Fleet Card Data Can Enhance Fleet Management

Fleet management is a big job. Whether your business has a fleet of two or two hundred vehicles, there’s a lot to keep track of—drivers, fleet vehicles, fuel costs, maintenance schedules, routing and more. Virtually every variable a fleet manager is responsible for impacts fuel consumption directly or indirectly. When fuel is one of the largest items in your company budget, anything you can do to run a more efficient fleet makes a difference.

Fleet cards are typically used as fuel payment methods. Yet, when used to their full potential, they can enhance fleet management and improve operations for all types of businesses. From automated fuel expense tracking to streamlined maintenance to improved fuel economy, fleet cards provide many tools which can help run a more efficient fleet.

Implementing strategies or tools that positively impact even a portion of your fleet is worth consideration. Luckily, there is a fleet management tool that can help you run a more efficient fleet on almost every front.

Fleet cards are typically used as fuel payment methods. Yet, when used to their full potential, they can enhance fleet management and improve operations for all types of businesses. This all rests on their ability to collect data, much of which is done in real time.

Fleet Cards and Real-time Data

Fleet cards, also known as fuel cards or fleet fuel cards, are specialized payment methods used primarily for fuel purchases and fleet-related expenses. Unlike credit cards, fleet cards have real-time data capabilities that provide detailed insights.

The Basics of Fleet Card Data

When you or your employees use a fleet fuel card for a fuel purchase, all the transaction details are gathered and recorded in real time. This information includes:

Date
Time
Location
Volume of fuel purchased
Cost of purchase
Driver ID
Vehicle ID
Fuel grade and type (regular vs. premium and gas vs. diesel)

With accurate and up-to-date purchase information, a fleet manager has access to insights that can help them manage fuel usage, expenses, driver behavior, routing, etc.

The Influence of Real-time Data on Fleet Management

The direct and indirect impacts of real-time data on fleet management are vast. Data analysis can lead to insights that help fleet managers identify trends in fuel spending and vehicle usage and make more informed decisions.

Adopting fleet card data into fleet management can be a game changer. With detailed insights into fueling and fleet expenses, managers can enhance fuel management, streamline maintenance schedules and improve operations.

While this is not an exhaustive list, we will explore eight benefits fleet card data provides.

Tracking and Preventing Misuse

In addition to real-time data, fleet cards are equipped with purchase controls. This feature allows fleet managers and company owners to limit employee spending, giving them more control over cash flow. Customizable spending limits include:

Purchase Caps: Set a maximum dollar amount that can be spent per transaction.
Volume Caps: Set a maximum fuel volume per purchase.
Transaction Limits: Place a limit on the number of transactions that can be made in a given timeframe.
Days and Times: Program the time of day or days of the week a card can be used.
Fuel Grade or Fuel Type: Set approval for regular vs. premium gas or gas vs. diesel.

These purchase limits, combined with real-time data, can prevent misuse and help fleet managers keep tabs on who is spending how much, on what, when and where.

In addition to real-time data and purchase limits, fleet cards include an extra layer of security with personal identification numbers (PINs). These numbers are assigned to drivers and must be entered at the pump before a purchase can be made.

Optimizing Fuel Consumption

By evaluating the data collected from fleet cards, fleet managers can identify patterns and trends in fuel consumption that help optimize route planning. By finding the most fuel-efficient routes, avoiding traffic congestion and minimizing idle time, fleets can improve fuel efficiency, which can also help reduce fuel consumption.

Streamlining Scheduled Maintenance

Maintenance is a huge part of fleet management. Properly maintained cars and trucks help ensure vehicle longevity and safety. Fleet card data provides up-to-date information on vehicle usage, which can be used to streamline maintenance schedules. Managers can set alerts for when a vehicle nears a specific number of hours of use or months in the field. This can make it easier to adhere to manufacturer-suggested maintenance schedules.

Predictive Maintenance

In addition to helping with scheduled maintenance, fleet card data can be used for predictive maintenance. With access to real-time data, fleet managers can recognize shifts in fuel consumption. A sudden decline in fuel economy often indicates something is wrong with a vehicle. Monitoring fuel trends can help you address minor issues before they become more significant.

Reducing Vehicle Downtime

With clear scheduling, regular maintenance can be planned during off-peak times so fleets remain operational without significant interruptions. And well-maintained vehicles tend to require fewer major repairs. Put these two together, and it’s easy to see how efficient maintenance scheduling and predictive maintenance can help vehicles spend more time on the road and less time in the shop.

Cost Management

Most fleet cards include fuel rebates or discounts. With savings on every gallon purchased, some cost management is built into a fuel card. However, real-time data takes things further. By monitoring trends, fleet managers can identify areas where costs can be reduced, such as fuel consumption, unauthorized purchases and inefficient routing.

Streamlined Expense Reporting

Fuel expense reporting is automated with real-time fleet card data. This helps with fleet management in two ways. The first is that there is no need to submit expense reports, which saves time for both your drivers and your accounting department and ensures accurate and timely data. The second benefit is fleet managers have instant access to comprehensive insights and analytics.

Enhanced Decision Making

Fleet cards have reporting features offering powerful insights into fleet operations. Fleet managers can run many standard reports from their fleet card dashboard. With the click of a button, you can view comprehensive data for a specific vehicle or driver, including fuel spend and fuel economy. If you’re curious about comparing routes, no problem. A fleet manager can create customized reports with the windows of time and variables they want to view.

With this comprehensive data, fleet managers can make more informed decisions about vehicle deployment, driver assignments and resource allocation.

Get More From your Fleet by Getting More out of your Fleet Card