Operational fleets and strategic management

Fleet management connects operational and administrative decisions. To be strategic, it needs to turn day-to-day records into priorities, goals and action plans that make sense for the company.

Transport operations involve processes such as vehicle maintenance, loading, tires, inventory and warehousing. Each generates information that needs someone responsible, recording criteria and ongoing oversight.

On the administrative side, the manager also deals with company finances, people, purchasing and improvement decisions. The challenge is to prevent these areas from working with disconnected figures or priorities.

An organized operation is not free of unforeseen events. It has a process for recording them, assessing their causes and deciding what to do next.

Learn how to structure this management:

What is strategic fleet management?

Essentially, it means using fleet management software or another type of administrative control (such as online or printed spreadsheets) to organize company processes and collect data from day-to-day operations.

The information is then read and interpreted to seek a solution geared toward the company's objectives. Defining those objectives is also part of having more strategic management.

In other words, strategic fleet management involves:

• Clarifying operational routines;
• Analyzing how processes happen;
• Understanding where there are areas for improvement;
• Using findings to create action plans;
• Determining the operation's primary objective;
• Including the goals for achieving that objective in every employee's routine;
• Aligning team members and instructing them on their roles and the importance of their participation in achieving the desired results.

Software or an app can organize data entered by the team and support report generation, depending on its configuration. The manager still needs to validate information quality and decide how it will be used in the action plan.

Spreadsheets can also support control and planning. They require extra attention to versions, formulas, responsibilities and checks, because manual activities increase the chance of inconsistencies.

For a smaller fleet, a well-structured spreadsheet may meet day-to-day needs. The criterion is not just fleet size, but the volume of processes, people and data that need to be kept track of.

What is needed to think strategically and build a plan?

The manager needs knowledge and skills in the field

Professionals with qualifications, such as courses and specializations in fleet management, are not easy to find. For this reason, you can prioritize those who already have some experience in the field.

Even if that experience is not as a manager, at a minimum you should look for someone who has participated in day-to-day operational activities and understands the separation between the theoretical and operational sides of the company.

You can also ask about the possibility of taking specialization courses with financial support from the company. After all, nothing prevents an employee with potential from preparing and becoming a key part of the transport company, right?

If the person shows willingness to learn and devote time to studying, has the profile you are looking for and fits the company, provide the support and motivation needed to make it happen.

Besides benefiting your company, you gain ground on something crucial: retaining your fleet manager.

That said, some intermediate-level undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Business Administration, Human Resources and Business Management are perfect for ensuring (or improving) professional skills in this field.

The same applies to technical courses in basic mechanics, occupational safety and traffic laws.

There are also specializations specifically in fleet management, as some colleges now offer, including distance learning, which is a major advantage for managers' routines.

In brief, it is important for fleet managers to know about (or for their studies to cover):

• People management;
• Negotiation methods;
• Financial administration;
• Mechanics;
• Traffic laws;
• Driving techniques and road safety.

Knowing the pillars of fleet management is essential

A practical way to organize management is to look at six areas: keeping track of operations, routes, tires, maintenance, goals and results analysis. They are not a single formula; the company should adapt priorities and responsibilities to its own reality.

Take a look:

1. Fleet monitoring

Keeping track of the fleet helps the team record what was planned, what happened on the trip and which situations require a response. It should support the safety of products, passengers and drivers without replacing emergency procedures.

When monitoring resources are purchased on the market, they can support the assessment of routes and incidents. Decisions about route changes need to consider operational rules, road conditions and applicable guidance.

In an accident or mechanical failure, the priority is to follow the safety protocol and contact those responsible. Available records can help communication, but do not replace investigation of the event.

2. Route optimization

When we talk about optimizing routes, we mean creating a route with good road surfaces, the lowest cargo theft rate and the fastest possible journey.

These details cause less damage to the truck's structures, ensure goods remain intact, protect the driver and save fuel.

3. Tire management

Tires are the truck components that need the most attention. They take the greatest impacts from potholes, stones and sharp objects, and are also affected by weather conditions, whether heat or rain.

They are also components with a high cost, right?

That is why keeping track of tire condition and history is important. Inspections, calibration and referrals for service at the right time help the company reduce waste and avoid early disposal of components.

Tire management keeps tread depth correct, pressure ideal and the wheel structure better preserved, making retreading possible. Each of these precautions improves driving and the safety of the truck and its driver.

4. Fleet maintenance

Maintenance is essential to ensure the company operates. Trucks that are idle or break down during trips harm goods and delay supplies to factories and businesses, potentially causing customers to lose money in the process.

Ideally, the fleet should have a periodic servicing schedule for each vehicle that must be followed without fail. Corrective maintenance also needs to take place based on the driver's daily observations and possible “unusual behavior” from the truck.

Some things that may be considered unusual include different or very loud noises, a “bouncing” tire, a “pulling” steering wheel, among others.

5. Goal setting

Goals are small steps toward a larger objective, which may be reducing fuel spending, saving on tire purchases or making faster deliveries to customers.

A good way to set your goals is the SMART method, an acronym for:

• S – Specific: the goal should be clear and straightforward.
• M – Measurable: it should be measurable in liters, meters, reais, etc.
• A – Achievable: although challenging, the goal needs to be possible to achieve within the company's reality.
• R – Relevant: it needs to bring some positive change, an improvement for the business.
• T – Time-bound: finally, it needs a period for implementation and a deadline for achievement.

An example of a SMART goal:

Reduce fuel consumption by 10% over the next 12 months, keeping track of the indicator and the conditions that explain its variation.

6. Results analysis

To check results, you need to have collected data over a period of time. From then on, performance indicators will help with the analysis.

Thinking about fuel savings, for example, you need to collect information such as:

• Fuel consumption per kilometer driven;
• Price per liter at each refueling;
• Daily, weekly or monthly consumption variation.

With this data, you can measure the consumption rate and observe results more precisely, whether positive or negative.

A spreadsheet or software is essential for making the necessary entries without losing any information. Attention is also indispensable for reaching more accurate conclusions.

Should fleet management be separated into operational and strategic stages?

It depends on operational complexity. In a small or medium-sized company, the same person can coordinate both stages if there are clear processes, reliable data and time to analyze results. Software can support defined tasks, but does not replace responsibility for analysis.

In a larger company, dividing responsibilities tends to become necessary when the volume of vehicles, customers and processes makes it unfeasible for a single person to keep track of everything properly.

After all, strategy and execution are tied to the same team, right?

Thus, ideally, those responsible for operational tasks should also take part in the company's strategic stage, bringing together the company's objectives and goals, and determining which actions they need to take and how they can contribute to achieving the best results.

Here is one last tip for you:

Download our free Fleet Management e-book (in Portuguese) and generate even more productivity and savings in your transport operations.