The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Fleet Management Plan

Are you wondering why fleet management is important?

That’s not a rhetorical question—we have no idea what you’re thinking about right now. If we did, that would be pretty alarming! But something led you to read this blog, so let’s assume fleet management is on your mind.

Fleet management is crucial. Why? Well, putting a fleet management plan in place can help you:

• Reduce costs. When you’re able to plan ahead, it’s easier to keep your fleet efficient and profitable. Plotting routes in advance can help you cut down on fuel costs, and staying on top of your fleet maintenance needs can reduce your risk of breakdowns on the road.
• Protect assets. Preventive maintenance doesn’t just keep your fleet in good health right now. When you take good care of your trucks, you can actively extend their lifespans.
• Improve safety. Complying with safety standards may feel like a chore sometimes, but these standards exist for a good reason. Taking truck upkeep seriously will protect your fleet—and your drivers.

To enjoy all these benefits and more, you’ll have to start with a rock-solid foundation—also known as a plan. When you’re building your own fleet management plan, here’s what you should keep in mind.

Aspects of a Fleet Management Plan

Admittedly, creating a fleet management plan may sound overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be—not when you break it down into individual components.

Asset Management
At its simplest, asset management involves buying and selling trucks for your fleet. It also includes any preventive maintenance and repair services your trucks need, whether you choose to handle them internally or externally.

Fleet Tracking
To create a truly comprehensive fleet management strategy, you’ll need access to data—and lots of it. Fleet tracking focuses on GPS tracking for your trucks and route and fuel planning (including fuel cards, if you use them).

Staffing
Until self-driving trucks are a regularity, running a successful fleet means working with living, breathing humans. Keep your drivers up-to-date on training and safety standards and give them ample reasons to stick with your business.

Cost Management
Finally, you’ll need to ensure that your fuel prices, repair costs, and staff pay are all reasonable. While you obviously need to turn a profit, you shouldn’t jack up prices too high—doing so could scare off your customers.

How to Get Started

At this point, you have all the ingredients you need to create a strong fleet management plan. Now, it’s time to put these fleet management elements together by:

Setting Goals
Before doing anything else, take some time to look at what your fleet is doing well and what you could improve. From there, you can make a list of goals. Just make sure to avoid getting overwhelmed—only focus on one goal at a time!

Upgrading Tools
If you rely on a bunch of spreadsheets or filing cabinets to keep track of things, there’s a good chance your records look a bit…chaotic. Professional fleet management software can help you organize and consolidate your fleet’s data in a user-friendly digital medium. From there, you can automate certain tasks and improve communication between fleet managers, drivers, and shop technicians.

Tracking Data
Once your data is all in one place, you can keep a closer eye on it than ever before. By establishing KPIs, you’ll be able to track progress toward your goals and make adjustments on the fly.

Put Fullbay to Work for Fleet Maintenance

By now, you should understand why fleet management is important and know how to create the right management plan for you. (Or maybe you skimmed the entire article because you’re thinking about what to have for lunch. Again, we’re not psychics.)

While a robust fleet management plan includes all kinds of elements, it’s hard to overstate the importance of fleet maintenance. By taking your fleet’s condition seriously, you’ll be able to keep your trucks running smoothly now and well into the future. And that’s where Fullbay comes in.

We might not be mind readers, but plenty of our customers have shared their thoughts with us. Fullbay makes it easy for fleet managers and repair shops to schedule upcoming preventive maintenance, guide technicians through service orders, and handle the details so you don’t have to. See for yourself—schedule your Fullbay demo today!