August 2020 - Fleet Management Backend Site

How to Optimize Your Fleet Operations with Reports

Posted on August 24, 2020 by fmsupadminnxtjs

Use a data-driven approach to optimize your fleet operations with reports. The reports generated by fleet management software are based on various metrics that help you measure your fleet performance. Analyzing the reports will help improve your fleet performance.

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Let’s take a look at the different reports, and how you can optimize your fleet operations using these reports. But first, let’s check out the basic points to consider while setting up a reporting system in a fleet management software.

Develop an Effective Reporting System

There’s a fine line between essential information and information overload. When the fleet managers get too much information from the software, they will be confused about how to optimize the operations.

That’s why it is essential to develop an effective reporting system that will provide the essential data. Consider the following points while setting up a reporting system in your fleet management software:

What kind of information should be gathered by the reports?
What is the frequency of generating reports?
Who should have access to the reports?
Is there any specific information requested by the senior management?
Should the reports be one-time or long-term?
What areas of operations do the reports cover?
Can the data from one report be used for another report?
Do you need reports for inventory management?
Will the reports help track compliance?

These questions will help you decide on the essential reports needed to get an overview and in-depth information about your fleet.

Reports and the Information They Provide

Let’s take a look at the basic reports that a fleet management software generates and how you can use that data to optimize your fleet operations.

Trip Assigned and Trip Completed Reports

Report Data: These reports will have the details of the trips that you’ve assigned to each driver and the status of the trips.

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Report Analysis: A comparative analysis of these two reports will help you monitor driver performance and productivity. In case the trip is not completed, then the fleet manager needs to find out the valid reasons for the incomplete trip.

If it is because of a repair or accident, then immediate action needs to be taken. Also, the fleet manager needs to check and update the preventive maintenance program. If the incomplete status is because of traffic or reroutes, then the situation needs to be checked to arrange an alternate solution.

The trip assigned report will give you the fleet availability rate. You will know how many vehicles are on-road and how many not in use. Fleet managers should try to maintain an availability rate of about 95% at any point in time with a 5% backup for emergencies.

Expense Report

Report Data: This comprehensive report will give fleet managers an overall view of the expenses incurred. The report will have details of expenses related to regular service and maintenance, fuel and spare parts. You can also have individual reports for

Total fuel costs/fuel costs per trip
The average mileage of the vehicle
Service charges
Cost of a replacement vehicle in case of original vehicle downtime
Driver expenses

Report Analysis: The comprehensive report will let you know if the fleet management expenses are within the budget. It will also be useful when the fleet managers are presenting data to the higherups. Individual reports of fuel expenses, replacement parts, and such will help keep a close eye on these expenses.

They can also help avert fuel theft and replacement part thefts. Comparing the fuel usage based on the vehicle type to the route details will help identify if there are any detours in the route.

Inspection and Maintenance Reports

Report Data: These reports will give you data when and who did the vehicle inspection. It will also give you details of when the vehicle maintenance and the services were done.

Report Analysis: Analysing these reports will give you a heads-up on the vehicle maintenance schedule, which can help you in assigning the vehicles.

Vehicle inspections help you identify minor problems before they blow up into huge issues, leading to more vehicle downtime and operational losses. You can also use the maintenance reports to prepare a preventive maintenance program and schedule the services.

Vehicle Running Report

Report Data: This report will give you the day-to-day breakup of the vehicle movement. It will give you data like total running time, distance travelled, driver details, and idling time. You can have this report generated daily, weekly, and monthly based on your requirements.

Report Analysis: Analysing the daily report will help you easily find if there are any inconsistencies in the route, fuel usage, or vehicle performance. The weekly and monthly reports will help you gauge the vehicle’s overall performance.

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Fleet managers will find the monthly reports useful while presenting fleet maintenance reports to higher management. This report also helps in efficient fuel management as it can help optimize the route and vehicle performance.

Distance Travelled Report

Report Data: This report will give you details of the distance travelled on each trip by each vehicle in your fleet.

