Using Fleet Management System for the FMCG Industry

For the FMCG industry to flourish, it is important that they invest in a reliable fleet management system. But why do they need automation in the first place? There can be several kinds of inconsistencies that can plague the fleet business, especially one that is dealing with perishable goods. They need to work on a short timeline to ensure no product goes to waste. 

In the following article, we will understand the way a fleet business can ensure that they do not have to lose their productivity and profits to inconsistent planning. Manual planning and fleet management can bring in a lot of errors that ultimately affect the business’ reliability. This is where a fleet management system comes in. It can help businesses figure out their loopholes. 

Operations of The FMCG Industry

The FMCG industry, while not vastly different to the logistics industry, has a lot of operations and challenges unique to them. But before we discuss the lacking points and issues with this industry, it is important that we see the operations of fleet businesses operating in the FMCG industry. 

Fleet businesses operating in FMCG have to work with goods that can go bad very easily. This is why the time frame it has for executing tasks is also very short. They also have to take care of their vehicle’s density so as to not damage delicate products. This can mean the need for proper data collection, understanding the demand for goods and planning their transportation accordingly. 

Challenges of Fleet Businesses Dealing With the FMCG Industry

We touched upon the reason why a fleet business needs to mitigate their challenges but what are these challenges. Let us look at the issues that can makes managing FMCG fleet difficult:

• Temperature Control: Goods with an extremely short shelf life need specific temperatures to stay safe for consumption for longer periods. But doing so during transportation can put a lot of issues for the fleet businesses. They have to make sure that their reefers are at the right temperature to make sure that the goods stay good. 

• Spacing Control: FMCG goods are often delicate and managers need to make sure that the inventory shrink during transportation is small. They need to manually plan how many products can go into a single carrier. They also need to study route densities to optimise their transportation. 

• Food Wastage: High rate of food wastage is harmful to not just a fleet business, but also to the environment, they have to discard the products that go bad and in a world where millions go hungry, it is not the most ideal thing to do. Often this food waste is burned which also harms the environment. 

All these challenges and issues might sound like small problems but can lead to huge losses for the company. This is why it is important that managers involve technology in their operations and optimise the issues. This can help with the scalability of the business as well. 

How Can Fleet Management Systems Help Fleet Businesses Mitigate Issues?

So how can fleet businesses use fleet management systems to their advantage? The solutions that this system has to offer provide a 360° optimisation system. They can use the solutions to not only tackle problems, but also to increase their productivity and profitability. Let us have a look at the solutions that make this possible:

Driver Behaviour Monitoring System

When on the roads, there are a lot of things that drivers need to pay attention to. One of these is their driving practices as a lot of road accidents can root in inattentive driving. This can affect the goods, leading to breakage as well. This is why the driver behaviour system can help managers monitor their driver’s activities.

They can see if their drivers are idling, overspeeding, harsh cornering, acceleration and excessive braking. This means that they do not have to lose theory products to mage caused by accidents and constant bumping.

Route Planning Solutions

When a fleet business operates, there is a lot of planning that goes behind it. This includes planning what routes to follow for fleet businesses as well. This decision needs to be made on the basis of route density and economical factors as well. Thus, the fleet management system can help by:

• Live Tracking: Managers can see the live location of their vehicles at all times. Thus, there is no chance of vehicle theft on the journey.

• Multi-stop Trip Planning: The system allows managers to create trips simply based on their halts and sequence. Then the system automatically creates a route best united for the fleet operations. This saves managers a lot of time, especially when they have a large fleet.

• Rote Deviation Alerts: The system makes sure that your vehicles always follow the route you have decided for them. Managers receive alerts when their drivers deviate because this can mean loss of both money and time in most cases.

• ETA: Managers are always aware at what time their vehicle will reach the destination. Thus they can use this information to communicate with their clients and increase visibility and trust.

• POD: What transportation is complete without POD collection. This is why the system allows drivers to use QR codes, OTP, e-signature, and geoverified methods to mark their POD. This reduces the chance of misplacement or consignment theft.

• Geofence: Managers can mark specific areas on maps as virtual boundaries. They will then receive alerts every time their vehicle enters and exits this area.

Sensor Integration

Sensors can be a great way for managers to collect more information from their vehicles. For running a cold chain fleet for perishable goods, this can come in very handy. Some of the sensors that can aid the management process include:

• Thermometers: These devices can help managers ensure that their reefer’s temperature is right throughout the journey. Thus, drivers do not have to manually stop the vehicle to ensure better temperature control. They also do not have to disturb drivers to get updates on the temperature of their vehicle at all times.

• Door Sensors: HAving sealed doors is essential to maintaining a reefer’s temperature. But constant opening can go unnoticed, even when making cold chain supply difficult. Door sensors make sure managers know when their vehicle/reefer’s doors opens or shuts. Thus, no boosting visibility and efficiency.

Conclusion

Running an FMCG fleet business can be tough but using automation can be an amazing investment. This system can help businesses eradicate any kind of issues from their fleet operations with accuracy and time efficiency. It also helps managers have better access to their vehicle’s information that in turn makes optimisation easy.

When looking for a fleet management system in the market, you should definitely consider TrackoBit in your search. This software is the complete toolkit that can help your business ensure higher productivity and profitability. Try out a demo today and see the system in action for yourself!