- Fuel Costs
- Vehicle Condition
- Driver Breaks
- Driver Location
Every day, fleet management handles all sorts of responsibilities to improve overall productivity in the business. Their functions can be anything from vehicle maintenance, telematics, driver management, speed and fuel management, and of course, satisfied customers and clients. Not to mention, it’s no easy task being responsible for every driver across a large area. That’s why companies must implement various fleet management systems and technologies such as telematics. Telematics technology can accurately monitor vehicle health, optimize the best routes based on your driver’s location, among other things such as driver safety.
However, even the most influential companies, like Amazon, face different problems that no independent fleet manager wants to deal with. Below are the common problems seen in fleet management that can easily be solved through management systems, such as telematics:
Fuel Costs: Without monitoring driving behaviors and where your vehicles are, the cost of fuel might be significantly more than it needs to be. Amazon may be a global franchise, but fuel is still an incurred expense. Speeding, driving in traffic, and going off the route for longer breaks are all contributing factors for increased fuel costs. Thankfully, telematics technology has made it possible for fleet management to monitor any contributing factors to excess fuel usage. Downsizing to smaller vehicles, such as sprinter vans, are also much more fuel-efficient than driving a 16-wheeler semi. Using sprinters are especially popular during the winter months, as they are much safer and can get to locations faster while keeping fuel costs down.
Poor Vehicle Condition: Your drivers might be putting additional wear and tear on the vehicles that are unnecessary to accomplish the job. Steps get ripped off, bulkhead doors get knocked off their track. Excess braking and speeding, idling for long periods, and neglecting necessary vehicle maintenance like oil changes, can cause your vehicles to suffer more than they need to. Telematics allows you to monitor the health of your cars based on how your drivers are treating the vehicles. It can also serve as a teaching tool to help educate drivers where they can improve their driving that will also extend the life of the fleet. Amazon DSP fleet owners know just how vital the vehicle’s health is to the business, which is why they encourage their drivers to get any necessary maintenance as part of their job requirements.
Longer breaks: When your drivers take longer breaks than they should, especially when en route for a delivery, it can cause significant disruption in the business. Companies like Amazon rely on their drivers, making customer deliveries within a specific window of time. Taking unscheduled or longer breaks can create new problems that weren’t there in the first place. Since Amazon is a powerhouse company, their drivers must be dependable, especially when it comes to not taking advantage of breaks. The most reliable and highest performing drivers know that even taking a longer break can jeopardize the business in more ways than an unhappy customer.
Unknown driver location: Any driver can tell you they are traveling southbound on the freeway or stopped at a red light 10 minutes from the delivery site. But if you notice your drivers aren’t arriving at a location when they should, or they ignore the schedule, then it’s time to implement a fleet management system that gives you the exact location of your drivers in real-time. It’ll eliminate any guessing game and also will allow you to see who your trustworthy drivers are.
If you haven’t already, do what the big companies are doing and implement telematics technology to improve your fleet management system. There may be a solution to every problem, but telematics also allows you to take your business to the next level and give you that desired competitive edge.