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5 Ways Fleet Optimization Software Tools
Help Transport Companies

A transportation company needs to have various assets (vehicles, laborers, etc.) to function properly. More important is optimizing these assets. Vehicles are expensive. They also come with various additional costs such as fuel, maintenance, and insurance. Rising eCommerce demands are keeping transportation companies busy 24x7.

Many managers at these companies often discover that their trucks are over-booked or that they don’t have enough workers to complete a task at hand. Such mistakes are inevitable unless managers make informed decisions based on real-time data. That’s where fleet optimization can help.

What is Fleet Optimization?

Fleet optimization is the process of ensuring that your fleets are always in line with the immediate requirements of your staff members and your organization in general. Having the right tools, assets, or resources at the right time is vital for transportation companies that run on strict budgets.

Here are two facts that highlight the importance of making well-informed decisions based on real-time usage data in the transportation industry -

• In the US, trucks already ship over 70% of all products. Every year, this percentage is rising as eCommerce is increasing the demand for fast shipping.
• Over 50% of transportation companies that employ truck drivers have reported that they’re having difficulties recruiting drivers.

In the US, labor shortage in the transportation industry is the main problem. In other countries, the lack of high-quality vehicles is a major issue. How can transportation companies meet ever-rising shipping demands despite these shortages? The short answer is - fleet optimization software tools.

What is a Fleet Optimization Software Tool?

Fleet optimization is the process of enabling transportation company managers to make informed decisions based on real-time data. Fleet optimization software tools facilitate this process by presenting all usage to data in real-time to transportation company managers via an integrated interface.

On the easy-to-use interface on the fleet optimization software tool, transportation company managers can access data in real-time. These tools have integrated features that allow managers to convey important data to other members of the transportation circle in real-time.

Here are 5 important features a high-quality fleet management software for transport company offers –

1. Manage Drivers in Real-Time – Drivers need informative and detail-oriented managers to deliver efficient performances. With a fleet optimization software tool, any manager can become a master of data for his or her drivers. These tools typically offer live GPS tracking. Managers can timely share important details like shortest routes, convenient turns, etc., by assessing the drivers’ GPS locations. Many fleet optimization software tools also pick up more intricate details like – the driver’s personal details, mistakes made by the driver while traveling between specific locations, and their training needs (based on their performances). Even if transportation company managers don’t use so much of this data, they can at least use the live tracking features to make timely driver transfers from one branch to the other or help them deal with sudden product return requests.
2. Customer Experience - Transportation company managers can use their fleet optimization software tool’s live GPS tracking data to provide order status tracking features to their customers. Many fleet optimization software tools are integrable with customer portals. Combine the two to make sure end clients always know where and how far away their orders are.
3. Fuel Management – Drivers too can access these fleet optimization software tools. They can track how much fuel they spend, which expense cards they use on each trip, and other fuel-related details. These tools also track each vehicle's arrival process. Transportation company managers can document the arrival and transit times of each vehicle. Based on this data, they can optimize their fuel spending.
4. Vehicle Maintenance – Many advanced fleet optimization software tools have workshop maintenance sections. In this section, transportation company managers can record and track inventory management functions. From ordering spare parts to truck inspection, jobs – every act of vehicle maintenance can be tracked and assessed thanks to this feature. Transportation company managers will never make mistakes like not making workers check the health of vehicle tires after every trip is completed. These systems typically provide dashboard notifications or email alerts whenever a recorded maintenance requirement is due.
5. Overall Visibility – The best fleet optimization software tools have integrated costing and finance modules. The integration of different aspects of the transport management process gives transportation company managers business visibility. These tools can automatically apply taxes on each payment. For example, workers can easily generate bills just by giving the software the consignment number. The software tool will provide automatic calculations and perform all checks and balances to produce highly accurate bills.

From truck model numbers to renewal details of vehicle permits, insurance documents, etc. – every little detail is important when you’re running a hectic transportation business in a budget-conscious manner. The best fleet optimization software tools tie up thousands of such details and present them concisely to transportation company managers.