The continuous advancement in technology is constantly changing and refining the way we manage fleets. One of the most important developments is being able to adapt fuel cards to suit the needs of each fleet.
Fuel cards are no longer a credit card substitute that can only purchase fuel—they have evolved into an amazing tool that allows fleet managers to structure exactly how fleet fuel is purchased. They can also be linked to myriad data tracking options that allow you to:
- Identify fuel-heavy routes
- Calculate the exact fuel consumption of each individual vehicle
- Identify the most efficient drivers and vice versa
- Get real-time alerts when a fuel card is used—including exactly where it’s being used
- Link one card to a specific vehicle or driver
- Limit the amount of fuel that can be purchased per vehicle/per day/per month—whatever suits your fleet
- Immediately stop a card if necessary
- Link the cards to an app that shares necessary information and even allows for payments to be approved remotely.
- Combine their use with manual options such as fuel tags/rings that either dictate where vehicles can fill up, or limit the amount of fuel per stop...
The above fuel card options (and there are more), mean that fleet fuel can be precisely monitored and tracked. This not only helps you prevent fraud, but also helps to identify any fuel-guzzling routes, driving habits, or even vehicles that are using more fuel than they should. Armed with all this information, fleet managers are able to effectively reduce their fleet fuel costs.
Choose the right tech for you
With all these options available it’s important to only employ the solutions that will benefit your fleet. You don’t want to implement so many restrictions that it hampers the ability of your fleet to do its job. It’s important to find the right balance between reduced risk and seamless fleet operations.
To find this balance you need to have a 100% clear understanding of how your fleet currently operates, what the problems are, and what your fleet goals are. This is the ideal time to request an expert consultation, as this exercise can highlight many areas where your fleet could be saving money.
Before you make any changes to your fleet operations you must always review your fleet policy. Your fleet policy is your most important guideline and should be regularly updated and available to all relevant staff. Think of your fleet policy as the foundation of your fleet operations—if it’s not well-prepared everything else will suffer.
It’s no good adding solutions, technology, and admin if your base is faulty. To get an idea or starting point for a good fleet policy, download our fleet management policy document and compare it with your existing fleet policy.
Audit your fleet fuel system
After reviewing your fleet policy and outlining how your current fleet fuel system works, do a full audit to answer the following:
- Are you spending more on fuel than the records show? Is fuel going missing or are some transactions not making sense?
- Is this due to poor internal admin and can the situation be easily resolved?
- Are you able to account for every litre used and kilometre driven? Are your records accurate or is there a tendency to ‘round off’?
- If you spot any concerns, where are they popping up? With certain vehicles, drivers, routes, fuel stops, or admin processes?
- Can these problems be solved by reviewing your fleet policy and processes, or do you need to revise the way things are done?
If a number of red flags come up during such an audit, or if too much information is missing, your fleet is likely bleeding money that you’re not even aware of. No business can afford this and it is easy to solve with the right fleet management partner.
Every fleet is unique
The good news is that your solutions for tracking fleet fuel and ensuring expenses stay on track are endless. Depending on your fleet type and size you can look at solutions such as:
- A fuel card that is linked to one specific vehicle. This means you must track who drives this vehicle each day which can be done with a simple digital log/vehicle allocations. This works very well for pool vehicles.
- If needed, this can be linked to a tracking system so that reports can be generated showing how much fuel was used per vehicle, who drove it, what routes were taken, when and where it was fuelled etc.
- A fuel card linked to a person. This is often the first choice for executive fleets as it means staff can swap vehicles as needed without having to change their fuel cards. In this case you can have a digital system that tracks all fuel transactions and shows which vehicle was filled, where, when, and how often. This will allow you to spot irregularities and address them if needed.
- Allocating one or more fuel depots where vehicles can be fuelled. This works well for fixed routes and long haul where vehicles/drivers may need to be rescheduled but routes remain the same. It also allows you to track which vehicles were fuelled when and who the driver was, so you still collect all of that information.
The above examples are simply three basic solutions among many. Many of these can be combined in the same fleet and can be adapted to suit your specific needs.
The point is: fuel loss and fraud will always be a factor, but a well-planned fuel solution for your fleet will dramatically reduce fuel loss or excessive fuel usage.
By getting an expert fleet partner to assist you can set up a fleet fuel system that keeps your fleet on the road with minimal admin and frustration, and reduced risk. There are plenty of options and you simply need to match your fleet needs with the right solutions.
Your fleet policy lays the groundwork for successful fuel management, download our company car policy to gain a better understanding into the requirements of your fleet department. Our team of experts are waiting to assist you with your fleet management needs, contact us to arrange a demonstration of how we can help your fleet.
