Technology Tools to Cut Your Fleet Expenses

by Reggie Moore Professional writer and proto entrepreneur

Technology Tools to Cut Your Fleet Expenses

Innovative and disruptive are some of the adjectives used to describe contemporary fleet management technologies. A few decades ago, the only technology at the disposal of fleet managers was the Global Positioning System (GPS), and they were contented. Nonetheless, the current situation calls for more robust and complex technological solutions to thrive within the competitive fleet management ecosystem. Fleet management efficiency is the bottom-line reflection of an organization. For a fleet management organization to become efficient, many innovations are needed to help with automobile management, maintenance, payment, fuel management, among other challenges.

Luckily, there has been a surge of several innovations to tackle those challenges and even aid a fleet manager to stay in control even in the future. This article gives an insight into some emerging innovations and how they are changing the fleet management game. Let us dive in:

Telematics

Telematics is defined as asset-and-vehicle tracking sensors, GPS, cams, and several other innovations and tools. The discovery of telematics can be traced back to the 1960s, but it has grown over decades, and it is omnipresent across systems entrusted with managing fleets. Telematics is closely associated with nearly all aspects of fleet management, thus making it indispensable. Let us look at some of the crucial roles telematics play in fleet management:

Real-time updates

Thanks to telematics, fleet managers receive real-time updates in their gadgets, thus consigning guessing into oblivion. The real-time updates allow managers to be flexible with their operations, which leads to an increment in profits. Apart from rising yields, intelligent monitoring also enables fleet managers to react better to external factors such as bad weather and roadblocks.

Reduced fuel expenses

Telematics provides fleet managers with comprehensive reports on the idling of automobiles and fuel consumption. The correct analysis is all a fleet manager needs to pinpoint and rectify instances contributing to pointless fuel usage quickly. In addition, telematics cut down fuel consumption costs by ensuring optimal vehicle performance.

Internet of Things

When it comes to fleet management, the internet of things (IoT) and telematics are closely linked. Nonetheless, there cannot be a discussion about technology tools, which cut fleet expenses without acknowledging the current advancement of sensor technology.

IoT gathers information from different sensors and enables fleet managers to utilize these data fulfilling several goals such as idling, vehicle performance, and speeding. In addition, fleet management companies get to know the location of drivers and vehicles and identify a potential problem with the car soon enough for disaster to be mitigated.

Big Data

A typical fleet-management organization has a lot of data points. The data is crucial since it makes the process efficient. But collecting a lot of data without a way of processing it nullifies the whole process. Hence, the reason for embracing big data. Driven by machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) is the world's innovation required for fleet management.

Now, vehicles, drivers, routes, and even location is a possible data set. Courtesy of big data, AI, and ML, telematics can locate the most efficient route, which ends up cutting down on fuel cost. Big data also provides discernment into fleet problems, like aiding drivers to avoid breakdowns, low tire pressure, and maintaining more automobiles on the road, thus promoting greater productivity. Intelligent fleet managers can utilize the data to reduce unexpected downtime, which can emerge due to a gap in routine maintenance. He or she can also use the data to monitor fuel usage, thus preventing fuel wastage from occurring.

Augmented Reality

AR is another technology, which is expected to assume an essential role within the fleet management space. From loading to driving, AR will play a massive role in nearly all aspects of fleet management. Let us have a look at some of the opportunities AR will initiate:

Easier maintenance and repair

AR is utilizing wearable innovations to check and update the conditions of different parts of a car. Imagine mechanics employed by a fleet management organization wearing smart glasses that inform them about a particular part. The AR wearable glasses are expected to make inspection simple and easy.

Simplified freight loading

Scanning all items before loading them onto a truck is time-consuming and expensive. With AR wearable, an employee can tell the status of an item and where it is supposed to go for more effortless loading. Though AR technology is still young, it is laced with many benefits; hence, fleet managers should embrace it now.

Blockchain

Blockchain regarding fleet management refers to the means of record-keeping where all players' records can be accessed, thus preventing meddling by staff members. Fleet management has a lot of record-keeping; hence, integrating blockchain is beneficial, and it can be done in line with some of the ways given below:

Payments Made Easy

Blockchain allows a fleet manager to create an automated payment system, which is transparent. The computerized system makes things easy for him or her and all the others parties involved. A smart contract, which initiates transactions once delivery is done, is an example of an automated payment system using blockchain that is essential to fleet managers. The benefit of having a design made from blockchain is its ability to eliminate mediators. If you get rid of mediators, then the cost of a product or a service goes down automatically.

Unalterable Record Keeping

Blockchain keeps track of driver's history, maintenance, data regarding routes, and even goods, which have been displaced by your fleet in the most honest and secure means possible. The unalterable records empower a fleet manager to make better decisions in the future.

Fleet Management Software

As noted earlier, it is not easy to run a fleet management company without some form of innovation in your corner. For example, you are continuously required to keep track of vehicles' location, route, and the number of trips they need to make in a day. You are also required to know the amount of fuel the vehicles consume, among other costs, and this is a daunting task. Luckily, there is fleet management software, which can automate and streamline all those processes. The software makes sure everything runs smoothly while also optimizing it. Process optimization conducted by the fleet management software is what cuts fleet expenses, and consumers like the tracking features available, such as last mile tracking.

All technology tools stated in this blog can independently revolutionize the fleet-management space. But fleet managers and owners are after maximum profits and not a revolution. Doing so demands striking a balance between all these technology tools and a detailed fleet management package.

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Created on Jun 16th 2021 09:41. Viewed 237 times.

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