Fleet management software is gaining popularity rapidly. The industry is set to achieve impressive heights in the coming years with its predicted value touching USD 67.38 billion by 2029. But even with a high number of users, fleet business owners have not unlocked the complete potential of using fleet management software.
A lot of features that the system offers to its users go unnoticed. Though seemingly small, each of these features plays a very important role in keeping the fleet up and running.
Let us learn where and how you can use features unfamiliar to you through this article.
You Might Not Know About These Features
Traditionally, fleet management systems were designed to keep track of vehicle locations only. But we are moving to an age of automation and slowly new features have been integrated with this system for seamless optimisation of fleets. Some features you should add to your fleet optimisation process are:
SOS Button
Driver and vehicle safety is one of the managers’ highest priorities. The process of ensuring security is aided by integrating an SOS button into the system. This button can be used by drivers to alert managers of any emergencies like accidents, breakdowns or other kinds of safety breaching.
Managers are then responsible for sending help to drivers. This help can be in the form of vehicle towing vans or repair technicians. Thus, this process removes the need for any other communication method between managers and drivers. It also prioritises situations that might require immediate action. This can be important for serious situations.
Parking Mode
Vehicles are most vulnerable while they are parked without the presence of their drivers. This is why it is important for managers to keep surveillance over their vehicles when they are parked. Fleet management systems come in handy in such cases. It detects the movement of vehicles when parking mode has been activated. Managers receive alerts of such cases.
Parking mode of vehicles can also be scheduled to ensure that drivers do not misuse the company’s resources for leisure purposes. Thus, if a vehicle is not stationary when parked, then managers can investigate the reason behind such alerts.
Lock/Unlock
In case a vehicle theft takes place, managers have the option to lock the vehicle. This means that the vehicle will not be able to move any further. This saves fleet owners from loss as investing in new vehicles is an additional expenditure. Once the vehicle has been locked, managers can track its location and they can proceed to retrieve the automobile.
This feature can be viewed right from the dashboard of the system. Upon clicking on an individual vehicle, managers can see whether the vehicle is locked or unlocked. This feature saves businesses from heavy losses as replacing vehicles can be very expensive.
Battery Disconnection Alarm
The market of reselling stolen vehicle parts is an ever-growing illegal business. Fleet vehicles can often fall prey to such pilferage acts as well. One of the parts often stolen is vehicle batteries. This is because it is very easy to disconnect them from the vehicles without needing to break into them.
The Fleet management system has alarms that go off as soon as the battery is disconnected from the vehicle. It also alerts managers about the same. Thus, businesses are saved from the extra expenditure. Battery theft does not affect the budget of the fleet alone. It renders a vehicle useless to perform tasks, thus hitting the fleet’s productivity.
Geofence
We usually talk about geofence as a feature that allows managers to ensure that their drivers visit a certain area during their trip. For example, when a waste collection truck goes out on its designated trip, all bins in the way can be marked as a separate geofence to ensure that drivers do not accidentally miss any on the way.
But not many fleets use a geofence to mark areas restricted for drivers. Using this method, managers get alerts when a vehicle beaches any restricted area boundary. Thus, the safety of their fleet can be maintained better.
Let us look at an example to understand this better. In an agricultural field, managers can geofence all the areas that are prone to have their cattle. Any vehicle entering such areas can cause harm to their animals or scare them. Thus, whenever a vehicle enters these geofences, managers will be able to stop them immediately, saving their cattle from any accidents.
Announcement
Communicating with each and every driver/transporter when a software-related notification has to be delivered can be difficult. This is a task that wastes managers’ time as contacting each driver separately will require time and resources. This is why the fleet management system has the feature of announcements. It allows you to circulate your message around with a single click.
All managers have to do is select their massage type, whether it is textual or in the form of media. Then they choose who will receive the message and finally it can be published after selecting the visibility time for the message.
For example, a certain transporter wants to contact their drivers to relay the message of an internet service provider facing technical issues. In this case, they can contact the managers directly and ask them to put up an announcement alerting every driver about this issue.
State Fuel Price
Managers and drivers of a fleet have access to live fuel prices of various states in the software itself. When managers are creating routes for their fleet, they can refer to these prices to plan their fuel refilling in a way that reduces cost.
For example, if a driver has to travel through two states A and B for transporting goods, then their fuel price can be compared. Suppose State A has lower rice, then managers can instruct the driver to buy fuel from that state instead of state B for better profit.
Invoices
Several fleets get paid/ pay drivers according to the distance their vehicles cover during transportation. For this to get executed accurately, managers have to track the distances their vehicles cover during each trip and then manually create invoices for the same.
But the fleet management system simplifies this process. When a vehicle is on the road, odometers are used to accurately calculate the distance to a vehicle and an invoice is generated in the software. This calculation is made on the basis of the price managers set for every kilometre of vehicle cover.
Nearby
This feature of the software helps drivers navigate their surroundings to the facility they need. For example, a driver is travelling for several hours and needs to refill fuel. They can use this function to locate all the nearby fuel stations.
Conclusion
Running profitable fleets is tough. But with the correct use of fleet management systems, it is easy for you to have a positive influence on your business. This is why managers have the responsibility to utilise all the features that the system has to offer.
TrackoBit is a reading fleet management software crafted to help you optimise your fleet efficiency. With its dynamic features, it can be the perfect match for your unique fleet. Request a demo to gain first-hand experience of how it can transform your fleet for the better.
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