GPS Fleet Tracking- Connecting Management to the Fleet

The world of fleet management moves fast. The demand for accurate reports on fleet performance puts pressure on fleet managers to have their finger on the pulse at all times. Do you feel like you’re in touch with all the moving parts of your fleet? Do you worry you’re not doing enough to keep upper management informed of the positive work you’re doing to improve ROI? 

Studies have shown that the top concerns facing fleet managers, including operations, equipment and fleet services managers, is inadequate reporting of fleet activity. Why?

Effective, reliable and accurate reporting allows managers to:

• Clearly see the best decision to make
• Track pilot projects e.g. hybrid vs. conventional vehicle economy comparisons
• Keep management informed of key fleet metrics
• Easily show performance improvements over time
• Track key metrics to highlight management enhancements
• Gives evidence of productivity gains
• Alerts management to areas that require attention such as unsafe practices or burgeoning expenses

Why should I care about management reports?

While there are many reasons management are keen for accurate and detailed fleet reporting, if you’re a fleet manager there’s every chance you spend much of your time focused on the day-to-day operations of your fleet.

But reports, as boring as you might think they are, can be a powerful ally in benefiting your fleet, and indirectly your career.

• Prove the effectiveness of your management – Reports can be a helpful tool to clearly highlight not only your current effectiveness as a fleet manager but also chart your contribution over time. Management might have forgotten that you were able to turnaround a poorly performing unit but a report can clearly show increases in fuel economy and job productivity.
• Tip off to negative trends – Don’t let a problem catch the attention of the VP before you get on to fixing it. Daily or weekly reports can alert you to worrying trends of excessive idling, speeding or other dangerous practices that could be costing the fleet money or exposing the company to potential lawsuits. You can then take action to correct the problem or at the very least avoid the awkward ‘deer in the headlights’ silence when your boss raises the issue.
• Encourage your team – A leader who inspires the team is always generous with praise when it’s due. Reporting can give you the hard evidence to back up your words of encouragement and spur them on to even better performance. Pin them up on the lunchroom notice board for everyone to see. You could even stir up some friendly competition between teams by running monthly competitions for different fleet metrics.
• Be the company hero – Reports can uncover opportunities for quick gains that benefit the whole company. For example, asset utilization reports may show hundreds of vehicles are underused and it would be more profitable to sell them off. Routing may show that some customers are actually not profitable due to their remoteness and servicing costs and therefore not worth selling to. The marketing team may like to share with the world that your fleet has reduced its carbon footprint by 20% in the last 12 months.

Get friendly with the report module

Most GPS fleet tracking systems have a reporting module. Telogis Fleet sports a suite of more than 50 built-in reports that can be generated in a single click or even automatically emailed for extra convenience.

If you’ve been put off reviewing your GPS fleet tracking reports because it just seemed too much like hard work, or overly complicated, then take some time to get familiar with them. Or switch to GPS fleet tracking software that’s easy to use! It will definitely be worth your while.