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Managing a fleet of vehicles can be a complex and time-consuming task. From scheduling rides and dispatching vehicles to tracking expenses and generating invoices, there are many tasks that must be done to keep a fleet running smoothly. A fleet management system can streamline these tasks and save time and money.
But not all fleet management solutions are created equal. In this article, we’ll run through the core functions a fleet management platform must have.
Then we will dive into the functions that separate standard fleet management solutions from the ones that can truly make an impact on your business.
Auto dispatching is one of the primary functions and biggest benefits of a fleet management system. This feature allows you to automatically assign vehicles and drivers to rides based on factors such as location, availability, and vehicle type. Auto dispatching eliminates the need for manual scheduling and dispatching, saving your business time, money, and employee power.
Fleet management solutions save you business time and eliminate human errors by eliminating manual data entry.
Instead of wrestling with spreadsheets, a fleet management system stores your data electronically so it can be easily accessed and analyzed. When you work with accurate data, it’s easier to discover trends and use the information to influence business decisions.
A good fleet management solution puts drivers and customers on the same page.
A fleet management system keeps your customers informed and up-to-date with automatic trip notifications that let customers know when their ride is scheduled, when their driver will arrive, and when their ride is completed. This helps improve customer satisfaction and reduce the number of complaints and inquiries.
Fleet management solutions like EverTransit integrated with Twilio, Urban Airship, and SendGrid for reliable cross-platform messaging to enable drivers to receive notifications when rides are scheduled, where a customer needs to be picked up, and more.
Your fleet management system can accept payments online and generate invoices with a click to help you improve cash flow and reduce the time spent on billing and collections.
Driver tracking provides real-time information about the location, speed, and activity of drivers, allowing fleet managers to optimize routes, reduce fuel consumption, improve driver safety, and increase customer satisfaction. Additionally, driver tracking can also be used to monitor and manage driver behavior, such as excessive speeding or prolonged idling, which can improve overall fleet efficiency and lower operating costs.
Now that we've covered the basic functions of a fleet management system, we can dive into additional features that separate good fleet management systems from great ones.
Every business is different—even the ones in the same industry.
When selecting a fleet management system for your business, speak with a rep about how you can customize the platform to fit your needs. Customization options let you tailor your platform to your business, set driver permissions, and more. If you are stuck with a rigid fleet management system, you'll likely spend extra time navigating the platform or miss out on functions that would be helpful for your rideshare business.
We mentioned earlier that fleet management solutions need to come stock with data collection capabilities, but this is only part of the equation.
For your rideshare business to truly benefit from data collection, you need to be able to easily make choices based on the information you are gathering. EverTransit helps you discover trends that matter by automatically organizing meaningful data like average ride value, popular locations, returning customers, and trip duration into its intuitive dashboard.
Plus, EverTransit can fully integrate with Zendrive, the industry leader in driver safety and behavior optimization, to create driver reports that can identify dangerous driving, increase customer safety, and even lower insurance costs.
Multi-Load, Multi-Stop features allow businesses to optimize their routes, reducing transportation costs and increasing efficiency. By managing multiple loads and stops, companies can also improve their customer service by providing more accurate drop-off times and reducing potential delays or missed deliveries.
The ability to seamlessly add integrations to your fleet management platform can vastly improve the capabilities of your platform and enable you to further tailor your fleet management system to the needs of your business.
There are numerous programs and apps available to fleet managers like yourself that can help you better communicate with customers, transfer data, collect payments, and more.
For instance, EverTransit's Zapier integration gives users access to a powerful feature set that enables them to
In conclusion, a fleet management system can save time and money, especially when it combines the core functionality we discussed at the beginning of this article with the extras we discussed at the end.
And yes, for the record, EverTransit comes standard with all the money and time-saving features we discussed above and more. To learn more about how EverTransit can support your fleet, click the link below.
