Data Driven Decision Making: Using Fleet Management Software to Take the Guesswork Out of Fleet Management

We live in a data driven world. Just look around you - evidence of our complete and total reliance on data in every aspect of our lives is everywhere. It’s on our computer screens, in our pockets, on our desks; in some cases it might even be on our wrists as the wearable market starts to grow. Every action is a data point. Every reaction to that action is a data point. The quantification of the activities we engage in on a day to day basis is in full swing.

For many industries, this influx of data has allowed us to slice information in ways we weren’t able to just years ago. Collection is one thing. The true benefit comes from being able to analyze the data and use it to make key decisions for the direction of your company or business. After all, what good is a couple hundred thousand data points if you lack the ability to interpret them and find out what they actually mean?

These principles are a key aspect of getting the most out of your fleet management software solution. Tracking key pieces of information about your fleet is, of course, critical to smooth fleet operation. However, it is the interpretation of that data over the long term that can lead to discoveries about your fleet, shed light on problems that you didn’t know you had, and make the solutions to those problems that much more obvious.

Long-time fleet managers will tell you about the amount of estimation and approximation that used to plague the industry. Fuel bills and repair invoices were about as in-depth as the reporting would get. And, the amount of time it would take to actually pull a report together made the reporting process almost more expensive than any benefit that it might produce.

Present day, using a data-driven methodology, those hours are reduced to seconds. Hundreds of taps on a calculator are reduced to a couple of mouse clicks as variables are selected and queries are run against a database. The collected wisdom of weeks, months, or years worth of data is displayed in a colorful graph or chart as fluctuations in vehicle cost, mechanical expenditures, fuel charges, tire life, safety issues, and countless other metrics are displayed on demand.

This is the true power of bringing fleet management software into your organization. Of course you get the benefits of knowing specific information about your vehicles at a glance - a fleet management system without actual management capabilities isn’t much of a management solution! But the true benefit comes from using that management data in aggregate. The fact that you spent more on fuel for a particular vehicle this week may seem irrelevant now. However, taken over six months, the data points pertaining to that vehicle (or any subset of vehicles in your fleet) may paint a picture that you weren’t expecting to see; or in many cases, wouldn’t have seen unless you were able to analyze that data over time.

Come and join the data revolution. Use your fleet management software to do more than just track VINs, license plate numbers, mileage, and driver information. The more information you put in the hands of your fleet management software, the more you can analyze that data against other key metrics. And, once equipped with this new information, your ability to make key decisions and execute on new strategies will be far greater; making you a much more effective and successful fleet manager.