Report Analysis: You can compare the optimized route planned with the distance travelled to check if there are any discrepancies. It will help weed out any possible malpractice right at the early stages. The distance travelled report will also help in scheduling maintenance that needs to be done after every 5k or 10k kilometers.

Safe Driver Ranking Report

Report Data: This self-ranking report gives an accurate overview of a driver’s performance and their driving behaviour.

Report Analysis: The reports will help you check if the drivers follow traffic regulations, drive within the stipulated speed, and practice safe driving. This report can also be compared with any complaints received about driver behaviour to evaluate their performance.

Action can be taken against drivers who drive rashly or behave badly with the passengers. On the other side, fleet managers can reward and encourage drivers who have a good track record.

Calendar and Duty Roaster

Report Data: Fleet managers can use this roaster to get an overview of the available vehicles and drivers. It will also give details about the shift hours, duty days and leave days of the drivers.

Report Analysis: This roaster cum report helps fleet managers manage the operations of the entire fleet. They will have a clear picture of the engaged and available drivers, which will help in trip allocation. The shift hours will help check if the drivers are working overtime.

If the drivers are putting in too many hours of overtime, then they can get physically and mentally fatigued. It could lead to accidents. So, fleet managers need to keep an eye on the hours of duty of each driver to ensure they have the proper work-rest balance. The dashboard will also allow fleet managers to assign drivers and vehicles for sudden unplanned trips or emergencies.

Predictive Maintenance Reports

Report Data: The predictive maintenance reports will help fleet managers schedule reports based on the vehicle type, manufacturer service plan and driver inputs.

Report Analysis: This report will be very helpful in maintaining fleet performance. Fleet managers can assign vehicles based on the preventive maintenance schedule. So, the vehicle’s downtime will also be greatly reduced.

Proper maintenance at the right time will also help enhance the vehicle’s life and performance. Predictive maintenance also helps reduce operational costs and expenses incurred due to vehicle repairs and replacements.

Compliance Reports

Report Data: The compliance report will have all data regarding a vehicle’s compliance and statutory regulations. Details of when the vehicle was purchased, its registration, and FC will all be available in the report.

Report Analysis: Fleet managers will find this report useful while checking if all the vehicles meet the compliance set by the government. If the vehicles don’t meet the regulations, then there could be hefty fines.

Also, the vehicle may have to be removed from the fleet until the issue is resolved. This will further cause more operational losses. Therefore, this report will help fleet managers prevent such problems.

Conclusion

The reports that a cab service provider will need are different from the ones that a school bus fleet needs. Therefore, it is important to have automated tracking reports that are customized to your business requirements.

Reports not only help manage and monitor the fleet but also reduce vehicle downtime and operational costs. If you are interested in setting up a fleet management system with a customized reporting system, contact us now.

Benefits of Using Car Rental Software for Taxi Operators

Posted on August 12, 2020 by fmsupadminnxtjs

Do you own a car rental company? If yes, you must be aware as to how challenging it is to run the business. Right from filling out each rental order that you receive on a daily basis to collecting the payment you have to manage everything so as not to allow multiple bookings for the same car and ensure that the best service is available to all your customers.

Many car rental services continue to make use of outdated tools such as telephones, e-mails, Word, and Excel macros, among others, both for communication purposes and managing their business. These tools have been very helpful in the past, but they are very slow and are less effective compared to the modern solutions that are available in the market today.

A car rental software solution that has been developed keeping in mind the needs of modern-day customers is more efficient and is, therefore, beneficial in many ways. Before looking at the benefits of using car rental software they offer, it is important that you have a clear understanding of the main features that car rental solutions come with.

Car Rental Software – Features

The rental order management module allows you to track the availability of cars in your fleet and set rental periods using the calendar option and extend them automatically as per requirement.

The collaboration feature enables your employees to communicate from one platform for handling rental orders.

The inventory management module helps you to monitor the availability of your assets, their movement, and spare parts needed for maintenance.

The Quotation feature allows you to create quotes as well as invoices in just a few clicks.

