Any company that provides goods or services can stand to do even better in 2019. You could give your drivers a pep talk each morning and hope that they see their potential. Investing in new commercial trucks could also be beneficial to your business, but what if there is nothing wrong with the vehicles you already have? Sometimes fleet owners just don’t know what they can change or improve to help their drivers become more productive or to make things safer overall. Being more successful doesn’t mean that you have to expand your company in so far as hiring more drivers goes. It simply means that you are interested in running a business that always meets its goals. Here is how you can do that, this year and beyond.
Finding your fleet’s flaws
A commercial driving company generally has a group of solid contracts that make up their bread and butter. Drivers may drive different routes each day or go to different places depending on the needs of the companies. Once they get to know the various routes and roads that they drive, they may begin to veer a bit off track. With fleet monitoring software, your company can find out what the flaws are within your own fleet. Whether that means that your dedicated drivers are taking the wrong routes or simply taking a bit longer than is necessary to unload freight, knowing these types of flaws will make your business an even bigger success. Having driver’s helpers or even dashboard cameras is not as beneficial as using software and real-time tracking. Find out what the raw data says and then go through the motions to learn what positive and proactive changes your company can make.
Crunching the numbers
In general, fleet-based businesses are all about the numbers. From the number of drivers that you employ, to the total amount of kilometres driven daily, your company can calculate how profitable your business will be with just a couple of keystrokes. So, you may want to know how else you can get accurate numbers. A lot of times commercial fleets have their drivers fill out driving logs. These types of logs are usually maintained manually and require drivers or their assistants to do calculations as they go about their daily work. This method of gathering data is not only inaccurate, it takes a lot of time to complete as well. When your drivers could be behind the wheel of their trucks making deliveries, they may end up doing simple maths, or even waste time looking for a pencil or calculator.
FleetGO’s software is trusted by fleet owners, rental agencies, and other commercial vehicle-based businesses because it offers so many options. You can review how many kilometres your fleet racks up in real-time, follow along as your drivers complete their routes, and stay abreast of how each element of your business is executed. This software is rapidly growing in popularity for businesses who want to keep their commercial driving business moving.
Providing Drivers with Feedback
A highly experienced driver may be doing a great job for your company, but realise that there is always room for improvement. Tachograph analysis software gives business owners an amazing wealth of data in several ways. First, it provides fleet operators with accurate numbers relating to route maps, operator speeds, and even traffic. Next, this type of software enables business owners as well as drivers with different ways to improve and meet their goals. So if your company has had drivers who are regularly getting fines or even accidents, you can finally get to the bottom of things. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t be able to trust the word of your drivers. Instead, what you can be doing is analysing driving patterns and providing your drivers with hints and tips that they can put into practice. After a few weeks of driver monitoring, you might learn that certain routes are just too dangerous for your fleet drivers to take, even if that means that they have to take a longer route. In the end, optimisation and analysis will give your drivers the best feedback available.
Doing more of what works
Companies that succeed find what works, and then they keep on doing it. So, if you are going to propel your fleet to success in 2019, your company has to find its rhythm. For your business, that may mean that you have to do a total re-branding, complete with new uniforms and a hip new mascot. It might mean putting some older vehicles to rest, leasing new trucks, or hiring managers that have worked for your competitors. One part of this equation might be kind of difficult for you to get into, and that is generally finding exactly what does work for your business. That’s mainly because what works for one fleet company isn’t going to work for the rest. At the same time, you should feel a lot better knowing that tachograph analysis software is a necessity for every business that wants to get ahead. You simply have to know where your vehicles are, how they are being operated, and a bunch of other particulars if you believe that your business can become more successful.
Gaining and maintaining positive momentum
Actually putting together any kind of business, much less a commercial fleet which does business with various other companies, is a huge success. You had to believe in yourself enough to put that idea into motion. Then that idea had to take shape, become an actual, tangible company, and obtain financing. Eventually, employees were brought on board, contracts were acquired and your idea really started to become real. Feeling good about your business’s accomplishments is one thing. Knowing that there is always room to improve and being open to criticism, critiques, and all kinds of feedbacks is a totally different type of feat. The good news is that there are various kinds of software that make these major challenges much more manageable. As your company does better, it is easier to capitalise off of the momentum and keep trucking forward. Once you get over those first initial humps, each new hill, crater, and bump your business goes over will barely register as a blip on the radar. Gaining and maintaining positive momentum as a company is not really a trait that can be taught at seminars or at business conferences. You just have to go through the motions, look at what tools you have at hand, and make better business decisions as you go along.
Much like the wheels on a truck, success and momentum go hand in hand. Your commercial fleet business is already on the move. Perhaps it is moving fast ahead, pushed forward by positive momentum. Maybe you are moving along but you know that you have uphill challenges fast approaching. In any case, there are tools available that make even the most challenging situations not only manageable but pretty easy to get over. If you need more vehicles for your business, lease before you consider buying. When you know that you can improve how your company operates, look into fleet monitoring software that will give you every essential piece of data available. Yes, you have to really be proactive to be successful, but when there is a balance, your business can go into auto pilot.
