Maintaining a fleet and a business at the same time can be a very difficult task to accomplish. Both are jobs within themselves and require you to be hands on at all times. That being said, there are a lot of challenges that come with fleet management, but knowing what they are and how to overcome them can help encourage personal development and make things much easier for you. In this article, we’ll be going over what fleet management challenges you can expect to encounter and how you can overcome them.
Financing the Fleet
One of the most common, yet impactful challenges all fleet managers and business owners face is the cost of a fleet. You’re most likely aware of the cost of the vehicles you’re going to purchase. You can spend tens of thousands on the vehicles alone. Newer fleet managers often think that’s end of the investing. However, purchasing the vehicles is only the first part. Afterwards, you must invest more money into the proper equipment and technology that allows your fleet to operate on the roads. Some of this equipment includes electronic logging devices, anti-lock brakes and dash cams.
In addition, dot regulations for hot shot trucks and other compliance measures require close attention to detail to ensure your fleet operates within legal guidelines. Proper compliance not only keeps your fleet on the road but also helps you avoid penalties and enhance safety.
One other piece of fleet technology you need to have is GPS fleet tracking software. This software is what allows you to keep a watchful eye on the fleet and the drivers operating the vehicles. In fact, this software, along with the ELDs, are actually mandated by the government. GPS software also helps you come up with easier solutions for your fleet as it uses real-time GPS data. You can easily plan out more effective routes and ensure your drivers are always complying with the rules of the road. You can use the data compiled from the electronic logging device to come up with better strategies.
Struggling to Get Proper Maintenance
Just like any other vehicle, you want to keep the vehicles within your fleet in good condition. This is where fleet maintenance comes into play. However, you might be thinking that getting the proper maintenance for each and every vehicle can be difficult. Not only that, getting separate maintenance can cost a lot of money. Fortunately, there’s an easy solution to this problem in the form of fleet insurance.
Fleet insurance is a type of car insurance that’s exclusive to fleets. It works almost no different than the insurance you’d get for your personal vehicle. The only real difference is that you can add as many vehicles as you wish onto a single policy. It’s a great way to make sure your vehicles are safe to drive while saving hundreds, if not thousands, on top of it. Just keep in mind that you’re going to be paying around $3000 to possibly $7000 for every ten vehicles. You need to carefully review each policy from different companies through quotes to determine the best deal.
Optimizing Your Fleet
Interestingly enough, what’s considered to be a huge benefit can be one of the most difficult challenges you can face. Optimizing your fleet means implementing new ways for it to be more efficient and cost-effective while having the same, if not better, results of success. With so many options available, it can be difficult to determine which is the best course of action. To give you an example, let’s go over a way to help you reduce fuel costs while protecting the environment. You can do this by replacing your fuel-dependent vehicles with electric vehicles.
Electric vehicles are the same as any other, except they don’t require the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels, like gas, are non-renewable resources, which is partially the reason why it’s so expensive. With the rise of inflation, the price of gas can put a strain on your budget. Electric vehicles bypass this issue entirely as all they need to refuel is to rest at a charging station. Another example of optimizing your fleet would be making sure your drivers are safe on the road. As useful as it is, the fleet technology we mentioned earlier only accomplishes so much. To truly make sure your drivers are safe, you can opt for giving them additional driving training. This training doesn’t have to be anything rigorous as it all it’s meant to do is to help your drivers practice safer driving. Small business fuel cards
