Fleet Management Can Help Small Businesses All The Same
If you’re equating fleet tracking with the sort of business expense that is only worthwhile for the big guys, then you are mistaken. Fleet tracking can and does help you lower operating costs and make your business, even if it is a small one, as profitable as possible.
The idea is to boost productivity, enhance cooperation between various segments of the team, and make a fleet manager’s job as calculative and precise a process as possible.
This is how modern fleet management software works, and here’s how their features help small businesses specifically:
Increased Productivity
The biggest part of any fleet manager’s job is to get the best out of their team of drivers every day. However, planning and scheduling ahead of time can only do so much – following the plan is the most important part of all.
But how can fleet managers, sitting in their offices, determine whether or not drivers on the roads are doing as planned or not? Conventionally, you’d have to rely on the truthfulness of your team, but that’s not how business is done in the modern marketplace.
Now, you have fleet tracking to better track your workers’ performance and help them if they hit a rough edge. It would be wrong to view the powerful tool as merely an over-glorified surveillance system. Fleet tracking is beyond simple location tracking. It is a “management” tool.
The biggest argument that people come up with against fleet tracking is that it invades a person’s privacy. Let’s consider this argument true for a moment, which it is not considering that it is the company asset (vehicle) being tracked and not the person driving it, but does fleet management not increase the overall operational efficiency of a team?
The answer is yes.
When a team gets more work done daily, the business grows, and inevitably, the prospects of professional growth for the employees also go up.
It’s a win-win for everyone!
Better Transparency
Imagine a fleet manager’s position without a fleet management tool or any other way to execute any fleet tracking protocols effectively. This person has to give orders, reroute drivers, manage their driving behavior, squeeze in emergency orders, and much more without knowing where everybody is.
Isn’t this a mess?
When we speak of transparency, we don’t necessarily mean it as a guarantee for business owners to use their company assets solely for company work. However, this is as important as anything else. Instead, we refer to the importance of complete transparency from a manager’s perspective – to allow them to execute informed decisions.
Everyone benefits from transparency, even your drivers, since they’ll be assessed based on pure merit, i.e., there will be no differential treatment based on likes and dislikes.
Efficient Record Keeping
You can also do away with manual logs and registers for maintaining employee records. Job performance reviews are an important part of the duties of a fleet manager, and it makes sense to assign duties based on merit alone. However, judging someone’s performance based on data they provide and which can’t be verified on your end, at least not completely, is pointless.
You need to develop a system where your records are error-free.
We are not trying to instill any paranoia in you, your employees are most likely honest people doing their jobs, but it is easy to become forgetful about what you did and what you couldn’t do, at the end of the day, after so many grueling hours of non-stop work. Give them a break from those daily logs.
Instead, you can use the daily records and entries created by the fleet management tool to better assess performance and progress. This way, you save time, work with accurate data, and will be able to find areas of improvement which would’ve been otherwise impossible.
Your records will be smoother than ever before.
Effective Management Of Drivers’ Behaviors
Next, you need to stay in the loop of all that is happening on the road, much more than your company’s reputation is at stake here. Unsafe driving can create road safety hazards, and in the event of an accident, your company will also be liable for the losses sustained by the victim.
This is both unfortunate and highly alarming: your hard-earned money will flow out in an instant, thousands of dollars in the very least, to compensate for the losses incurred upon the victim. Of course, all of this can be preempted with a change in driving behavior.
You need to educate your drivers about how important you put on road safety and why it matters to you and your business.
But on the road, they’re free to act – or at least, they would’ve been if they were not being monitored. Fortunately, modern fleet tracking systems are meant to improve your employees’ driving behaviors, which also means that they have sophisticated features to keep you in the loop of everything.
You’ll be the first one to know if one of your drivers is speeding, accelerating swiftly, hard braking, taking swift turns, and so on. The best part is that you don’t even have to keep your eyes peeled at the screen for such updates since you’ll be notified as soon as something like this happens.
When you learn of it, act swiftly to preempt any disaster.
Better Assessment Of Team Members
Meritocracy is the way forward. You will never get the best out of your workers if they feel that you have certain “favorites.” The only remedy for this is that you create a system where people are rewarded and praised for their performance, nothing else.
By comparing performance and stats, you can see who’s doing the best job.
The same can also be applied on the other extreme, i.e., you will also be able to spot people who are constantly underperforming. Of course, the rest will be up to you. You’ll have to put your leadership skills to the test and get the best out of each driver.
Discuss weaknesses and performance issues to find a way forward, as a team leader, not a stiff boss man – no one likes that!
