Fleet management costs continue to rise and one of the major costs every manager faces today is the cost of fuel.
A great fuel reduction strategy is to look at GPS tracking devices for improved route management.
Optimise the travel routes with GPS tracking devices
GPS tracking devices enable you to monitor your fleet’s location and provide the quickest possible route to their next customer.
Whilst the day’s pickup and delivery route may be planned often a customer will call with changes.
Most fleet operators understand they need to be a bit flexible with their pickups, deliveries and service calls to accommodate customer needs on the day.
(A Google map showing the current locations of two drivers with GPS tracked vehicles)
Not having to call the driver for constant updates on location makes it faster, simpler and easier for the fleet operator to give updates to the driver on their next stop and to maximise their time out in the field.
This lets your fleet drivers continue on their way without having to stop and research their route wasting their drive time and reducing their productivity.
Improve customer response times
When your fleet is in the field and you must service an additional customer you will be able to check the location of each of your available vehicles and select the vehicle closest to the customer’s location.
Doing this will reduce the distance your fleet vehicles must travel and increase customer satisfaction by providing fast customer service.
Also – if a customer calls for an updated, more accurate delivery, pickup or service time it’s very easy to check the fleet vehicles on an online map (e.g. Google Maps or Bing Maps) can be able to give the customer that information.
(Informing fleet drivers of accidents and heavy traffic will improve service times)
Avoid unnecessary delays
When you monitor the location of your fleet vehicles with GPS tracking devices you can instantly message your fleet when there is a traffic delay and provide an alternative route for them to take.
When you avoid having your fleet sit idle in traffic delays you will reduce the amount of fuel your fleet vehicles consume and will reduce your overall costs for fueling your fleet vehicles.
Slow down driving speeds, avoiding fines and losing licences
Whilst it’s important to get to the customer’s location quickly, road safety and keeping to the speed laws are also important.
Fleet drivers tend to drive more carefully when they know that their travel speed is being monitored by GPS tracking devices.
(the above is an example of the speed alerts from a Live Tracking system)
When your fleet drives sticks to the speed limits they consume less fuel and are more efficient.
By having a well-planned route and reducing navigation planning on the road, communication and administration time will make the driver more productive and they won’t need to speed to make good time – and this also translates to savings in fuel costs as well.
