To realize the strategic advantage from the fleet management system (FMS) and differentiate the business in the competition, it’s necessary to steer it in the right direction from the outset. But, the plenty of the fleet management software options available in the market confuse the businesses. And, there is no golden answer for the right FMS to choose.
Image source: www.peerbits.com
Well, when we go by the definition of quality fleet management solution, it encompasses fleet tracking and diagnosis, driver management, asset management, two-way communication, after-sales services, customizable dashboard, GPS alerts, and ensuring regulatory compliance.
It’s a perfect solution. But, fleet management app development needs of every business doesn’t perfectly sync with the definition. The right FMS cannot set in stone. What the business should do for seamless fleet maintenance and surge the profits? There are some factors that must be taken into consideration before choosing FMS to make the profit go northwards and expenses southwards.
Let’s dig deeper!
• Identify fleet management business needs
The FMS comes with a lot of bells and whistles that can easily distract the businesses with ornamental features. Before the businesses look out for a vendor, it’s good to clarify the basic needs of the FMS.
For instance, the business may want FMS for real-time GPS services, to bring down the cost with efficient routing and vehicle diagnostic, to track driver’s performance through driver analytics, for actionable insights to maximize fleet utilization and productivity, require advanced vehicle diagnostic feature for sensitive product transportation, or looking for mobile capabilities.
Based on the fleet business size, business goals, and requirements, the brilliant solution must be chosen that helps in achieving everything under the hood.
Note: Going with a customized solution is a good approach in the sense it helps in getting the software that’s a great fit for the business fleet management.
• Brainstorm the set of features
Once, the business pre-requisites are clear, the next step forward is to select the features that businesses have a need of.
For instance, the small fleet business requires real-time GPS tracking, and a couple of integrations to reduce operational cost. The mid-level fleet business requires advanced telematics features such as vehicle diagnostic, fuel analytics, driver behaviour analytics in addition to GPS tracking. The large fleet business prioritizes detailed vehicle diagnostics, mobile capabilities, and dedicated server in addition to basic features.
In this way, having the list of features beforehand according to the business size is a good practice to find a suitable solution.
• One-stop solution for improved visibility and management
The convenience is key in every industry and fleet management is no exception. The FMS with intuitive UI allows the businesses to easily handle, control, and monitor various activities from a single web-based solution. Deploying the system on cloud infrastructure rather than a local server is a better option to work efficiently as it eliminates the need for maintenance and data safety.
The single dashboard provides visibility into the entire system with remote monitoring and singles out the issues in the real-time. The panoramic view of vehicle operations and driver’s efficiency helps in controlling the fleet utilization, cutting-down the paper-work, and ensuring safe driving. The understanding of current business status and areas to improve also unfold the opportunities to grow the business and increase ROI.
• Real-time tracking is a must-have
Taking the apt actions for the activities happening in the real-time is all-important to get the activity done every day with peak efficiency. It’s significant to know how the fleet and workforce are working in the real-time to make sure everything is working as expected.
The software must able to track vehicle location, driver behavior, cargo safety, crossing speed limit, engine idling time, harsh braking, accident alerts, uncharted diversion, or theft issue in the real-time to effectively monitor and control the business processes.
• Check for integration options
When you have documented the list of features to achieve the desired goal, it’s necessary to check whether FMS integrates with certain existing or new systems or not.
For instance, drivers and labor cost can be managed, if it can be integrated with HR or Payroll system. The customer relationship can be improved, if FMS enables data sharing with CRM and maintenance systems. The integration with accounting, finances, and inventory enable seamless operations.
Some FMS have pre-built integrations, while some provide entry points that help businesses to build the custom integrations. Also, the frequency at which FMS allows for integrations must be checked. On another side, it’s good to know how often the vendor rolls out the upgrades as the upgrades impact integrations and interrupt with operations as well.
Get aware of these things ahead of the time to keep the new FMS up and running smoothly with existing systems.
• Ensure it grow with the business
Defining the future business size in the present is beyond the bounds of possibility for every business. It’s like the business with 50 fleets today cannot estimate that they will have 1000 fleets after five years. Besides, the businesses that presently have a need for basic features may require advanced features to meet future business goals.
Checking flexibility and scalability in the vendors plan to add new functionalities and capabilities are essential to ensure investment in FMS forms the ground of future-proof business. Find out the FMS responsiveness to future needs, else it will pose a significant risk to the business at the later stage.
For instance, if the business increases the number of fleets, the FMS should be able to accommodate the new fleets without spending bundles on additional infrastructure. The scope of the addition of extra features must exist.