CRM and External Communication capability of the software helps you to easily interact not only with customers but also with other rental companies.

The Notification feature is very helpful in intimating your customers about the status of their order and reminding them as to when the rental period is scheduled to expire.

Cloud-based software allows access to information on the go and it is not limited to just a single device.

Centralized Data Storage facility ensures that all the information remains in one place and eliminates the need to use several different storage media.

Benefits of Using Car Rental Software

Now that you know the key features of a good car rental solution, it may not be very difficult for you to guess as to how beneficial it could be when implemented for your business.

As you can see, it helps you save time, communicate more easily and efficiently, and more than anything monitors the cars you rent out to your customers. However, some of the main benefits of using car rental software are listed below for your ready reference and to help you make an informed decision.

Quotes and invoices can be generated faster

Car rental software helps you to quickly generate quotes as well as invoices. Preparing a quote or an invoice manually is a challenging task as you will have to make several calculations. Using a template created in Excel or Word will make it a little convenient but will not be able to eliminate the monotony associated with the task.

A car rental management solution, on the other hand, will make both quote and invoice generation easier and faster. You just have to key in a few data into the system. The software program will capture the required information from the database you have created for your business.

In the bargain, you will be able to save a lot of time and you can send the quote or invoice to your customer directly from the same platform.

Car availability can be determined quickly

Whenever you receive a rental order, it is a challenging task to find out as to which car is available for servicing the order. If you are not able to act fast, you may lose the order.

A failure in fulfilling a customer’s order can adversely affect your business in the long run. The right rental software solution enables tracking of cars available in your asset inventory database.

Further, you will also be able to view the timeline of the cars in your fleet. This means that you do not have to settle for any guesswork.

Facilitates all communications from one platform

Typically, the employees of a car rental service spend a lot of time communicating with customers during the rental period. They make telephone calls and send emails or short messages. However, the problem is that the required information may not be readily available to respond quickly.

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The advantage of using can rental software is that it automatically schedules assignments to employees and task updates can be carried out immediately as they would be able to see the details in front of them in the system. This makes it easy for them to quickly service their customers.

Detection of damage or loss of items is easy

Often you may notice damages caused to the rented car or the loss of a device when customers return the vehicle to you. Rental software is designed to capture and record such information. This makes it easy for you to claim damages from the person who rented your car.

Well-designed car rental programs can even generate a bill automatically. This module can be used for managing the preventive maintenance function as well. The rental solution will notify you when it is time to carry out a maintenance job such as changing engine oil, tires, and fuel and air filter, etc.

Access to information on the go

If you are operating a car rental business in the traditional manner, you will be dependent on the efficiency of your employees.

Cloud-based car rental software solutions help you access information on the go and this contributes a great deal towards the improvement of operational efficiencies and employee productivity. The flexibility and access to data in real-time go a long way in making your service highly efficient and competitive.

Cost savings

The improvement in operational efficiencies and employee productivity leads to cost savings. There is no cost involved in the implementation of car rental software. Further, it provides you with accessibility to performance data almost immediately.

These aspects contribute to reducing your operational costs. The fleet management module which tracks scheduled vehicle maintenance contributes to reducing vehicle breakdowns and increases vehicle utilization.

Moreover, well-designed car rental solutions come with simple and easy to use screens and staff members can be trained quickly to adapt to the system. This means that you don’t have to allocate large amounts for staff training purposes.

Security

The best car rental software solutions available in the market ensure the utmost security to both customer data and your company’s financial data. Most of them implement a two-factor authentication system to ensure a high level of security.

Choosing the right solution is important

Now that you have some information about the benefits of using car rental software for your taxi operation business, you must be wondering as to what aspects you should look into to choose the right solution.

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First of all, you must ensure that the vehicle rental software you are planning to buy is compatible with the ERP system you are currently using. Further, it should be flexible so that you can make the modifications required to cater to your specific needs. Finally, the software should ensure a high level of security.

Final Thoughts

You should do thorough research and buy the car rental software that allows you to provide the best-renting experience to your customers. Ultimately, it is customer satisfaction that drives your business and helps you stay ahead of your competitors. This is because satisfied customers will recommend your car rental business to others.

