A roadmap for success: 10 fleet management best practices

Managing a fleet of commercial vehicles is a big job no matter how many vehicles you have on the road. From small businesses with only a couple of trucks to large organizations with hundreds of vehicles on the road every day, every business can benefit from adhering to fleet management best practices.

In this article, we’re highlighting the impact that a robust and efficient fleet management strategy can have on your organization, from driver well-being to bottom-line benefits, as well as how to implement the practices that drive that strategy.

The positive impact of a solid fleet management strategy

Fleet management isn’t all about backend tinkering and transactions — the job requires a multifaceted approach to people management and technical prowess. When done effectively, a good commercial vehicle fleet manager or small business owner leaves a lasting impact on their organization.

Commercial vehicle driver training and wellbeing

The people who drive your commercial vehicles day in and day out while doing their jobs out on the road are the heart and soul of your business — and one of the most integral links in the operational chain. A well-optimized fleet with efficient routing and scheduling, prioritized driver training, and optimal vehicle health, can help enhance employee well-being and productivity, and contribute to a stronger safe driving culture among all employees.

Improved bottom line/cost savings

Fast-moving, fuel-efficient commercial vehicle fleets optimizing all aspects of fuel consumption, driver safety, and vehicle maintenance can improve your bottom line by saving you money on operating expenses. Aspects such as proactively scheduling preventive maintenance can reduce the likelihood of major breakdowns, thereby preventing costly repairs.

Improved operational efficiency

Achieving operational efficiency with your commercial vehicles requires using the right mix of fleet management solutions and tools, taking advantage of fuel card programs, and outfitting vehicles with handy telematics and GPS systems. When done correctly, you can experience a boost in operational efficiency by streamlining processes and gaining real-time insights into vehicle health, fuel efficiency, and driver performance. This is done all while enabling more proactive as well as more responsive decision-making for you and your team.

Reduced environmental impact

Implementing fuel-efficient technologies and adopting sustainability-forward vehicles, such as EVs or hybrids, can contribute to a reduced carbon footprint across your commercial vehicle fleet. Ensure that your fleet operation complies with environmental regulations and emission standards wherever it is that your business operates.

More data-driven decision-making

Analyzing data on fuel efficiency and consumption, vehicle performance, and driver behavior allows for informed decision-making and strategic planning. Regularly reviewing data enables you to identify areas for improvement and implement changes accordingly.

Improved employee satisfaction

Recognizing and rewarding good performance fosters employee satisfaction and motivation. A study by Gallup found that, of its database of employees who strongly agree that they’ve been praised for good work in the past week, those businesses could see a:

• 9% increase in productivity
• 22% decrease in safety incidents

Regularly expressing gratitude to your team goes a long way toward lowering attrition rates and improving overall team morale.

10 fleet management best practices for fleet optimization

To get your fleet of commercial vehicles running at its most efficient, consider how the following best practices can help your business streamline operations, increase safety, and promote better driving habits.

1. Complete regular (and scheduled) vehicle maintenance

Keeping fleet vehicles in good shape not only helps your team perform better while staying safe, but scheduling preventive maintenance can help reduce repair costs across the board. Instead of waiting for something to happen that requires a costly repair, you can prevent potential vehicle issues from happening altogether through the use of maintenance alerts and routine service scheduling.

According to the American Transportation Research Institute, the industry average per-mile maintenance and repair costs are $0.196, with exhaust (14%), and brake systems (5.1%) responsible for some of that spending. Getting ahead of repairs will help you keep those costs per-mile at a minimum.

2. Outfit vehicles with telematics and GPS tracking technology

Technology drives business efficiencies and telematics and GPS tracking are both examples of how technology can help your business become more efficient: if you haven’t already, consider equipping your commercial vehicles with onboard telematics. With telematics technology, you can track vehicle location and fuel consumption, and even get insight about individual driver behavior.

Analyzing collected data, you can identify opportunities for improvement across operations, recognize potentially harmful driving habits, and even discern instances of fraud.

