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A fleet of business vehicles needs to be well managed. Small savings on the fleet can go a long way, especially if you can save on fuel. Fuel costs are usually one of the largest expenses in a fleet, behind vehicle depreciation. It’s very important for any business running a fleet of vehicles to make sure that they have processes in place to manage fuel usage.
Introduce A Telematics System
A telematics system connects your business with your team on the road. The system works to give you an insight into where your vehicles are, and how people are using them. This means you have access to live and historic data about the performance of your fleet, so you can take action to improve things if needed. You can better insight into the fuel habits of your drivers, which then means you find more ways to cut costs and improve your bottom line. When you know how much fuel you’re using, you buy it in the most cost-effective way, from somewhere like https://fuelbox.co.uk/.
Keep Your Vehicles In Working Order
Vehicle downtime is a huge inconvenience to any business. Vehicles being unavailable or delayed can cause problems like employees missing out on business-critical meetings or a customer being let down by a missed appointment or a late delivery. This can have a knock-on effect on your profits and your company’s image and reputation.
Check your vehicles on a regular basis to make sure they’re working properly to prevent problems from occurring. Your regular checks should include:
External vehicle condition (tire condition, visible damage, indicators)
Fluids (oil, screenwash, brake)
Vehicle interior and equipment (seat belts, mirrors)
Function checks (lights, horn, wipers, brakes, fuel)
If you service your fleet, you can prevent a lot of vehicle downtime and increase your fuel efficiency.
Encourage Refueling At The Right Places
The cost of fuel can differ widely between different fuel stations. It’s wise to have a list of preferred suppliers in your vehicle policy that you prefer your drivers to use on the go, to keep costs down.
Some telematics solutions can be integrated with a fuel card providers to guide your employees to the nearest, cheapest place to refuel.
Encourage Fuel Efficient Driving
There are lots of benefits to your fleet of vehicles driven in a sensible way. Sensible driving reduces wear on the vehicle and reduces the risk of accidents. The best way to improve the behavior of your drivers and encourage them to practice fuel-efficient driving is to educate them on how to do it.
Offer driving training schemes, as well as education on the daily responsibilities like keeping their tires inflated to manufacturer spec, not idling unnecessarily, and not braking or accelerating too harshly.
Your telematics solution can monitor your driver’s driving style, which is one of the most effective ways of managing your fleet efficiently. You can find any issues and room for improvement with your drivers and fix any issues in real-time.
