Sudesh Pillay

Start the new decade on the right foot. Things every fleet manager should do in 2020. #fleetsolution #eqstra


Start the new decade on the right foot

2020; a brand-new year; a year full of opportunities and possibilities. As a manager, CFO or CEO, will you grab all the opportunities heading your way? Will you eliminate challenges and obstacles and be efficient in 2020?

If your answers to all the above questions are yes, then continue reading to find out how you can make your business run efficiently in 2020.

 

As this year begins, you need to start on a clean slate. You cannot afford to let the failures of the previous year discourage you. In order to have a successful year, you need to do a SWOT analysis for your fleet.

 

You need to:

• Identify your strengths and maximise on them.
• Analyse your weaknesses and change them into strengths
• Look out for opportunities that will fit your business model.
• Identify threats and devise strategies to eliminate them.

Swot Analysis

Strengths

These are factors that are within your control. Your strengths entail your vehicles (products), employees, technologies, strategies and so forth. Your strengths are what keeps your company afloat and profitable.
To make sure that your company runs optimally and efficiently, you need to maximise on your strengths and understand the importance of making use of a fleet management company. Fleet management companies like EQSTRA specialise in helping you choose the right fleet that will fit your purpose. They help to eliminate over expenditure throughout your fleet among other things.

Weaknesses

Your weaknesses involve internal aspects of your company. These are things that you have control over and can change. One of the problems that many fleet owners in all industries have been facing is lack of qualified and good drivers. This issue has a potential of increasing your costs. As an owner, it is your responsibility to turn this weakness into a strength. One way of doing this is to incorporate technology to minimise costs and ensure that your fleet functions optimally. To get a more elaborate understanding of this, click here about the digitalization of vehicles and how this effort helps in minimising fuel costs from Kevin Price.

Opportunities


There are always endless opportunities to advantage of, but as a fleet manager, you need to be able to identify what opportunities will be suitable for your business. One of the best opportunities that have become paramount to any industry, especially in the operating of a fleet, is technology. Technology has changed the way things have been done and with it, it brought convenience, efficiency, and overall improvement in the fleet industry.

Technology is very important in the fleet industry. Companies that do NOT embrace it will soon see a decline in productivity and efficiency. According to jungleworks, through technology, telematics companies can have access to a large amount of data with the help of data analytics. Telematics data is recorded by the telematics device which is distance driven, a number of trips per day, location in real-time, Vehicle speed, harsh or smooth braking, acceleration or deceleration and driver monitoring. This data is important in optimising your fleet.

With the implementation of GPS tracking, and real-time tracking, things have changed for the better within the fleet management industry. With these features, you get various benefits that are aimed at improving your fleet’s management system. To view what benefits you can get with technology, read here.

Threats

Your threats will be those factors that you do not have control over, i.e., fuel cost.

Fuel Cost

The inconsistency of fuel price is still considered as one of the biggest threats in the transportation industry. Fuel is one of the biggest costs in fleet and devising different strategies to reduce fuel expenditure is still and will continue to be a challenge that all fleet managers should take head on.

One of the greatest challenges that fleet managers have is planning, budgeting, and mitigating the variable cost of fuel. Read here on the challenges that fleet managers face and what platforms are used to overcome some of these challenges.

How to reduce fuel cost?

You need to assess and evaluate the needs of your fleet company and see if there are any possibilities to reduce your fleet size. It also becomes imperative that when you get a quote for your vehicles, you need to consider the fuel efficiency versus fit for purpose. At EQSTRA, our clients enjoy the benefits of working with an experienced fleet company. When our consultants get in touch with you, they make sure that they don’t just give you what you want, but what you need. Evaluating your needs helps us determine what type of vehicles you will need. Our overall objective at EQSTRA is to save you time and money.

How to reduce fuel cost?

You need to assess and evaluate the needs of your fleet company and see if there are any possibilities to reduce your fleet size. It also becomes imperative that when you get a quote for your vehicles, you need to consider the fuel efficiency versus fit for purpose. At EQSTRA, our clients enjoy the benefits of working with an experienced fleet company. When our consultants get in touch with you, they make sure that they don’t just give you what you want, but what you need. Evaluating your needs helps us determine what type of vehicles you will need. Our overall objective at EQSTRA is to save you time and money.

The way your drivers behave on the road also largely determines how much you spend on fuel. Harsh acceleration, harsh braking, harsh cornering and speeding are all factors that ultimately increase your fuel cost. It then becomes important that you monitor how your drivers behave on the road. One way to do this is to make use of tracking. Tracking your vehicles or drivers will not only help in reducing your fuel but will also help minimise accidents on the roads, which will in turn save you money. Read more on how tracking can benefit your company.

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