How to Drive in More Profit With A Car Rental Solution

Posted on August 5, 2020 by fmsupadminnxtjs

Car rental is a booming business in the current market situation, lot of people find it cheaper and convenient to rent a car rather than invest in one. Currently, the revenue of the car rental business is about US$59,518M.

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It is estimated that this business will increase to $124.56 by 2022. If you already have a car rental business or plan to establish one, we suggest you invest in a good car rental solution that helps in cost savings and optimised fleet performance.

What is Car Rental Solution?

It is a software program that will give you a unified view of all the performance of all the cars in your fleet. This software helps you track all the cars in real-time. It allows easy check-in and check-out of the vehicle.

The modules of the car rental software help you manage reservations, check payments, track maintenance, and manage reports. Let’s take a look at the various features of a car rental solution and how they can help you drive in more profit.

Track All the Cars in Your Fleet

The software gives you real-time updates on the location of your car. You can check if the vehicle is idling, parked, or moving. Knowing the exact location of the vehicle will make it easy for you to assign the closest free vehicle to the next customer on line.

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The real-time tracking also helps you check if the vehicle has gone out of the grid. You can set a geofence using the software. It will give you an alert when the vehicle goes out of the virtual fence. This alert will help you identify if there is any unauthorized vehicle usage. Tracking features also let you monitor rash driving and over speeding.

So, how does the tracking feature help you improve the bottom line? Real-time tracking lets you know the exact location of the vehicle. So, you can dispatch a vehicle at the fastest possible time, which reduces customer wait time and improves your revenue.

Secondly, tracking driver behaviour will help you ensure the safety of your customers. Happy and safe customers are sure to become returning customers.

Setup a Preventive Maintenance Plan

The car rental software maintains a record of the monthly, half-yearly, and yearly service and maintenance. Along with the time and type of service, the software also tracks the expenses involved in maintenance.

You can view details of expenses related to the purchase of spare parts, fines, replacement parts, and more. The maintenance module also lets you know if the vehicle is available for customer use.

By tracking the maintenance, the software ensures that the car meets all the statutory compliances. Also, the preventive maintenance program helps keep your vehicle in top condition and ready for use.

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Monitoring maintenance helps reduce vehicle downtime, so your car is on the road for the maximum time. This, in turn, translates to better profits and reduced service and repair expenses.

Have all the Data Handy

You don’t need to worry about managing all the paperwork related to organizing and planning your fleet movement. The software takes care of it for you. The calendar option gives you a clear view of the free and in-use vehicles. The tracker will also let you know approximately when you can expect the vehicles in use to become free.

All these organisational data will help you manage your fleet. You will find it easy to schedule vehicles based on availability. This feature reduces the burden on your staff allowing them to focus on ways to improve your fleet performance.

The car rental software also records the vehicle condition using a synced mobile app camera. So, at any point in time, you will have visual proof of the vehicle condition.

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The software keeps a record of the rent history. So, you will be able to find out who rented the vehicle, at what time, where the vehicle travelled and when it was returned. All this information will be useful in case there are any problems related to the vehicle or the customer who used it.

Build Customer Relationship

The most important feature of car rental software is its interactive feature. The multilanguage compatibility feature makes it very user friendly. You can also use the application to create email templates to send official mails to the drivers or the customers.

You can also create invoices and send bills via the software. This feature makes it convenient for you to tally your expenses and payments. If you offer subscription plans for your customers, then this software can help keep track of the subscriptions. The application can be designed to send automated emails when it’s time to renew the subscription.

Conclusion

A car rental software application helps in fleet management and maintenance. The software helps track all the vehicles in real-time and effectively manages the daily operations of fleet management. Also, you can do your billing and invoice via the platform.

The software helps streamline your accounting process, track driver activity, and automate marketing campaigns. The right car rental solution can reduce manual efforts and improve your profit margin. Contact us to know more about how our car rental solution can help optimize your fleet performance and profit.