5 common challenges faced by larger fleets

Enterprise fleets face a unique set of demands. Managing a large remote workforce, often spread across a vast area, can be challenging. Meanwhile, minor inefficiencies can soon add up to big problems when multiplied across tens or even hundreds of vehicles.

To meet the demands of running a larger operation, fleet managers and business owners must turn to all available tools to drive efficiency, productivity and safety while continuing to offer a high level of service to customers. With that in mind, here are five of the top challenges faced by larger fleets and how GPS fleet management can help to potentially overcome them.

1. Keeping your team engaged

With so many workers on the road or on site, it can be difficult for everyone to feel part of the team. A GPS solution could help drivers stay engaged – all while improving fleet safety and efficiency.

Use your fleet data to give every driver a safety score based on their driving style – such as idling, speeding, harsh braking and so on. These scores can then be used to rank your drivers and engage them in friendly competition. Those who rank highly can be rewarded. Those at the other end of the leaderboard can be incentivised to improve.

2. Making fast decisions 

The larger your fleet, the more data it creates – and the harder it can be to find the information you need as soon as you need it. Even tracking down a specific vehicle can be a grueling task without some form of fleet tracking in place.

With a GPS solution, you can determine the nearest driver to any location; find out where a specific driver has been, where they are due to go, when they are scheduled to arrive and much more, in just a few clicks.

Having this data at your fingertips makes it easy to respond to customer queries, change job instructions and make a host of other vital business decisions in minutes. 

3. Reducing personal use

Unauthorised use of vehicles and assets can prove costly for fleets of any size. In a larger fleet, however, it can be much harder to spot. Just a few drivers running personal errands can quickly translate into greater wear and tear on your vehicles, increased fuel consumption and lost productivity.

Having a fleet tracking solution in place can help you to monitor every one of your vehicles around the clock. Geofences can be placed around employee homes and permitted routes so that vehicles don’t stray from authorised areas. Alerts can also be set to notify you whenever a vehicle is operated in an unauthorised area or outside of working hours.

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4. Managing a large remote team

Managing a remote team is challenging enough. When it’s a large remote team, it’s even more demanding. For example, making sure every driver is where they should be and performing to the best of their abilities can prove difficult.

GPS fleet tracking can make it easy. With an at-a-glance view of your operation, you can quickly spot and rectify irregularities or inefficiencies across your entire fleet. Drivers and vehicles can be categorised by area, job role or other characteristics, allowing you to quickly access key information about individual drivers or teams.

5. Making the most of every vehicle 

The potential for underutilised vehicles often increases with the size of your fleet. It’s much easier for an under-performing vehicle to go unnoticed in a fleet of 50 than in a fleet of five. Vehicles that are not working to their full potential not only lead to unnecessary costs but could also be dragging down the efficiency of your entire fleet.

Fleet tracking can help you quickly and easily spot such inefficient vehicles, allowing you to put them to better use elsewhere. Simple, intuitive dashboards allow you to compare vehicles across your fleet based on key metrics such as engine-on time, mileage and fuel consumption – making it easy to spot those that may not be pulling their weight.

Handling an enterprise fleet 

As your fleet grows, it can get more difficult to build a full and accurate picture of what’s happening out on the road.

Inefficiencies can be harder to spot, information can be harder to find, and decisions can be harder to make. All of which can impact productivity and profitability.

With a GPS solution in place, you can build a 360 view of your entire operation, helping you to spot trends, reduce inefficiency, boost productivity and make faster, smarter business decisions.

For more of the benefits of GPS tracking for larger fleets, why not arrange a short product demo?