Fuel costs are a huge part of any budget of a transportation company. They represent approximately a quarter of the total expenses on average. With the price of fuel historically hitting all-time high levels, the increasing fuel cost is significantly cutting into the fleet profits exerting extreme pressure on revenue margins.
From fuel cards that allow organisations to receive discounted pump prices to enhancing route planning and navigation, several ways are available to help your company cut fuel costs. Keep reading to discover more about these effective ways to cut your fuel costs.
Fuel Cards
One of the proven ways you can use to cut fuel costs is by getting a fuel card for your company. With a wide range of station networks available, businesses can take advantage of fuel card comparison services to find the best deals. Fuel cards offer a wide range of benefits that businesses can enjoy.
Fuel cards allow you to get discounted pump prices reducing costs. They also enhance cash flow, reduce administrative time and tasks, and fuel points and rewards. Additionally, cards can prevent fuel theft, one of the costly business problems. All these benefits help businesses to save money and free up time to allow managers to concentrate on what matters most – expanding their businesses.
Telematics/Advanced GPS Tracking
Driver behaviour is the largest contributor to enhancing fuel efficiency. A difference of about 35% in fuel consumption exists between an excellent and a poor driver. Acceleration, braking, and speeding patterns play a key role when it comes to fuel consumption. Aside from driver behaviour, fleet-tracking technologies such as telematics and advanced GPS tracking help reduce fuel costs.
They also track vehicle performance enabling businesses to identify potential issues quickly. Many businesses use telematics with advanced GPS tracking to monitor the behaviour of their drivers. They then provide feedback to their drivers on how to reduce fuel consumption and enhance efficiency via better driving habits.
GPS tracking also helps companies to plot the most efficient routes. With GPS tracking, they can avoid fast roads or hills, which could increase fuel consumption and cost.
Monitoring Vehicle and Driver Performance
Companies can use various software solutions to boost their decision-making processes and take advantage of the embedded analytics features to enhance fuel economy. These software solutions can monitor trucks, engines and drivers. On top of automating fuel tax reporting and creating road-use tax forms, these software solutions can identify when theft of fuel occurs.
Some software solutions have tools that help analyse routes and choose the best locations for fuel based on prices, quantity, and discounts. The health of vehicles is another vital variable in their fuel consumption. If your company uses fleet maintenance technologies, your maintenance team will comprehensively view your vehicles.
From accessing warranty and service records to allowing for excellent inventory management, these software solutions can help businesses realise longer service life, lower costs-per-mile and greater asset availability.
Additional ways to reduce fuel costs include optimising the dispatch process, coaching motorists on real-time fuel usage, minimising truck idling, and matching the vehicle and engine to the road.
