All fleet companies, small and big, want to increase their productivity while cutting fleet costs as best as they can. Ever heard the saying — you've to spend money to make money?
However, to most fleet companies, it isn't that simple. A well-managed and efficient running fleet company must include cost-saving ways to boost their productivity. By streaming your day-to-day operations, you will perform more work but fewer costs.
To save you the hassle, let's discuss 9 secrets to cut fleet costs.
1. Precise payroll calculation
Picture this - your driver(s) begin working late on Monday morning, and on Tuesday afternoon, they clock out earlier than expected. But their submitted weekly timesheet shows official start time and end time for both days. The driver(s) seem untruthful about their working hours, therefore, just like how you bill customers for service hours, the same should apply to your staff.
Inaccurate timesheets or staff rounding up their working hours is an additional cost for any business. Thus understand how to accurately calculate payroll or invest in reliable fleet management software (FMS) that track and report every fleet-related activity.
2. Vehicle maintenance to minimize roadside breakdowns
How much does your company lose whenever its car breaks down? When you track miles driven and enhance proper vehicle maintenance, you will significantly avoid repair costs related to roadside breakdowns.
So stay up to date with the fleet service requirements and maintenance schedule to improve vehicle performance. The right GPS car tracking solution offers you the benefit of maintenance reminders and regular service — based on mileage, data, or hours of use — which would help save money and time.
3. Stop unauthorized car usage
Do your fleet drivers use company vehicles (and fuel) on personal errands in-between jobs or after working hours? If so, this adds up vehicle wear and tear not to forget fuel bills.
You better stop this to limit draining your company resources. Moreover, invest in GPS fleet tracking system to monitor your vehicles and restrict unauthorized car usage.
4. Track fuel consumption
It's no secret the main drain to any fleet's operational budget is fuel — it accounts for approximately 40% of fleet expenses. Fuel budget exceeds due to inefficient route planning, traffic congestion, road work, fuel theft, poor driver behavior, and accounting errors.
Installing tracking solutions in vehicles will monitor drivers' idle hours and poor driving behavior. Also, to prevent fuel card fraud — which is common nowadays — invest in fuel card integration merged with GPS car tracking.
5. Driver training and safety
During lunchtime, your driver parks the vehicle with engine running, radio basting, and air conditioner functioning! What a fuel wastage on unnecessary idling? Other poor behaviors like harsh cornering, over speeding, and hard braking, might both waste fuel and increase accident chances.
Offering fleet focused training on safe driving, vehicle maintenance, and excellent customer service is the key to eliminating unwanted costs and increase productivity.
6. Optimize routing efficiency
Do you know that drivers spend time preparing and planning their routes whenever they leave to make a drop-off or a pick-up? What if you could use GPS tracking to streamline this process and lower fleet costs?
An efficient routing system that's satellite technology backed gives real-time updates in traffic congestion, construction, accident, or other route change reasons. Besides, you can easily track the shortest routes and encourage your drivers to use that route. This will significantly reduce fleet costs and better response times.
7. Avoid electronic logging devices (ELD) violations and fines
Neglecting ELD terms and conditions might welcome hefty fines, burning a hole in your fleet business's budget. In fact, many ELD violations (approximately 22 and above) will pull down your CSA (compliance, safety, and accountability) score.
With low CSA score, expect higher insurance premiums, more inspections & audits, and low business sales. ELD violations and fines are a budget leak to a fleet company, so comply with their rules and regulations to avoid them.
8. Improve overall driver behavior
In a fleet business, your main asset is your drivers. However, every driver is trained or even experienced on different levels and will have varying work ethic. You can alter driver behavior by keeping tabs on daily fleet tracking reports.
You can also discourage poor or reckless driving behaviors by going for fleet management technology that provides driver performance tools like audible alerts for over speeding or hard braking. Curbing such practices will reduce fleet costs — from fuel to maintenance costs.
9. How much is your time worth?
Save time to save money — time is money. No matter your company role, time is valuable. Do you maximize on time when executing same company reports, building graphs, or generating same charts regularly?
It's essential to find ways to not only streamline but also simplify daily activities that cost much time and resources than they are worth.
Bottom line
Employing the above 9 secrets to cut fleet costs will give you insights into your fleet company smooth operations from managing FMS, drivers training to better customer service with less hassle.
Just imagine running your business having all the fleet metrics at your fingertips — high ROI with fewer expenses. For more information, feel free to contact us today.
