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Managing company vehicle fleet

If your organization has a fleet of vehicles, it is likely that you need someone or some system to help you manage your fleet. You may well ask what would constitute as a fleet, and the answer is quite simple, motor cars; vans; trucks and motorbikes. Again you may also ask, what would managing a fleet entail? The answer, whilst simple, does not necessarily address the complexity involved in the actual management of the fleet. There are a number of aspects to consider such as vehicle financing; maintenance; tracking and diagnostics; driver management; speed management; fuel management and health and safety management.

The idea is that managing a fleet properly allows the company to have reliable transportation for their business without all the risks that are associated with having a fleet of vehicles. Any good business case would suggest that owning your own fleet should improve efficiencies and productivity and reduce costs whilst still complying with any legislative requirements.

Strategies to in source or out-source fleet management are strictly dependent on the business set up and what makes the most business sense. Whichever decision is right for your business, it is essential that your fleet management solution covers the most basic requirements.

Some of which are as follows:

• Vehicle tracking – with the right solution you can see actual; real-time location of your fleet on a map and be far quicker in responding to events that happen out in the field.
• Mechanical diagnostics – advanced fleet management systems can often connect to a vehicle’s onboard computer and gather useful and insight data on details such as mileage; fuel consumption etc.
• Driver behavior – by making use of the data received from the vehicle tracking system and on board computer you are able to ascertain how your driver is behaving
• Fleet management software – a proper fleet management software allows you to manage your vehicle and the operation thereof from acquisition to disposal. Driver and vehicle profiling; trip profiling; dispatch; vehicle efficiency and remote control features are all wonderful features that make the management of your fleet less complex.
• Security and control - Some advanced features allow for the fleet security to include disablement of a vehicle while in operation (in order to recover stolen vehicles) .
• Fleet replacement and lifecycle management – It is good governance to replace vehicles in a timely fashion. Decision to retire a vehicle are often based on utilization; asset age and running costs. There are standards set to guide fleet managers in ensuring that vehicles are safe to be on the roads and it is important to adhere to these guidelines.

Whatever your decision is (out or in-sourcing of the management of your fleet) as a business owner it is your responsibility to ensure that you are well equipped to handle the various challenges of managing a fleet of vehicles.

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