3. Hold regular driver training and safety programs

To get the most out of driver training sessions, insight into employee driving performance is hugely helpful. Using data collected with onboard telematics, GPS tracking, and dash cam technology, fleet managers can customize programs based on actual driver behaviors.

As a bonus best practice, be proactive, not reactive, when it comes to driver safety. Waiting until an accident happens to take action could result in serious injury and vehicle downtime. Instead, invest in dash camera technology now so you notice and correct poor driving habits before they result in an accident.

4. Make fuel management more efficient with fuel cards

To manage fuel consumption, deploy tools for monitoring usage and detecting fraud. With the right insights, you can best implement strategies to reduce fuel costs across your fleet, whether by minimizing idling time, correcting poor driving habits, monitoring purchases, or simply suggesting that your drivers find the best fuel rates near them.

5. Think about and plan for better environmental sustainability

With some governments worldwide committing to net zero carbon emissions by the year 2050, think about reducing your operational environmental impact. Sustainable fleet management doesn’t mean converting to an all-electric roster of vehicles overnight — even for the bigger organizations with money to spend.

Instead, consider onboarding one or two EVs at a time, understand the feasibility, costs, and benefits of electrifying your fleet, and how they fit into the fleet ecosystem. It’s all about simplifying your energy transition and being able to marry ICE vehicles and EVs into a single solution that’s easy to manage. Every little bit helps!

6. Stay on top of compliance and regulation

Stay on top of state, federal, and local regulations, which can encompass everything from fleet maintenance and vehicle registration to documentation and reporting.

In 2023, the Department of Transportation (DOT) increased the penalty amounts of 68 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) by 8% to keep up with inflation. The increases apply to violations related to:

• Out-of-service orders
• Recordkeeping
• Non-recordkeeping
• Hazardous materials regulations
• Commercial regulations
• Operating authority requirement
• Tariffs
• Loading and unloading
• Evasion of U. S. Codes
• Reporting and recordkeeping

With the right fleet management tools in place, avoid hefty fines using the greater insight into operations you’ll gain with the right tools. Automate important vehicle maintenance alerts and many back-of-house accounting procedures and keep documents organized for easy access.

For a full list of penalties that have been increased, see 49 CFR 386 Appendices A and B.

7. Emergency preparedness

According to a recent survey, fleet drivers are involved in an average of 4.5 accidents per year. And while these accidents may vary in severity, an emergency response plan gives drivers guidance on taking appropriate action quickly and safely.

Developing and communicating an emergency response plan for accidents or breakdowns provides your commercial vehicle drivers with the necessary resources and contacts in case of emergency.

8. Hone in on cost management

Managing costs is pivotal for successful fleet management. For widest effectiveness, access to documents and records shedding light on your operational costs — and the time to regularly review those documents — will help you achieve success.

Digitizing these records is simple with the right fleet management solution. Analytics and reporting tools help fleet managers with tracking, visual reporting, and delivering actionable insights about spending behaviors to identify areas for improvement.

9. Commit to continuous improvement

Nothing is perfect, and there’s always room for improvement. As such, commiting to the betterment of your commercial vehicle drivers by encouraging feedback from staff and regularly assessing and updating fleet management strategies based on performance data will help you improve your business operations.

10. Leverage a fleet card partner for streamlined operations

Choosing the right fleet card partner can make the difference in running the most efficient operations with your commercial vehicles. Armed with all the necessary tools to help you succeed, a strong partner can help you manage, monitor, and save money on fuel; automate and streamline reporting; and facilitate your transition to a mixed-energy fleet.

WEX has the tools you need for better fleet management

WEX has an all-star roster of fleet-related products, tools, and services to help you get the most out of your fleet.

WEX speaks the language of small business operators. Whether you’re looking to modernize your insight and reporting efforts, save on fuel costs or take advantage of the latest GPS tracking technologies, WEX offers solutions to simplify the business of running a business. To learn more about WEX, a dynamic and nimble global organization, please visit our About WEX page.

Learn more on how to better manage your small business:

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