Data capture gives fleet managers more corporate influence
Fleet management can serve a greater purpose than to simply record information about company drivers' habits behind the wheel. New technologies are turning fleet management into usable data that can in fact have a direct impact on a company's performance, says Fleet News.
According to fleet management specialists Chevin, due to the increasing amounts of mobile data that can be captured through fleet software, fleets are becoming the focus for measuring key metrics about workforces.Information such as the number of employees currently available to hours worked is invaluable – and all this can be captured in one go by fleet management solutions.
Chevin managing director Ashley Sowerby said a trend is developing where there is a proactive attitude to data capture, notably on commercial vehicle fleets. Traditional fleet software is beginning to replicate the functions of enterprise resource planning (ERP) – business resource planning software.
He explained:
On a van fleet, a driver might use a mobile device to clock on and clock off, record interactions during the day, and even automatically calculate their mileage.
"If you have this happening across a fleet, you have some very interesting information about not just the efficiency of your entire mobile workforce...It allows a very direct way of looking at the productivity of your employees on an overall and on an individual basis, and is very much in line with ERP thinking."
Knowledge is power – and having all this data at their fingertips is giving fleet managers greater corporate influence.
"We are certainly seeing situations where the vast amounts of useful data now being recorded by some fleets is helping managers increase their status," Sowerby added.
