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The data-driven route to cost control
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Beverley Wise, Webfleet Regional Director for Bridgestone Mobility Solutions
As fleets set their sights on navigating the choppy waters of 2023, robust strategies – underpinned by data-driven decision-making – to help shield them from business turbulence and market complexities are critical.
Complacency for fleet and transport managers is not an option and sugar-coating the outlook for the coming months could prove a commercially dangerous move.
Although an optimistic mindset is fundamental to business success, fleets can ill afford to turn a blind eye to the economic landscape – forewarned means being forearmed.
REALITY CHECK
Economists predict that the recession will last until the end of the year, at the earliest, with inflation and interest rates remaining high.
Vehicle costs are also expected to remain high, with supply at a premium, and although short-term fuel cost reductions are anticipated, a Fuel Duty hike in the spring has been mooted.
What’s more, the government review of the energy price cap may see this accompanied by further electricity price increases, impacting the fleet EV market.
ACTION STATIONS: THE ROLE OF TELEMATICS
Although strategising is a tricky task amidst such volatility, fleet decision-makers would be wise to heed the adage that ‘failing to plan means planning to fail’.
Cost control has become an undeniable imperative, but with resources stretched, digital systems that enable critical fleet management intelligence to be leveraged, without jeopardising productivity, are invaluable.
Enter stage right, telematics platforms. For fleets that have yet to deploy the latest advance solutions, now may be the time to do so with financial returns achievable within a matter of weeks.
IDENTIFYING SAVINGS OPPORTUNITIES
Cost visibility calls for meaningful insights into driver and operational fleet activity. With a lack of intelligence on the root causes of fuel wastage, for example, fuel spend – typically the largest fleet cost – cannot be effectively managed.
Systems such as Webfleet can provide access to far-reaching intelligence – everything from vehicle location, routing, scheduling and driver behaviour scores to mpg and idling time, maintenance and fuel card information.
Transport managers can analyse where and how employees are driving to determine the reasons behind fuel usage patterns.
From unnecessary acceleration and deceleration to speeding and harsh braking, there are numerous inefficient driving habits that can lead to low mpg and excessive fuel consumption. The insights generated by Webfleet’s OptiDrive 360 enable fleet managers to collaboratively work with drivers to improve driving styles and target training where it is most needed.
Elsewhere, core telematics functionality cuts wasted mileage through heightened visibility over real-time vehicle movements, alongside smart navigation and intelligent and intuitive routing and scheduling.
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
Effective vehicle maintenance is not only an influencing factor on mpg, it is critical to productivity, with every minute a vehicle is off the road costing money and risking a negative service impact.
Connected insights can once again play an important role here. Telematics planning tools allow fleet operators to make use of the real measured mileage to plan maintenance intervals, while reports can be generated offering comprehensive maintenance overviews to enable fleets to better plan their service, maintenance and repair (SMR).
Trouble codes can be reported directly from vehicle engines, with management immediately notified to help ensure problems are quickly fixed.
Moreover, innovative developments at Bridgestone Mobility Solutions have seen Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) integrated with telematics, utilising sensors that continuously monitor tyre temperature and pressure levels.
Although fuel consumption is negatively impacted by incorrectly inflated tyres, manual pressure checks can be time consuming and slow leaks difficult for drivers to detect. Webfleet TPMS automates this process.
AN EYE FROM THE CAB
After fuel and vehicle depreciation, insurance constitutes one of the most significant elements of fleet TCO (total cost of ownership), typically only outstripped by vehicle depreciation and fuel.
Integrated camera systems, such as Webfleet Video, expand on the fleet visibility offered by telematics platforms. Fleets can gain a better understanding of the reasons behind driving incidents, with video footage providing evidence in the event of claims. Enhanced opportunities are offered to realise SMR savings, while fleet risk, premiums and costs can be proactively managed.
The benefits are clear. The tyre delivery fleet of Exhausts, Tyres and Batteries (ETB), for example, reduced its accident rate by 40 per cent, with an anticipated fall in insurance premiums of up to £30,000, following the integration of cameras with Webfleet.
A DIGITAL MINDSET
As fleets look to double down on their efforts to control costs, by ensuring data insights underpin decision-making, meaningful bottom-line savings can be better realised in the challenging months ahead.
*www.webfleet.com/en_gb/webfleet/
Published On: 19/01/2023 16:00:07
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