How to Cut Fuel Costs with Fleet Management Software

In this article, we’ll show you how fleet management software is doing all of the above, along with our recommendation on the best fleet management software to leverage towards your own business’s success.

What is fleet management software?

Put simply, fleet management software is software designed to optimize the tasks and efficiency of an organization’s commercial vehicle/fleet operations. As fleet managers are often in charge of vehicle maintenance, the oversight of fuel consumption and costs, driver management, route planning, etc., many of these tasks require immense amounts of time and accumulated data to stay on top of.

By using fleet management software, organizations and fleet managers alike are better able to optimize their resources, securing more opportunities to make sales, nurture customer relationships, and grow their business.

How does fleet management software help businesses cut fuel costs?

To best explain how fleet management software works to help businesses cut fuel costs, it’s important to break down some key factors and benefits that come together to make this happen. These include:

Real-time Fuel Monitoring

Every fleet manager knows how time-consuming it can be to manually track fuel consumption across an entire fleet. Unnecessary miles can add up, and off-route stops or redeliveries have to be accounted for. Given that direct store delivery businesses are already working on thin profit margins, the need to monitor fuel usage becomes that much more vital.

For this reason, most fleet management software offers real-time fuel monitoring at a glance. Not only are you able to minimize driver idle time and maximize time effectiveness, but you’re able to clearly see how fuel is being used, trends and anomalies that might affect fuel consumption, and make changes or adjustments on the fly.

Driver Insights

Speaking of adjustments, no fleet is complete without its drivers, and those drivers are all prone to unique behaviors while on the road. For example, let’s say you have one driver who follows all the pre-assigned routes, but his shifts include a number of “unnecessary” stops, turns, idle time in traffic, etc. In addition, that driver doesn’t utilize cruise control nearly as often as they could, leading to far more fuel usage than expected.

Likewise, let’s say you have a second driver who drives the same route, but behaves a bit differently, using cruise control as often as they can. They naturally burn less fuel on their route, spend less time idling, and are generally seen as being more fuel efficient once the numbers are crunched. Thanks to fleet management software, the fleet manager can monitor both drivers in real-time, gaining useful insights to help Driver A improve their performance through feedback, advice, or additional training as needed. Furthermore, should the fleet manager decide they’d like to overhaul routes entirely, these driver insights grant him or her a much-needed leg-up on future training materials or ways to means to make their drivers’ jobs easier.

Accurate Traffic and Navigation Updates

No matter a person’s driving habits, anyone is prone to added fuel consumption or errors when at the mercy of unexpected traffic. Productivity and idle time go hand in hand, so accurate traffic and navigation updates are an absolute must in order to stay on top of driver and business efficiency goals.

Thankfully, fleet management software provides all of these benefits right out of the gate. Every route is optimized every day, leading to more efficient drivers, faster deliveries, and happier customers in the process. Fleet managers can continue to optimize these routes whenever the need arises, and all telematics are visible in real-time. No matter the scenario, your fleet is ready to handle whatever the road throws at you on a dime.

How can I add fleet management software to my business?

Adding fleet management software to your business is easy, and we recommend starting with bMobile Route. Built for convenience from the ground up, bMobile is an easy-to-use, ERP-certified solution for distributors already familiar with QuickBooks, Sage, Syspro, NetSuite, Microsoft (Dynamics), and other popular ERP systems, with EDI and DEX integration that are second to none. Drowning in a sea of spreadsheets? bMobile eliminates the need for manual processing of invoice data with the click of a button.

Likewise, bMobile’s customers enjoy all the cost reduction and route optimization benefits outlined in this article, along with instant prioritization of delivery stops relative to distance, efficiency, and delivery time windows. With clear audits of warehouse-to-truck, truck-to-truck, truck-to-store, and truck-to-warehouse, your business’s end-of-day reports have never been cleaner, or more accurate. See what bMobile’s fleet management software can do for your business today with their free demo.