Are you getting the most out of your fleet? Are the profits what they should be? These five tips will help you evaluate your fleet performance. Apply these tips now to optimize it.
How to optimize your fleet performance.
1. Track customer satisfaction.
As a fleet, you have internal customers and external ones. The internal ones are your employees and contract drivers you work with. Your external customers are those companies you’re providing fleet service to.
All of these customer relationships are important to running an efficient fleet. Measure and track performance in this area to optimize your fleet and maximize profitability.
Some things to track include:
- Call answer times
- Challenge resolution times/rates
- Dropped calls
- Customer complaints
Know where you stand with customer and you’ll know how to optimize fleet performance.
2. Know your administrative cost per vehicle.
It’s easy to track the maintenance cost per vehicle. But you know there’s a lot more to running any kind of trucking business.
Be aware of your administrative costs per vehicle. If your administrative costs are high, then the inefficiencies that are making them high will only get worse as you scale up your fleet. But find out what the per vehicle cost is.
Work to keep them low as you grow your business.
3. Cut the paper.
There is no reason for a fleet to be running on paper today. If you’re a smaller fleet, exempt from ELD, you may have been slower to make the transition. But today, that technology is cheaper and easier to use than in years past.
To optimize fleet performance, you need streamlined communication. Even if you aren’t exempt, you may still be running a lot of other processes through paper. These might include orders, driver reviews, etc. Moving away from piles of paper and inefficient logging systems is the way to optimize.
4. Invest in fuel-saving technology.
Your drivers know their routes. But times are changing.
More and better roads mean great opportunities to optimize routes. Save money on fuel. Reduce miles put on vehicles. Cut drive time. Know exactly where the truck is on a long haul when a customer’s calling.
It all maximizes fleet efficiency.
GPS is another technology that was once cost-prohibitive. But today, its costs are far exceeded by the efficiency it can add to the fleet.
5. Establish an accident management program (AMP).
An AMP reduces downtime plus costs for administration and repairs from accidents. It includes putting a reward system in place for safe driving as well as penalties for risky behavior. Focusing more on the positive side of safety will boost morale and reduce accidents.
An AMP can also help track maintenance schedule adherence and safe driving practices. It will establish what you’re looking for in drivers. You’ll know when it’s time to let drivers, maintenance personnel, or others go if they aren’t applying safe practices.
An accident management program evaluates risk. It regularly reviews truck insurance coverage needs. It ensures that the fleet, warehouses, garages, and yards have adequate insurance.
With time, an AMP establishes a safety culture throughout the organization.
Optimize Fleet Performance
An optimized fleet is a more profitable fleet. These five tips will help you get the most out of your investment.
Track both internal and external customer satisfaction. Know your administrative costs per vehicle to keep them in line as you grow. Invest in time and fuel-saving technologies like GPS management systems. Create a safety culture with a strong accident management program in place.
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