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Increasing fleet efficiency goes a long way to reducing costs and improving driver safety on the road. Driver’s routes, idle times, use of retail fuel services, and other issues all contribute to overall efficiency. 

Data can seem intimidating for many fleet managers, resulting them in ignoring valuable insights. Taking the time to look at and understand these patterns, trends, and associations will greatly benefit operations. The following are six ways data can increase your fleet’s efficiency.  

1. Route Optimization

Modern fleets may be managing hundreds or thousands of drivers daily. This makes it impossible to plan each individual route in advance.  

Fortunately, data makes it easy to optimize routes whether they’re across town or across the country. You can reduce drive times, ensure safety, and even maximize the number of jobs completed in a day. 

2. Improve Customer Relationships

The same data that optimizes routes also lets you know where drivers are at any given time. If bad weather or road closures will interfere with routes, you can adjust in real time.  

You’ll also be able to notify your clients of when they can expect drivers to arrive. If a delay is inevitable, the courtesy of advanced notice prevents soured relationships.  

3. Rein in Unauthorized Spending

Fuel theft, unauthorized spending, and fraud often go unchecked, contributing significantly to annual loss. Data gives you the tools you need to identify and prevent these issues.  

Fleet cards often come with data reports that identify who is spending what and where the spending occurs. You can also implement purchase controls to stop unauthorized spending before it happens.  

4. Reduce Administrative Redundancy

Data relating to purchases can be automatically imported to your software, eliminating the need for manual implementation. Reconciling expense reports, reviewing driver logs, and remitting invoices becomes faster, freeing up time for other administrative tasks.  

Eliminating paper receipts and a slew of spreadsheets can save dozens of working hours per month. Data platforms can host valuable information in a single dashboard, increasing ease of use.  

5. Improve Everyday Fleet Management

Using data doesn’t just speed up administrative tasks. It also identifies trends and patterns that affect fleet performance. By understanding what causes costs to rise, you can act quickly and create solutions.  

6. Increase Accountability

Real-time data insights increase accountability for drivers and managers. Card controls and text alerts will reduce eliminate unauthorized spending. Telematics software can identify unsafe driver habits, which can be rectified in real-time. This increases safety and fuel efficiency, and can positively impact your insurance rates.  

In addition to using data, McPherson’s fuel services can help improve fleet efficiency and operational costs. Whether you need our fleet fuel card or total petroleum management, we have a solution that will suit your specific needs.  

Contact McPherson Oil or call 888-802-7500 to learn more about how we maximize savings on the resources your fleet needs to keep running.