The flow of supply relies heavily on fleet managers.
Casual observers might underestimate just how much is involved in maintaining and managing a fleet. Afterall, there’s always lorries on the roads and food on the shelves. The system works, it seems.
Those of us who have worked in transport and logistics know differently.
The sheer organisational task of safely moving goods around Europe and the world is gigantic — and a lot of this responsibility falls on the desks of fleet managers. This already difficult job is further complicated by rising fuel costs, new standards of compliance, driver shortages, the move to electric, supply chain disruptions — the list goes on. In fact, it goes on until what was once a challenging task can seem, at times, an impossible one.
Technology, specifically telematics, offers answers. However, many managers are understandably reluctant to invite more change into their organisations.
Telematics: Not Another Headache
Any organisation that has experienced the headaches that come with a new process rollout might be wary of another technological change. In truth, as the more untenable pressures of the pandemic start to ease-off, many fleet managers are hoping for a period of relative stability. However, without telematics, stability might not be a possibility. Here’s a few of the unavoidable challenges that telematics directly addresses.
Safety
Ensuring the safety of drivers and other road users is paramount. However, there’s increased pressure on fleets to get more done in less time. It seems inevitable that safety will suffer and accidents will increase. The key to avoiding accidents is data. Telematics tracks driving behaviours such as speeding, braking and cornering. This not only improves the drivers awareness, but it also makes it easy for fleet managers to identify risks and offer both training and support.
Fuel Efficiency
Fully embracing telematics generally leads to a drop in fuel spend. It’s easy to see why. Without reliable fuel data, a fleet manager cannot truly understand the behaviours that cause excess fuel consumption.
With telematics, it is possible to identify causes and incentivise drivers to perform better. For example, managers can put a percentage of their fuel savings into a bonus scheme that rewards drivers for reducing fuel consumption. These powerful insights are impossible without telematics, and they’re essential to achieving the kind of efficiency that the modern world demands of its commercial vehicles.
The Switch to Electrification
There is a mounting pressure to switch vehicles to electric. That’s all for the good, but not if fleet managers are unable to guarantee a lorry will reach its destination, or understand the cost of getting it there. However, whether the numbers work out or not, carbon targets mean that fleet managers must start the process of moving from ICEs (Internal Combustion Engine) to BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles).
Deciding what vehicles to replace, or what BEVs to add to the fleet, is largely guesswork without detailed telematics data. With reliable performance information, a manager can effectively assess the BEV market and make an informed purchasing decision. Once the vehicle is in the fleet, telematics can be used to optimise charging efficiency.
So, to the forward thinking manager, telematics offers the opportunity to drastically reduce the disruption and risk that electrification poses, particularly for smaller fleets.
Telematics is no longer a luxury
Fleet management has never been easy, but, with the industry at large seeming to be in a state of constant turbulence, it’s harder than ever. This is not a temporary state of affairs. There is not going to be a time when everything goes back to how it was 20 years ago and there’s every sign that there is more change on the horizon.
However, change doesn’t need to be negative. In embracing telematics, fleet managers may be embracing a tool that allows them to steer their fleets into the future whilst achieving new levels of efficiency, stability and control.
