Owning a company that uses vehicles and drivers to offer services and product delivery is a great way to bring your business into the homes of your clients. Unfortunately, without a proper management service, once your drivers leave the yard, you won’t know where they are unless you call them. Many areas throughout the country are in dead zones, meaning that you won’t be able to reach them by phone because they have no reception. This is when real-time fleet management comes in handy for both your customers and your drivers.
What is Fleet Management?
Fleet management is a type of program that you can download to a computer and then add to each of the vehicles of your company. The software will track the vehicles and can get in touch with the driver at the touch of a button. This allows you, as the business owner, to keep an eye on your drivers, ensure that they are making deliveries or working with customers and not spending time in the company vehicle for their own personal use. It’s also easier for you to get in touch with them if there is a change to their schedule or route.
What Happens Without It?
Without fleet management software, your company vehicles cannot be located when they’re on the road. This prevents the most beneficial truck for a job from being properly assigned to a customer. If the task at hand changes while the truck is on the road, there is no way for you to get in touch with them. In another scenario, the vehicle could break down on the road and the driver is unable to get in touch with you to alert you that there is a problem and their schedule will be delayed. This can lead to customer dissatisfaction, which can cost you lots of money at the end of the day.
Incorporating Fleet Management
The fleet management software is a real-time program that will both alert you and your drivers of any changes or problems while the vehicle is on the road. This can be used for a range of different industries, such as Uber, company vehicles, delivery services and service technicians. The software is also relatively inexpensive, costing anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on the number of vehicles that you have and the amount of drivers needing to be managed.
Training Your Drivers
As always, it’s important that you keep your drivers trained regularly so that they can provide the best service possible for your clients. This includes training them on the fleet management program that you’re planning to have installed. While the software is relatively maintenance-free and user-friendly, the driver should still know how to get in touch with you if there is a problem on the road. Most management programs offer free online training for your drivers, so it’s worth taking advantage of this program if you’ll be purchasing the software.