Whether you’re managing a public or private fleet, risk management is one of the most important aspects of your job. It may not be “visible” on a daily basis, but without this solid underpinning, your operation could sink – drifting slowly behind or suffering a catastrophic failure from which you can’t recover. A fuel management system can be your most valuable ally in ameliorating risk.
Here are just five areas in which a fuel management system can protect your fleet investment.
Theft.
Across the nation, theft accounts for an average 3% of fuel budgets for fueling and transportation companies. When you consider the fact that fuel probably represents your highest expense other than payroll, that seemingly small percentage takes on frightening proportions.
Think theft is an inevitable, if distasteful, cost of doing business? Not if you adopt a fuel management system. Especially if you incorporate Automotive Information Modules that make your fueling operation entirely hands-free.
Disappearances.
Some fuel losses are more amorphous. You purchased the fuel, you seem to be using it, but where is it going, exactly? With traditional fueling operations, a distracted driver can inadvertently dispense fuel into the wrong vehicle.
And since record-keeping depends on the driver reading and writing down vehicle and fuelling information, it’s all-too-possible for them to mis-read or transpose numbers, making it impossible for you to accurately track the data down the road. What if your driver simply forgets to write something down?
A fuel management system is automated, so it eliminates human error. Tracking is no longer a problem, and you can gather much more detailed information about fueling and each vehicle’s performance and status.
Compliance failure.
The potential risk of non-compliance should make you shudder. Incomplete information, or incorrect information, can be deadly for regulatory reporting and other filings. If you can’t comply on time and completely, you’ll put yourself in some agency’s headlights, an uncomfortable position to say the least.
Besides, you need information for your own internal decision making, not just the government. If you don’t have the right data, you can’t make sound daily operations decisions or react swiftly when problems or opportunities present themselves. That puts your bottom line and your competitiveness at risk.
A fuel management system stores virtually unlimited information in a central database. Everything you need for reporting or internal analysis is right at your fingertips, 24/7, and you can compile it in any format you need.
Premature fleet demise.
Your fleet represents an enormous capital investment, so vehicles have to last at least as long as planned to meet your ROI projections. A shortened lifespan means you’ll have to replace that vehicle sooner than expected, which throws off your forecasting and planning. The funds needed to purchase aren’t in the budget.
Unnecessary vehicle wear and tear costs money in more frequent repairs as well as reduced mileage.
A fuel management system supports a healthy fleet. You can easily maintain a regular preventive maintenance schedule, and even be alerted to any performance anomalies or vehicle error codes that could indicate an impending problem. Early detection and repair generally costs less and heads off more expensive problems later on.
Mired in the age of manual labor.
Automation has been seen as a distinct business advantage since the Industrial Revolution. Mechanized processes changed peoples’ lives and the way business functions. It’s the same today, only now we’re seeing rapid technology advances folks back then could never have imagined.
You’re facing tight margins and tough competition. No wonder savvy managers are switching to a fuel management system that can streamline your operations and significantly increase productivity. With automation firmly in place, drivers, accounting and administrative staff can skip tedious, redundant data entry and related tasks, focusing instead on work that benefits your bottom line.
A fuel management reduces the risk that you’ll fall behind. Ultimately, that’s the biggest risk of all.