Congratulations! Your business has finally garnered the success it deserves and now it’s time to expand. Your first step to becoming more successful is investing in a fleet with your branding on it. A fleet is a group of vehicles that’s owned exclusively by your company. But since this is your first time managing a fleet, you might not know the ins and outs. Here’s what you need to know to determine you’re ready for a fleet.
What Type of Business Are You?
The type of business you run is what determines whether or not you need a fleet. A fleet is used for all sorts of things pertaining to business. Whether it’s for transporting food to stores, as a part of your integrated marketing strategies, installing someone’s internet or to simply spread the word, yours is going to be a huge benefit to you. However, there are a handful of businesses that don’t require a fleet, like retail and real estate. That’s not to say they wouldn’t benefit from one, it’s more along the lines of an unnecessary expense. Other businesses, like pest control and HVAC, need a fleet to do what they do best.
How to Manage Effectively
Managing a fleet is a lot easier said than done. In fact, there may be instances where it’s too difficult for you to handle alone. That’s why it’s not a bad idea to hire an independent fleet manager to help you out. They’re job is to monitor each vehicle within the fleet and report the details to you. As for the fleet itself, there are a few processes you need to go through. You need to have routine maintenance performed for every dispatched vehicle. This is done to ensure they’re in good condition for years to come. You also need to make sure the proper equipment is installed as well.
Because of the laws set in place, fleets are mandated to have certain equipment installed before they’re put to use. ELDs are one of these requirements as they monitor what the car does and how long it’s used. One piece of technology that many first-time fleet owners aren’t aware of are tachographs. A tachograph can be classified as a sub-type of ELD as it monitors how long the car is driven along with the distance it went and how fast it was. The information provided can help stave off bad driving behaviors such as speeding. You or the fleet manager can take advantage of tachograph management and all-in-one compliance as it allows you to monitor the vehicle while in use. It also provides you with an instant analysis as well as remote downloads, which makes managing the fleet ten times easier.
How to Qualify
Qualifying your fleet is the next thing on your to-do list. You’ll have to apply for the General Motors fleet program. You can do this by either purchasing at least five vehicles within a year or own a total of 15 that are put to company use.
