If your business operates five vehicles and over, congratulations, expanding in this way now means you are the proud owner of a vehicle fleet.
This means that you are in a better position to manage your own business logistics. Perhaps this could take the form of deliveries, providing your salespeople or tradespeople with vehicles to travel from place to place, or the ability to haul freight as required.
However, this business expense can be quite a steep one, and so it behooves us as a firm to make sure we operate this fleet as productively as possible.
Thankfully, this is more than possible with a little foresight and a little extra investment in both time and energy.
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But what are the most important principles we need to use when managing and maintaining our business fleet? What steps should we take to ensure this organized structure isn’t wasteful, but effective, efficient, and timely?
In this post, we’ll discuss the best methods to ensure stellar results:
Dedicated Fleet Managers
As a fleet is an ever-used logistical entity, it requires someone to look over it full-time. This can include hiring a professional fleet manager with prior experience.
In this role, your fleet manager will spend time tracking your drivers, filling out important paperwork, ensuring your vehicles have the correct road, title, and liabilities insurance necessary to operate.
They will also be involved in recruitment, ensuring that you bring on drivers who are fully qualified and have a good driving record. They can also arrange temp drivers by outsourcing staffing agencies if some of your staff are off sick or otherwise unable to work.
They are worth their weight in gold, do not be afraid to use them!
Tracking Software & Metrics
It’s not only important for you to track your fleet, but to measure their effectiveness. This process can quite happily include the willingness to optimize route planning to make sure that fuel is saved over time. It can be focused on making sure staff know the limits, such as using vehicles after hours.
It can also help prepare worthwhile fueling efforts such as partnering with a fuel station, combing a bulk discount when refueling your fleet vehicles over the course of a day. Tracking software is a means by which to keep on top of your driver’s activities, including accessing localized GPS information. This can all contribute to the effective daily and long term maintenance of your fleet.
Fleet Maintenance & Repairs
Vehicles, especially vehicles that carry loads or are being used often, have the tendency of breaking down, needing repairs, and requiring regular servicing.
For this reason, using an auto body service that provides quality car repair no matter the context can be a valuable asset. This can ensure that your cars are routinely operational, that large issues are spotted ahead of time, and that only rarely do your vehicles have to be taken off the road–because when they are, they cannot make you money. By investing in a great repair service, you’re investing in your long term fleet health, and the safety of your drivers.
With this advice, we’re certain your business will manage its fleet with the strength of virtue it uses to uphold your stellar and growing reputation.
