchanges to maximise route utilisation. Furthermore, modern systems like fireTMS offer integration with transport exchanges, speeding up route planning and efficient fleet management. 

How to optimise fleet operating costs?

One of the biggest challenges for transport company owners is cost optimisation. While the number of orders can vary depending on the time of year or the overall economic situation, cost levels and optimisation potential depend on the strategies adopted by the owner or managers. Cost optimisation is achievable using appropriate tools designed for the TSL industry.

What costs can be optimised?

• Operating costs, including order handling.
• Fleet maintenance costs, such as insurance, permits, inspections, and repairs.
• Variable costs, such as fuel consumption and equipment wear.

Cost optimisation can be achieved using data provided by integrating the TMS system with GPS telematics and applications. This combination enables quick decision-making and better route planning in terms of costs and time. In case of any issues on the route, the plan can be modified in real-time. Additionally, the ability to analyse data over longer periods, such as a month or a quarter, is beneficial for optimising fuel costs by changing fuel card suppliers or negotiating terms with the current supplier.

What roles do training and certification play in maintaining high fleet safety standards?

Finally, training drivers and obtaining certifications significantly impact fleet efficiency. The ability to drive more economically in terms of fuel consumption and wear and tear on vehicle parts results in keeping the fleet in good condition and transporting goods safely. 

Reducing direct costs of various training courses and certifications may yield short-term benefits, but in the long run, it can significantly reduce the fleet’s earning potential due to increased accident rates, vehicle wear, or declining service quality.

It’s important to adopt an appropriate strategy for managing a vehicle fleet using modern tools. If you want to see how the TMS system can help you, try fireTMS with a free 14-day trial!