Today, many ecommerce companies and firms rely on transportation for their businesses. It involves many risks associated with vehicle investments, improving efficiency, productivity, reducing the overall transportation and staff costs.
The fleet management industry is thrusting new ways to improve performances and decrease spending. Fleet management software serve these companies by minimizing risks and maximizing profits.
The fleet management industry is experiencing digital transformations that will hugely influence its future. Automating fleet processes through software allows supervisors to kill hours of data insertion and collect it in an orderly manner to enhance operations and their processing.
Having time for precise analysis gives fleet managers a possibility to improve operations. With the onset of smart devices that can monitor and control all the essential functions of a vehicle, it has become a lot easier for businesses to monitor and manage their fleet.
New Developments In The Sphere Of Fleet Management
Telematics
Telematics is a combination of telecommunication and informatics. It can change the way fleet managers look at their fleet and manage it.
The telematics provides data to be captured, which can include location, speed, idling time, harsh acceleration or braking, fuel consumption, vehicle faults, and more.
It is a vehicle tracking device that is capable of doing so much more than it is doing presently.
Tracking
Vehicle tracking helps in analyzing driver behavior plus odometer updates. These are essential for spare parts inventory and maintenance schedules. It also helps in determining if a consignment will reach its destination on time.
If not, the manager can dispatch other vehicles to finish the assigned work. Fleet management systems have been using GPS to track school buses and cabs in the area for a long time. It can also be used to track and manage all other kinds of fleet as well.
Data Visualization
Concepts like data science and machine learning have transformed how fleet managers visualize the present data. The data usage for fleet management has been far-reaching for a few years now.
The trend is expanding, and this vital shift helps the fleet managers take an enthusiastic approach to its operations. Fleet managers can now optimize the route and delivery options based on the analytics presented by the software.
Faster deliveries and lesser operating costs are some prominent advantages.
Maintenance Management
Expensive components and their replacement charges can escalate the cost of operation of a fleet. Deciding what’s the best price for replacement parts, battling rising labor charges, or even building a vehicle maintenance plan is difficult without software.
Fleet management software use edge computing to improve response time and save bandwidth. Fleet managers can have an optimized maintenance schedule within seconds now.
Autonomous Vehicles
The only way to reduce human error and prevent accidents and cost escalation in a fleet is to make the whole process self-sufficient. There have been a lot of cases where the drivers were drunk or sleepy, and they caused an accident.
Fleet managers can prevent it by making the vehicles autonomous. Optimists predict that by 2030, autonomous driving vehicles will replace human drivers and for good.
Vehicle Sharing
Vehicle sharing is going to be the latest industry-disrupting technology in the field of fleet management. Lots of vehicles are left idle in a fleet at all times.
Fleet managers can now allow others to rent their vehicles or lease them out to reduce the burden on the fleet. They can even hire other cars should there be any need for it.
This way, they are not only reducing their own cost of operation, but they are also reducing the company’s carbon footprint on the globe.
Video Analytics
Video analytics helps in monitoring the behavior and health of truck drivers to reduce accidents. It allows the fleet management software to assess if the driver is drunk, not feeling well or even sleepy.
Unnecessary fuel consumption can also be minimized. It is one of the most popular trends in commercial fleet management and logistics industry now.
Onboard computers with 4G and GPS, cameras, accelerometers, and visual analytics software, are required to install video analytics.
Driver Assist Systems
Driver Assist Systems are AI-based systems that are installed inside vehicles to assist the driver in diverse ways. It can help avoid accidents based on different kinds of environmental conditions and driver behavior.
Emergency braking and adaptive cruise control are some examples of Driver Assist Systems. These features have been present for a long time in personal cars, and are now finding their way into fleet management systems too.
In Conclusion
Times are changing for fleet management systems, and that too at a fast rate. There is always a need to boost the operational efficiency of the systems, now more than ever.
Technological advancements will most definitely be the reason why only a few fleets will be doing their best over time. IT, AI, IoT, and Big Data Analytics are going to transform the way managers are going to look at data.
There is a need for large computability and data security, as no one wants their data to be falling into the wrong hands. A lot of fleet managers are upskilling their existing IT frameworks and switching from legacy systems to new and modern techniques.
A shift from tactical management to strategic management is evident in this industry, and everyone wants to be on the right side. Samsara is a great tool and a unified system to increase the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of the operations of your fleet.
They offer everything that you might need to scale up your fleet operations. Don’t miss out on such a great opportunity. Cheers!
