A major component of successful fleet management is the ability to be flexible. Emergencies happen, plans change, and drivers don’t always behave in the way you expect them to. Although you can’t control every aspect of your business, you can use your GPS tracking system to help you handle the unexpected events that life inevitably throws at you.
One GPS tracking system feature you can use to make your business more flexible is route optimization. This feature allows both dispatchers and drivers to create optimized routes between the landmarks or locations that are entered into the system.
How to Use Your GPS Tracking System to Improve Flexibility
Consider these three ways that you can improve flexibility by using your GPS tracking system with route optimization:
- Give dispatchers more time – Now that dispatchers can optimize routes with the click of a button, they can operate more efficiently and dedicate more time to other important tasks. They also have the option of adding another stop later in the day and sending new directions to the driver if there is a more efficient route.
- Give drivers more control – Drivers in the field have to react to a range of situations. Perhaps they need to re-fuel and must go to a designated provider so they can use a company fuel card. Maybe a road is closed because of a water main break. No matter the reason, when a driver gets off course, you want them to have the option to get back on the most efficient route from their current location. Route optimization allows drivers in the field to create a new efficient route if they have to take an unexpected detour.
- Give managers more knowledge – As a fleet manager, you want to know how your drivers behave in the field. Route optimization comes with another handy feature that makes this easier than ever. Vehicle trail to route comparison allows fleet managers and business owners to quickly see both the assigned route and the actual route taken. Based on this information, you can make more informed decisions about future assignments. Perhaps you factor in a fuel stop on the next trip so the driver doesn’t have to go off course. The more information you have about what actually happens with your vehicles, the better you can manage your fleet.
Using your GPS tracking system to become a more flexible business can help you keep costs down, improve customer service, and get more for your labor dollar.
For more tips on how to improve driver accountability and worker productivity, download our free e-book. You will learn all about how to use your GPS tracking system to its fullest potential so you can save money and boost profits.
How would route optimization help you manage your fleet better?
