A fundamental business principle is that there are two ways to make more money:
Cut expenses without cutting production or income
AND/OR
Increase production without increasing expenses.
At first, these two concepts sound almost like the same thing. However, they are two very different disciplines, yet they are so tightly woven together in operating a business on a day-to-day basis, that it is almost impossible to change one without having an effect on the other.
Every business that runs a fleet of vehicles faces many of the same issues. Some of the issues are more immediate, time consuming and important than others, but running a fleet is a big expense and drilling down on each item can mean the difference between effectively and efficiently running a fleet and making money, or allowing the fleet vehicles to drain off profit unnecessarily.
In coming weeks, we’ll discuss each of these concepts in more detail, but for today, just take a look at the list and see if your company is addressing the issues on a routine basis. Keep in mind that just because you may have come up with a great solution to one or more of the issues in prior years, there are continual advances in technology on many levels which dictate that processes and procedures be reviewed and updated. In no particular order:
$ Fuel economy
$ Fuel storage and dispensing (make sure employees are not filling up their wife’s car too)
$ Insurance: we have seen 10-15% savings!
$ Driver training: Motivate better behavior – no more harsh braking or speeding!
$ Preventive maintenance
$ Routing and tracking
$ Vehicle monitoring to maximize utilization
$ Reporting vehicle mileage
$ Tax deductions: Track tax deductable mileage!
$ Repair services: Set maintenance reminders
$ Cleaning: Schedule maintenance notices
$ Advertising: Avoid your branded trucks being parked at Hooters…
$ Vehicle emissions: Reduce idle time by modifying behavior and setting alerts
$ Local, state and federal regulations: DOT Logs, Mileage by State reports
$ Towing
$ Special equipment installations
$ Accident reporting
There are certainly other problems and issues that aren’t included in this list, but each item on the list, if analyzed, could lead to reduced expenses and/or increased productivity based on the use of your fleet vehicles. Check our website each week for more information: https://argotrak.com/blog/.