In a competitive business environment, it’s important to set benchmarks that measure success. Establishing fleet success metrics that put numbers to areas such as fleet productivity, ELD compliance, and fuel and labor costs lets fleet managers know when to stay the course and when to make changes.
Setting ambitious fleet success metrics gives business leaders a quick way to determine what success looks like and whether important goals get met on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
Fleets benefit – and get better fleet management ROI – by using advanced technology in telematics devices that allow them to gather more precise data and use software to get instant, insightful analysis.
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Important Fleet Success Metrics
Every fleet that uses telemetric devices does so for their own unique purposes. However, certain areas prove the most important when establishing fleet success metrics. They include the following.
Fuel management. Fleet tracking devices help drivers learn to use practices that lower the amount of fuel burned while on the road. Over the long haul this adds up to a large fuel cost reduction.
Accidents. The fewer accidents, the better. Telematics devices reduce the number of accidents through many safety features, including real-time alerts when drivers exhibit unsafe driving.
Labor costs. By using software systems for route optimization, fleet managers cut down on labor costs. Telematics also keep better track of needed maintenance, cutting down on the costs for repairs.
Customer base. Fleet managers should keep close track of where customers come from and if the customer base is growing. Measuring customer service and satisfaction is also an important fleet success metric.
Productivity. How many deliveries is each driver doing for the business? Who has the fewest accidents and most on-time deliveries? How many road miles are vehicles getting before they need maintenance? Telematics provides fleet managers finely grained data to establish better productivity success metrics.
Other success metrics that apply to every business include areas such as the break-even point (what a business must make each month to sustain itself), net profit ratio, employee satisfaction, and sales growth.
Measuring Fleet Management ROI
Part of establishing good success metrics includes measuring the return on investment that businesses receive with telematics devices. Fleet managers should expect to achieve a certain level of improvement when putting telematics to use. History has shown that it will happen, often quickly.
What areas should a fleet manager track? That depends on what devices are used, but in general areas to measure fleet management ROI include the following. In each of these areas, a fleet should see improvement.
- Fuel costs
- Number of accidents
- Route optimization
- ELD compliance fines
- Maintenance costs
- Lost or stolen vehicles
- Fleet operational costs
Establishing fleet success metrics is an important part of meeting business goals in an industry where the competition may use the same tactics. Fleet managers want telematics systems that give them an edge and ongoing support on how best to put technology to use.
