Fleet managers are dealing with a host of new challenges as a result of the supply shortages and organizational uncertainty. Since the beginning of 2021, the cost of base oil has risen over $2 a gallon, the price of tires has increased by about 5%, and the price for a gallon of gas has grown by more than $1. These striking price hikes are just one small indication of the overwhelming problems facing fleet managers. Like all industries, the disruption created by the pandemic pushed already overextended systems beyond their breaking point. Here are four of the most significant hurdles in fleet management right now and how leading professionals are addressing them.
1. Rising Costs
The rapidly increasing cost of goods and services is being felt by households everywhere. The same strain that every person is feeling is having drastic effects on fleet managers. Every task in fleet management has been affected by increased costs. We’ve already touched on base oil, tires, and fuel, but the major price increases also apply to the fleet vehicles themselves. From June 2020 to July 2021, the average car vehicle price rose by 6.4%. Repair and maintenance costs have also grown significantly due to the increased cost of raw materials. These price hikes are largely out of the control of fleet managers. However, tracking all costs and controlling wasteful spending is critical.
2. Time-Intensive Administrative Tasks
With titling, licensing, registration, tolling, compliance Insurance, accident resolution, and more there is an overwhelming amount of administrative work necessary for fleet managers to stay on top of. Staying ahead of deadlines and ensuring all forms are properly filled out and filed is a daunting task. Additionally, leaner workforces have forced fleet management professionals to take on additional tasks. Wasting time bouncing between systems or manually following workflows every time is time consuming and ineffective. Leading fleet management organizations are adopting solutions for automating simple, repeated tasks and creating a single, flexible repository for all critical data.
3. Inability to Solve Problems Quickly
When an issue arises, getting to decision-making data is crucial. Problem-solving is hampered by the utilization of multiple systems of record. Generally, each new source of data introduced in your process comes with its own system. Ping ponging between multiple systems or having to dig through disorganized or unnecessary data makes addressing fleet management issues more difficult and less efficient. A great deal of insight is a major benefit until it’s unmanageable. Adopting a flexible system for unifying fleet management data is a difference maker in identifying solutions rapidly.
4. Lack of Real-Time Visibility
In the last two decades, mobile devices have made real-time connection to fleet vehicles the operating standard. However, merely being connected doesn’t give a real-time picture of schedule adherence, maintenance needs, or other crucial data points. While email and text provide the ability to answer questions, they don’t provide visibility into other affected systems or give fleet managers the ability to proactively address situations. Without a system that gives you immediate views into real-time insight, fleet managers will continue searching for answers.
Quickbase Fleet Management Solution
How are leading fleet management professionals overcoming the aforementioned challenges? By modernizing their fleet management systems with flexible, low code platforms, like Quickbase.
What does Quickbase accomplish?
The goal of Quickbase in fleet management is to modernize your existing workflows in core systems. Quickbase’s flexible, low code platform allows fleet managers to connect data from different sources and systems into a singular source of truth. Dashboards can be customized easily to close information gaps and surface the most useful information in operationally useful spaces. Quickbase also offers governance controls which allow fleet managers to deliberately assign roles and control who has access to what information. This is all accomplished by line of business leaders without a significant reliance on professional coding resources. Fleet managers are empowered to build their own solutions to fit their unique needs and challenges.
How does Quickbase solve Fleet Management digital challenges?
Quickbase fills the gap between heavily-engineered and difficult to change systems of record and the one-off point solutions that fleet managers are utilizing now in their everyday operations. Quickbase provides an easy-to-adopt agility layer to unify existing fleet management systems and surface the exact insight being sought.
Quickbase’s low code capabilities create the ultimate user-friendly environment for fleet managers to be able to build their own solution without heavy reliance on IT. It also allows for easy customization and iteration. Low code platforms allow the subject matter experts working in their applications each day to create their own automations and dashboards without needing to be a professional coder. Quickbase facilitates business-led improvement of fleet management processes and engages business leaders in the creative process.
Accelerating Fleet Management solutions
Quickbase is built for ease of use, but fleet managers who work alongside certified experts maximize their investment and ensure success. Trinity is a Quickbase development partner focused on business process improvement assisting clients in achieving improvements in efficiency and quality through custom solutions and applications. Partners like, Trinity, can accelerate the adoption of Quickbase’s fleet management solution.
Conclusion
The ripple effects of the pandemic have forced an examination of the function of fleet management and demonstrated a need for the adoption of flexible, digital tools. Fleet managers are struggling with many factors outside of their control, but internal roadblocks should not be a cause of organizational instability. Low code platforms, like Quickbase, allow fleet managers to overcome major hurdles by facilitating automation and transparency.
