Solera proactively analyzes your historical route and resource data and then modifies your fleet management strategy plans to optimize your entire sales, service, and distribution operations, all while respecting your unique business requirements.
Strategies for fleets that prioritize productivity and growth
Solera lets you create a comprehensive vehicle fleet management strategy to reduce costs, automate time-consuming manual analysis, boost productivity, and support your most ambitious growth plans
Improve accuracy by automating route analysis
Re-routing analyses help devise a fleet management strategy that boosts productivity. Based on historical data, you can automatically analyze and optimize your distribution, service, and sales operations, eliminating manual re-routing and improving accuracy
View model resource planning scenarios
Solera’s fleet strategy management software utilizes advanced routing algorithms, the first technology of its kind in the industry, to model resource planning scenarios and route improvements, manage operations, and better balance capacity with workload
Metrics that are easy to digest
Easily understood metrics are the foundation of an effective fleet strategy management plan. Solera solutions provide digestible route statistics for quick comparison of territories and routes. Robust reports for sales, service, and distribution are configurable to your information preferences.
Vehicle fleet management strategies that support drivers
Strategic planning also assists drivers by automatically designing logical service schedules and predictable, manageable stop lists for them and accurately forecasting the implications of route changes.
A vehicle fleet management strategy takes a comprehensive approach to analyzing and optimizing every area of fleet operations to maximize efficiency, usage, revenue, and profits. A well-planned fleet management strategy will also improve safety, routing, customer service, vehicle maintenance, and the driver experience. Enhanced efficiency, reduced costs, compliance with legal and safety standards, and improved overall vehicle performance and lifespans are all benefits of an effective and successful fleet management strategy.
A strong fleet management strategy will reduce operational costs from several directions. By automating and optimizing routing, fleets can reduce the staff time spent on routing and the miles each vehicle must travel. This, in turn, reduces fuel and overtime costs, plus wear and tear on the vehicles, which reduces maintenance costs. Driver safety is a component of fleet management that also reduces fuel costs (risky driving uses more fuel) along with the cost of collisions and associated litigation. By incorporating vehicle maintenance into the fleet management strategy, fleets can reduce the severity and cost of mechanical issues and vehicle downtime. A compliance strategy will lower the amount spent on fines for infractions and violations.
Key fleet management elements should include regular vehicle maintenance to keep the vehicle safe and operating at maximum fuel efficiency while reducing repair costs. Fuel management will reduce the amount of fuel wasted and associated costs and the fleet’s environmental impact. Managing the driver experience will reduce turnover, recruitment, and training expenses, plus the problems of constantly bringing inexperienced drivers on board. Route optimization reduces fuel use and labor costs and improves customer satisfaction. Asset utilization and lifecycle management bring efficiency to the use of fleet assets and manage the costs of replacements. Underlying much of this is the integration of technology to monitor and report on relevant fleet performance metrics to see where improvements are needed and refine fleet management tactics and strategies.
A fleet management strategy plan will reduce downtime and improve vehicle uptime by monitoring the health and performance of each vehicle and issuing maintenance alerts when it’s time to perform routine work, reducing the chance that more significant repairs will be needed. Advanced telematics can track engine performance, fluid levels, tire pressure, and other metrics to identify problems early, while fleet management software can create and maintain service schedules for thousands of vehicles if the fleet is that large.
People can only follow the rules if they know what the rules are. Thus, establishing clear guidelines is the first and most crucial step in managing fleet safety and compliance. It’s the fleet’s responsibility to design a detailed fleet safety policy that clearly states the expectations for all drivers. Guidelines should cover vehicle use and prohibited behaviors such as speeding, cell phone usage, tailgating, etc. Regular driver training focused on safety and compliance is an essential part of any successful program. Telematics and video cameras can help hold drivers accountable for repeated violations. They can also be used for reward programs that encourage drivers to practice consistently safe and legal driving habits.
Fleet truck drivers have an extremely demanding job. In a tight labor market with many fleets looking for drivers, the turnover rate has been near 90% in recent years as drivers look for better working conditions with fewer frustrations than their current situation may offer. A fleet management strategy can improve retention by automating and digitizing driver workflows, eliminating the need for manually handling paperwork. When DVIRs (Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports) and other reports can be filed digitally instead of having the driver walk around the vehicle with a pen clipboard, drivers can spend more time driving and less time reporting. The strategy should include a plan to ensure that drivers find their assigned assets easily and that the assets are ready to work.
Transportation, including trucking, accounts for approximately 20% of CO2 emissions, plus a variety of other environmentally unfriendly pollutants. Fleet management can reduce the environmental impact of trucking by optimizing routes, which cuts down on miles driven. Telematics can monitor and reduce excess idling, another emission source. It can also address risky driving habits that burn more fuel, such as speeding, fast acceleration, and hard braking. Holding to regular maintenance schedules and monitoring vehicle health, including engines and exhaust systems, also improves fuel efficiency and can further reduce emissions. Telematics can provide real-time data on fuel use and emissions so fleet managers can monitor and mitigate each vehicle’s environmental impact.
