How to Unleash the Financial Potential of Your Fleet

Unleashing the Financial Potential of Your Fleet

Your fleet is more than just a set of wheels with constant, nagging needs. It’s a potential money maker. A tool that can enable your business not only to function but to flourish.

But a healthy, revenue-generating fleet doesn’t happen by accident. It needs to be managed effectively. And that may require a shift in your fleet management perspective.

Proactive, whole fleet management

Daniel “DJ” Lord, VP of Fleet Services for GM Financial Fleet Solutions, says that successful fleet management is about more than keeping up with administrative tasks.

“Fleet management is a proactive approach to managing your entire fleet rather than reacting to issues as they arise with individual vehicles.”

Reactive fleet management can lead to inefficiencies and unexpected maintenance costs. Waiting for a problem to occur before taking action often results in vehicle downtime and costly repairs. Of course, you can’t know when a vehicle will break down. However, a proactive approach will help you anticipate and prevent issues before they occur.

Being proactive requires a comprehensive understanding of your fleet’s overall health and performance. A lot of work goes into keeping a single vehicle on the road; the more vehicles you have, the more that work is multiplied. Without a whole fleet perspective, you can easily find yourself back in reactive mode.

From guesswork to reliable data

To accurately understand your fleet’s performance, you need data. DJ continues, “Fleet management also includes having a mechanism for capturing data so you can make data-driven decisions.”

Data is the lifeblood of proactive fleet management. By capturing and analyzing data from each vehicle, you can gain insights into patterns and trends that can help predict potential issues. This data can include everything from fuel consumption and mileage to maintenance history and driver behavior.

For example, by using fuel cards to monitor fleet-wide fuel consumption, you can identify vehicles that are consuming more fuel than expected. This could indicate a potential mechanical issue that, if addressed early, could prevent more serious problems down the line.

Data on driver behavior can help identify speeding or harsh braking that could lead to accidents or increased wear and tear on the vehicles, leading to opportunities to improve safety and reduce maintenance costs.

A data-driven approach can also significantly reduce costs by identifying and addressing issues before they result in costly repairs or downtime. By understanding vehicle performance, you can make informed decisions about everything from maintenance schedules to route planning. And to help keep your drivers safe, a data-driven approach can identify and address potential safety issues before they result in accidents.

It all works together. Data makes it possible to see your whole fleet. A whole fleet perspective makes it possible to be proactive. And proactivity is the key to financial advantages.

GM Financial Fleet Solutions has the expertise and the tools to help your company shift to a proactive fleet management approach. When you’re ready to talk, we’re ready to listen.

CONSULT WITH AN EXPERT

By Ross Appleton, GM Financial

Ross Appleton loves to help people navigate their toughest challenges. He believes that clarity is the key to flourishing in a complex world, and that a timely dad joke is good for the soul. When he isn’t talking or writing about big ideas, you’ll likely find him reading about them in old books. He is married, and two of his four children currently serve in the U.S. Army.