Fleet Management Decision Science
- Advisors @ Scientific Decision Support Tools
- Oct 28
- 2 min read
Why
All trucking companies have invoice data regarding the expenses and costs. These expenses could be broadly categorized as: variable costs (e.g. fuel, maintenance, labor) and fixed costs (e.g. lease payments). Most managers understand the trends of their operational costs and to a certain degree know the factors influencing the increase in costs. Their view of the operations is reactive in nature and may not help them reduce these costs unless they are proactive in preventing the costs before they hit their profit and loss statements. In some cases, the operational data can be derived directly from on board computers that monitor the speed, odometer, safety metrics.
What
There are several ways in which maintenance and operational costs can be identified and prevented.
Predictive Maintenance Programs: Assume, you have a truck oil change historical event data and historical odometer readings. You can merge these two data sets to identify whether a truck is due for the next oil change.
Fuel Transactions: Drivers often have fuel refilling authorizations. Drivers also have a tendency to refill fuel at their favorite coffee shops and it can result in an unproductive stop for the truck.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): As mentioned previously, the invoice data should help you understand the cost of preventive and breakdown maintenance, along with it the fuel cost is the next component in the variable cost. Trucks often have a leasing and insurance costs associated with it. A combination of these costs should help you arrive at a TCO number. This number can be tied to the miles to obtain a spread of the entire fleet to pin-point which trucks are most economical among your fleet.
Benefits
A data driven fleet management tool can help leaders in gaining visibility into the operational metrics, accurately predict maintenance (to avoid over or under servicing) of the fleet, and find trucks that are overdue for replacement.
Who
Distribution Directors, Logistics Supervisors, Fleet Managers
Interested in building such a tool? Write back to us at: scidstools@gmail.com. Your data is safe and secure with us.
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