A successful business has a business plan that doesn’t just reflect what will happen in one calendar year. These are plans that set goals and objectives for the company, along with benchmarks and milestones, for years into the future.
If a business spends the time in planning their operation into the future, why should fleet management companies not be able to do the same thing? In fact, they can, and some of the best companies are very involved in strategic fleet management services as part of what they do for their clients.
A Definition
Think of strategic fleet management as a business plan for fleet management. It focuses in on having set objectives for the fleet and to having the metrics or analytics in place to gather data to support reaching those benchmarks or to assess where the additional focus needs to occur.
In addition, the process of strategic management for any fleet continually looks at how the fleet is performing in relation to those goals and benchmarks. This allows the fleet manager and the leasing service to consider the addition of specific vehicles to a fleet as part of the big picture, bringing the company closer to its goals.
For example, common factors in strategic management include decreasing fuel consumption, reducing accidents, increasing on-time delivery rates or increasing compliance to eliminate violations within the fleet and drivers.
The Benefits
The benefits of a well-designed strategic fleet management plan continue to move the fleet management services in alignment with the overall business plan for the company. The two have to be working in tandem in order to sustain the company growth, maintain or improve customer satisfaction and eliminate waste, inefficiency or poor decisions that can come when there isn’t a working plan.
Developing a strategic plan isn’t easy, it is a process. By utilizing this method of setting goals and measuring success, company fleets move to higher levels of efficiency in strategic, logical and effect ways.