How to Use Telematics to Control Fleet Costs

These days, it’s hard talking to any logistics manager without hearing them utter the word “telematics.” From GPS vehicle tracking to speed, mileage, and even driver behavior, telematics seamlessly record data and measurements from fleets, to provide managers with an easy way to identify issues and drive down costs.
If you are not utilizing data to improve fleet operations and reduce costs, then you are making a grave mistake. With so many of your competitors doing just that, and so many data-gathering possibilities, installing telematics boxes into your vehicles, is simply the smarter method of operation.
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Information gathered is sent straight to a telematics software program that enables you to easily interpret the data, and makes any necessary changes to make a difference to fleet operational costs.

So, how exactly can telematics reduce fleet costs?

Fuel Costs

When it comes to costs, fuel is right up there as one of the largest expenses a business must spend. And, aside from the necessary fuel needed to get to all planned destinations, businesses seem to be using up a lot of extra fuel, which in effect, is greatly harming your carbon footprint and, budget.

There are so many variables that can lead to extra fuel consumption, from harsh driving to mistakes on the road, to badly planned routes. From a driver’s perspective, these small variables may not seem very impactful, but in the long run, they can actually make a huge difference to the time drivers spend on the road – and, of course, overall fleet fuel usage and your savings.

And, while some fleets look to alternative fuel sources, these can take many years of strategic planning to set up, and of course, a lot more money allocated from the budget. For those businesses that alternative fuel isn’t an option, they should be constantly seeking methods of fuel reduction. Therefore, turning to fuel consumption data is the first step that should be taken.

Data gathered through telematics will enlighten you as to where your vehicles are, when they arrived there, and how long they remained. As a logistics manager, you aren’t on the road, therefore, data such as this, helps you discover any speeding, wrong turns, drivers not following the route, and so on. Therefore, once you have developed your routes online and have the added telematics software, your fleet operations will be fully transparent, and you’ll be able to make the necessary adaptations, improvement, and hold training, to ensure that your fuel consumption is at the level it should be, and no higher.

Driver-Caused Expenses

Hard acceleration, idling, speed inconsistencies, air conditioning use, and hard breaking, these are only but a few bad driving habits that can seriously impact a driver’s time, efficiency, productivity, and most importantly safety, while on the road.

Naturally, as a fleet manager, you want to ensure that your drivers are safe at all times, while they are behind the wheel and that they are as productive as possible. At the end of the day, it’s no secret that having proficient drivers can save your fleet a lot of money, and while at times, your drivers may think that they are helping you with behaviors such as speeding, they are actually doing quite the opposite.

With the extra fuel wasted while speeding, idling, and taking shortcuts, or worse, excessive wear and tear on breaks, the costs always end up higher than expected.

So, by constantly turning to data gathered through telematic solutions, you’ll be able to determine exactly what behaviors are leading to higher costs, and decreased safety. Using this information, you can hold training sessions on maintaining a constant speed, cutting unnecessary idling, encourage coasting, opened windows instead of air conditioning, and so on.

Be sure to constantly think about new ways to improve your fleet’s efficiency, and hold training sessions to encourage your drivers to be on the same page as you.

Increased Productivity

These days, technology is enriching every part of our lives, and for businesses making use of technology to gather as much information as possible, is the fastest way to grow and improve.

No matter whether you are looking to increase the number of deliveries you make, or accomplish your deliveries in less time, telematics solutions can assist, as they work to rapidly improve your fleets productivity levels.

Telematics systems can provide you with a game-changing real-time overview of your fleet, helping you make all avenues of your fleet more efficient. With telematics, you’ll be able to monitor all activities and performance and even focus on a particular performance metric.

These insights will enable you to make more informed decisions about your vehicles, drivers, and routes online – so you can save time and resources.

Even more many telematics solutions can keep you up to date with road and traffic conditions so you can ensure your drivers avoid congestion and delays.

Conclusion

So, no matter your business, if you rely on your fleet, then you will benefit from telematics systems. Telematics systems facilitate routing, navigation, workload, as well as productivity, and driver safety – all crucial factors to any fleet business.

With its ability to keep tabs on any and all metrics you need, a telematics system has huge money saving benefits, they are a vital component of any fleet business.

More so, with MyRouteOnline, you’ll be able to develop your routes online, to achieve overall operational transparency of your fleets and the costs that they are incurring.
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