Are Your Fleet Management Systems Integrated?

When you’re trying to manage your fleet in the most efficient way possible, it’s common to need to use different software products for different elements of the business. The route planning software might be made by one company, whilst your maintenance systems and accounts could be created by two more. Whilst all of these systems are effective for their own tasks, it can be difficult to get them to communicate with each other. You could find yourself having to spend all of your time transferring information from one place to another.

We’ve worked with companies who have identified significant financial losses as a result of the time spent sharing information across platforms. One client had invested in software but had some remaining paper based systems in place. An operational review found that they were losing approximately £1,000 per week in lost time and missing paperwork.

Getting the most from your fleet manager

Your fleet manager has a crucial role in ensuring that deliveries go smoothly and that you get the best out of each vehicle. When your software systems don’t work together well a significant amount of your fleet manager’s time could be spent moving information from one place to another. Spending time on what it effectively an admin task has a wider impact. It reduces the amount of time that’s available to your fleet manager to identify areas of inefficiency and make improvements.

Fleet management software can provide you with analytical data at a glance. However this is of limited use if your fleet manager doesn’t have time to consider the information in detail. The figures will tell you a lot but further investigation may be required to discover the root cause of a potential problem. Devising and implementing strategies also takes time.

Which systems can work together?

With the right integration, any number of systems can communicate with each other. TomTom telematics provide an all in one solution for route planning and vehicle tracking. We’ve also integrated separate route planning software with driver’s satnav systems. This can be expanded to include an EPOD system that provides electronic proof of delivery. You can also link these elements to your accounts software and maintenance records. Some systems can also integrate with your company fuel cards to give you accurate data on each vehicle’s fuel consumption.

All of this means that you can retrieve data quickly. The system will provide aggregated reports so your fleet manager can get on with looking at trends and areas for improvement.

How Vtec Solutions can help

We have developed a framework that provides integrated systems which share information automatically.  This is done via an API link that streamlines your systems and reduces admin time. You can invoice automatically and reduce your paperwork. It also allows you to schedule jobs more effectively and promote better communication with your drivers and customers.

If you’d like to find out more about how effective system integration can help your business, get in touch.