Introduction
Fleet management existed as soon as there was growth in the industries like logistics, transportation, and services. These industries majorly relied on different types of vehicles for transportation of the goods. In early times, fleet management was done in manual terms. Not surprising to know that everything was just maintained on paper. The parameters such as vehicle utilization, fuel monitoring, vehicle maintenance, etc were recorded in files and registers. The most important part, which is mapping and navigation, was figured out through paper maps. The communication with drivers and task assigning was done by having personal meetings. The manager used to provide them instructions, in verbal and written format and using traditional telephones. The maintenance was done when some incident happened which affected the vehicle’s condition. We can say it was more reactive than proactive. When we hear about these old concepts, we think about the new-age solution; we come across the term automated fleet management. Let’s explore how automated fleet management has evolved and improved the process.
Challenges in Traditional Fleet Management
The challenges in traditional fleet management included pen-paper records, limited visibility of the vehicles in the fleet, manual data gathering and entries, inefficiency in fuel monitoring, and inconsistency in maintenance. Manually managing all the activities can raise the above challenges to a higher extent. The solution is to manage these challenges using automated fleet management tools like advanced software. These software were initially built to just keep up with the data management. But in today’s times, the technologies have evolved and the new age of fleet management software has it all covered.
What Is Automated Fleet Management?
- Fleet management took its trajectory path in the 21st century with advancements in technologies being introduced every day! The initial stages of the software included entering the data and storing it for record-keeping. But as the times changed, the evolving technologies helped to advance the software. Technologies that made it possible are namely GPS, telematics, and the integration of IoT. These technologies addressed the traditional fleet tracking shortcomings and improved it altogether.
- The features which include real-time tracking, route optimization, fuel monitoring, fleet maintenance, video telematics, driver behavior monitoring, and many more in a single system make fleet management advanced and automated.
How Automated Fleet Management Improves Fleet Operations
- Real-Time Tracking and Scheduled Reports
With the use of GPS technology, the real-time tracking of vehicles is done. Using automated fleet management software can bring ease with a live tracking screen in the software. Through the live tracking screen, a vehicle’s live location and other details can be viewed. Furthermore, reports from the software act as a powerful part of the software. The report might just be the collection of gathered data on a screen, but that too plays an important role in fleet management. Additionally, reports can be scheduled, which helps the manager to receive them on time. - Route Optimization for Time and Cost Efficiency
Planning and creating jobs with optimal routes manually can be difficult. Advanced features like route optimization in the software can help solve this problem. Through the software, the manager can easily add checkpoints and get the best routes to reach the destination in an estimated time. This saves time, cost, and resources as well. - Reducing Downtime Through Fleet Maintenance
There can be numerous incidents where there are high chances of vehicles being in conditions that can lead to sudden breakdowns. The fleet manager can take preventive measures to reduce downtime, through reminders and alerts for vehicle maintenance. - Improving Customer Satisfaction with Real-Time Updates
Alert notifications of the events make the fleet management software a hit. Whether it is a major or a minor event, all of them get reported through alert notifications on both the type of applications; mobile and web. This directly creates an impact by improving customer satisfaction by providing them with real-time updates. - Enhancing Asset Utilization
Asset management in the software is an important feature. This feature helps in enhancing the asset utilization process. Having real-time information about the vehicles which are being utilized, helps the manager in allocating the idle ones. Optimizing the asset utilization can be efficiently done through the fleet management software. Accurate reports and information regarding this can be gained through the software. It is a win-win deal for the manager to utilize the software for managing the assets.
Industry Applications
- In today’s times, industries like Logistics and Transportation, School Bus transportation, Rental and Travel Services, Construction and Mining, and many more industries take advantage of this new-age software. There are combinations of vehicles, equipment, and assets that are being monitored in different industries. The manager is not required to buy different software to meet the varied needs. Automated fleet management software is used widely to fulfill their tailored requirements.
The Future of Fleet Tracking
AI and Machine Learning in Fleet Management
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning working hand in hand has made significant improvements in automating fleet management. Artificial intelligence helps to make a system capable enough to make decisions and solve problems but probably requires human assistance.
Machine learning is a subset of AI that focuses on the algorithms through which the software learns and improves through the experience; just like humans do. These technologies have helped in making existing features more powerful and reliable. Some features like driver behavior monitoring, video telematics, route optimization, and predictive fleet maintenance are being enhanced using these technologies. This is how AI and ML are bringing efficiency and for businesses to go from being reactive to proactive through smart software.
Conclusion
The traditional fleet tracking methods are way too old to use nowadays. It is full of problems and inefficiencies. Automated fleet management is the solution and fleet managers of today’s time should use that for all the benefits it has to provide. The advanced features make it more efficient and reliable to use. Less human dependency and manual record maintenance. This eventually improves the process of fleet management. As discussed above, multiple industries use automated fleet management to gain benefits. This proves that automated fleet management can improve the process of managing a fleet.