Better Management On Both Ends
Fleet managers have to manage their fleet vehicles and deal with customers on the other end. Imagine having your client on the phone asking for an ETA, but you have no idea where your drivers are at the given point. How will you update them?
Estimates and spun statements are not the way forward when it comes to business excellence. You need to be precise, straightforward, and most of all, truthful. A customer will appreciate it if you were to give them an exact timeline, or at least the most accurate estimate.
With the level of transparency delivered by fleet tracking, fleet managers will be better able to communicate on both ends and answer customer queries accurately. Thus not only does GPS fleet tracking help managers take care of their vehicles but also their customers.
Thus customer satisfaction is also assured with timeliness and better communication!
Improved Route Planning
Minimizing fuel costs and time requirements for the job is also important, and that can be done by selecting the most appropriate (not the shortest, but the smoothest) route for every travel. Only with the help of a sophisticated algorithm that fleet tracking software offers can you choose the most optimal route for every travel.
This means no more getting stuck in traffic, no more unexpected delays, and no more traveling issues for your drivers. You’ll have to plan your route ahead of time to help your drivers stick to a plan and get everything done within the proscribed time frame.
The best part is that these algorithms will help you reroute even on an emergency basis. Suppose if there is an unexpected traffic influx on a given road, your app will inform you of this beforehand. Thus even sudden changes won’t escape your notice, and you’ll be able to reroute optimally.
Route optimization helps you save time, stay on schedule, and lowers fuel costs, which is more appreciated for small businesses and small fleets.
How Simple Can Fleet Tracking Be?
Now that you’ve seen that fleet tracking is a sophisticated process and can do much to help you improve your business let’s take a look at how simple it is. Luckily, the process, on your end, despite its complexity under the superficial interface, is rather simple.
Here’s how fleet tracking is so simple:
Buying The Subscription
For fleet tracking software meant for small businesses, the terms and conditions should ideally be not too binding. Fleetr, for instance, does not subject clients to any binding contracts, hidden fees, additional charges, a minimum on the number of vehicles to track, and so on.
To better understand whether or not a fleet tracking business is meant for small businesses and will simplify the fleet management endeavors for you or not, you need to start looking at the terms and conditions. If you find something that fits the picture and does not have any complicated terms and conditions, then you’re good to go.
Fleetr will only ask you for a $9.99 per vehicle per month subscription fee/rent, which will cover everything; talk about simplicity!
Installing The Tracker
Once you purchase the affordable subscription, all that remains is installing the tracker. You’ll get the tracking equipment shipped to your address, and all that you have to do to install it is to find the OBD panel in your vehicle and plug it in. It’s that easy.
This is called a plug-and-play feature which means that the device will start working as soon as you plug it into the relevant port. In contrast, some trackers have to be hardwired by professionals, which requires additional time and money and is also much more complicated.
For Fleetr, the tracker is a simple plug-and-play device that has no complicated installation requirements.
Configuring The Application
Once you plug the device into the OBD port, you’ll have to install the application on your mobile phone and computer. Having an app on both systems is important as it will allow you to better manage your fleet vehicles both from your office and on the go.
The Fleetr app is compatible with both computers and smartphones, making the process much simpler than otherwise (having to log into your PC every time to check for notifications). Once you install the app, either from an app store or directly from our site, the configuration is as simple as things get.
Just tap into the plugged-in device and adjust your settings to your liking, especially the notifications and alerts; after this, you’re free to use the app.
Using The Application’s Different Features
Next, you’ll be free to use the app and dive into all of its features. Despite the wide array of functionalities offered, the application appears minimalistic and simple in its interface; this is intentional. The idea is not to intimidate you with complex stats and whatnot.
Instead, you get a user-friendly interface with several feature buttons to help you track your vehicles, note their speed variations, location history, aggressive driving behavior, idling, and so on. The idea is to deliver all of the high-end features in an affordable and simple-to-operate package.
No technical education or specialized training is needed to learn how to operate the app. As soon as you look at the screen, you’ll start working things out like it’s second nature to you!
Fleetr Is The Definition Of Being Simple & Effective In The Tracking Business
By now, this much is clear: Fleetr is as simple as things get in the world of fleet tracking. Not only does it offer a hassle-free subscription process with minimal requirements but also an easy-to-use application that will keep you informed about the current state of every fleet vehicle under your umbrella.
Simplicity and effectiveness are two traits that go hand in hand for Fleetr, plus we offer you all the freedom you need, so wait no further and call us today to get tracking!
