In the age where customers are evolving and becoming smarter and technologically savvy, fleet data becomes an increasingly valuable commodity and should be presented logically and be simple.

Being in a digital world requires a great deal of change, especially in the way data is accumulated, filtered and presented. Spreadsheets are slowly becoming obsolete and have negative connotations attached to them, like being messy, time wasting and could result in reduced productivity. Fleet managers can no longer rely on paper filing and a spreadsheet to track important information regarding vehicle maintenance, fuel and tyre expenses.

An undeniable truth will always remain, that fleet data is important, especially if a fleet is to be run optimally. Unlike years ago where you could manage something based on a hunch, you now need to measure something before you can manage it, and to be effective and efficient, you need to manage data that is both consistent and reliable.

Fleet management has become increasingly competitive and keeping up with the times and new technologies is not a luxury, but rather a necessity. Analysing and interpreting data through various technologies is the way to go in order to be effective and sustainable in an ever-evolving fleet management industry.

Information is king

One of the most important factors any fleet manager should focus on is to understand the cost that is attached to his fleet. The biggest cost in the fleet industry to date is fuel, and this commodity is linked to many factors around the way vehicles are used.

With new technologies, fleet managers can see and interpret how their drivers are behaving on the roads. This raw data is captured in real-time and converted and interpreted as reports which can be presented to top management in a logical manner through various technological platforms. Read here for more insightful information.

Mobile Applications 

At Eqstra, we designed and built a mobile application that will make it easier, not just for fleet managers, but for drivers as well to record real-time data as they go about their day.
The drivers will see what bad driving habits they can get rid of to ensure that they get the results they want in their driver scorecards.

How to collect data

Ideally, fleet data should be collected in an automated manner. One way to do this is to use OCR technologies (Optical Character Recognition) to extract information from supplier invoices. Click here for clarity.

Unfortunately , in cases like fuel attendants, we also need to understand that some data such as kilometer reading are captured manually, and this usually leads to errors as the attendants might capture incorrect kilometers. This then means that special attention needs to be paid in validating this type of information.

What to do with fleet data?

Fleet data should be analysed in a way that will allow or prompt action. All data that is presented should come with recommendations. This makes your fleet data presentation more credible and well received. Top management might not be keen to accept data that is rigid and stale. They want real time data that can turn weaknesses into strengths; for example, data that will reveal excessive expenditure and give you the platform to reduce costs.

Always keep in mind that the whole objective is to minimize and save costs.

Therefore, do your research, analyse and filter it, formulate recommendations or solutions, and present your data using current tools or platforms.

Presenting fleet data

All these above methods become integral when presenting fleet data to executives. We need to understand that it’s not the information that is gathered that will make an impactful difference in your company, but it’s the way it is analysed, interpreted and presented.

Making sure that your fleet data is technologically delivered and is precise and to the point is one of the best things you can do to ensure that it is received by top management the way it’s intended.

Fleet data is very important as it could change how a company operates. Making sure that you understand it and presenting a draft to a few colleagues before presenting to top management should be an exercise that fleet managers do.

Who should use Fleet Data?

Fleet data can be utilised by all users of the fleet. It should be presented to decision makers with utmost carefulness and consideration whilst assessing the costs and benefits of the fleet amongst other things.

Fleet managers can use it to derive and optimise the value that the fleet is meant to deliver on. Drivers can also use to learn about their driving behaviours.