How many times do we all have to learn that more work does not automatically mean more profit?

On the other hand, servicing existing customers more efficiently – earning the same revenue at less cost – can only mean better profit.

You are not alone if you installed a GPS or fleet management system to improve your dispatch efficiencies. Just because that was the reason why you installed the system, doesn’t mean that that is all it is capable of.

Each of your major price groups can be addressed by making use of even the most basic data recorded by your GPS system;

  • Fuel
  • R & M
  • Tyres
  • Productivity

How much time do you spend looking after a mid sized customer?

  • Checking orders
  • Writing or key entering dispatch notes
  • Instructing drivers
  • Checking or resolving issues with the load

Question: How much is your fuel bill each month?

How do you feel about exchanging the time that you would spend looking after one customer for spending the same time improving the activity of your fleet? Perhaps you’re a little sceptical?

One earns revenue and costs you a bit of money too (time, tyres, R & M, wages…). The other cuts the amount you spend on these costs for all of your existing income. But for the same investment in time, you could save the equivalent of a month of fuel, is that worth more than the profit on one customer each year?

The driving behaviours that makeup your fuel bill also scrub your tyres away faster. By fixing these behaviours, you will also see a reduction in repair costs both in the drive train and bodywork.

GPS is about visibility: knowing what is happening with your trucks when they are outside of the yard. Because when you have the knowledge, you are inspired into action; using that knowledge to encourage your drivers to take the same pride in the cost and operational efficiency of their truck as you did when you were on the road every day.

Whichever GPS system you are using – its purpose is to help you understand what your fleet is up to without sitting in the cab of each truck. Yes – every system is different, some have better mapping screens, and some have better reports. Every system gives you visibility of operations that you wouldn’t otherwise have –it is an enabling tool. The value you get from your system depends largely on your motivation to make a difference.

Many of your reports from your GPS system will be easily understood and you just need to work out which ones are the most important for you to look at on a regular basis. A little attention ap[plied often will make a big difference. Sometimes the reports are not as easy to read as they might be but with a little assistance or a nudge in the right direction, they can be transformed into valuable management reports which inspire that improvement – in you, in your managers and in your drivers.

Stop chasing low paying work and start chasing better efficiencies. Use all of your resources (trucks, drivers, GPS, grey matter) to create profitability from the work you already have.