Emerging Trends That Affects Fleet Management - Strong Tie Insurance

Emerging Trends Affecting Fleet Management

Strong Tie Insurance July 16, 2020 StrongtieInsurance

Fleet management has continued to shift towards the digital in order to improve efficiencies and minimize spending. Fleets that haven’t changed to reflect the latest trends and updating fleet management technologies will find it difficult to stay relevant in an ever-changing industry. From commercial truck insurance to data management, and more, we’ll discuss emerging trends in fleet management.

Fleet Management Trends

In order to stay competitive, it’s important to watch for upcoming transformations and be ready for industry changes.

Data Management and Security

Fleet management data usage is not a new trend. The trend has evolved, however, and continues to expand. Organizations are gathering information to verify trends in the industry and make wise business decisions. This shift toward data can help managers take different approaches to operations. 

With digitation, they can transfer real-time information and share it with stakeholders. Digital solutions for fleet management companies will continue to evolve long past this year, and help the industry make a turn towards being proactive instead of reactive and reduce unexpected issues and downtime. 

With more data being used for fleet management every day, it’s important that the information used in and out of the trucks is secure. Fleet trucks hold large quantities of sensitive data that can be subject to digital abuse if fleet management companies don’t protect their data. Data security will help prevent security breaches while enhancing data sharing and management among stakeholders and managers. 

Collecting and analyzing this data will become an even more popular practice in the fleet management industry, so it’ll be equally as important to ensure that the data is protected. Better security will help operators make better business decisions and boost operational efficiency.

Are you adequately insured?

Strong Tie Insurance offers comprehensive commercial trucking insurance.

Tracking and Telematics

This trend has become one of the most important. Tracking vehicles helps analyze driver behavior, while odometer updates help with inventory and maintenance schedules. Telematics and tracking provide managers with the location tracking of a vehicle in real-time and make drivers more accountable. 

Telematics can help managers determine diagnostics in real-time so that they can determine whether or not there is a need for reassignment to fulfill a commitment, thus driving efficiency. 

Technology for Fleet Costs

It’s important for every business to understand its costs. For fleet managers, the highest costs are vehicle maintenance, replacement, fuel insurance, and wages. In the past, fleet managers have had to rely on hard copies of accounting numbers and work that was prone to human error. With technology being used in almost every industry, fleet management is no exception Technology means less potential for human error and the ability to save time through automated processes. Your Commercial Truck Insurance and their fleet managers can calculate their cost per vehicle, among a number of other costs to make educated business decisions they might not have been able to before. 

Insurance and Wages

Both truck insurance and wages affect the operating costs of fleets. All of the vehicles should have an insurance policy that meets or exceeds all prerequisites of your state’s commercial trucks for accidental risk. Telematics can help fleet managers get information about driver behavior to decrease the risk of accidents and reduce their insurance premiums. 

We’ve also seen a steady rise in labor costs the past few years, which will continue to impact the cost of operating the fleet for both workers and maintenance providers.

Talent

The fleet management industry will have to work on hiring and retaining the best talent for the job. We expect to see the unemployment rate decrease within the next few decades, resulting in a shrinking labor market. Skilled operators will be able to leverage the best benefits from companies, which will cause more competition within the industry.

To stand out from the crowd, it is necessary to start incentivizing – companies should consider signing bonuses, performance appraisals, training, and more to motivate operators to join their teams. They will also have to take a look at their work culture and environment to ensure that it attracts only the best and brightest talent. 

Comprehensive & Affordable California Auto Insurance

Our auto insurance policies are designed to give you the personal and financial protection you need to drive with confidence.

Automation

Electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles have been a popular topic for the past few decades, and we’re finally seeing these ideas come to light. In the coming years, we’ll see autonomous vehicles on a large scale that will continue to draw interest. However, the influence of this autonomy and the abilities of the vehicles is still largely unknown, so we’ll have to wait to determine whether the entire industry will make this huge shift. 

We should note that until automation is taken to the next level, we will still rely on truck drivers. There are different types of truck automation, namely:

  • Driver Assistance
  • Partial Automation
  • Conditional Automation
  • High Automation
  • Complete Automation

But we are still many years away from complete automation. For now, automation means helping truck drivers do their jobs more safely and efficiently. 

Mobility as a Service (MaaS)

Trackable telematics will revolutionize fleet management operations and facilitate delivery with the dispatch of assets. Based on the data manager will receive, we’ll continue to see MaaS grow in popularity among fleet operators and owners. This will allow them to customize their services at the drop of a hat. 

Fleet managers may have to experiment with vehicle sharing or leasing as well. Vehicle sharing can reduce the lost efficiency and productivity of idling trucks while boosting financial growth.

Other MaaS metrics can be used to improve operational efficiency through route journey data, annual costs, delivery, and dispatch timings, and idle vehicle rates.

Driver Shortages

The trucking industry itself has faced many concerns. A significant problem has been driver shortages. The industry is in need of tens of thousands of drivers, and it’s expected to get worse, which can affect our economy. 

Fleet management companies and the trucking industry will have to continue to recruit thousands of new drivers every year to keep up with demand. Driver shortages are something every fleet manager will have to deal with for years to come until younger generations can be recruited and see the value of the industry as a whole. 

While staying updated on fleet management trends, it’s crucial not to overlook insurance specifics. Discover all the essentials with our comprehensive guide on Fleet Insurance. Stay ahead with both trends and protection insights.

With so many trends affecting fleet management, it’s important to have the right trucking insurance. For more information, visit our website today.