The ability to effectively manage and operate fleets of multi-brand vehicles will become a necessity as the world grows increasingly mobile. With that being the case, urban fleet managers are always on the lookout for ways to operate in a more controlled, more predictable, and safer environment. And most of all – reduce unnecessary stress.
The challenges faced by fleet managers are legion. Inexperienced drivers can lead to safety issues, fluctuations in fuel costs can have a major impact on a company’s bottom line, and the tightening of environmental legislation provides a whole new variety of mandates to be met. Add to that the usual urban transport issues (the constant shortage of parking spaces, crumbling urban infrastructure, unpredictable traffic patterns, etc.) and it’s no surprise that the work of urban fleet management is stressful and unpredictable. Let’s take a quick look at four individuals and the specific challenges that urban fleet management presents for them, and see where technology could make a difference to them.
The Administrator. Fleet administrators have to keep contact with customers, manage billings, document car usage and fuel data, and manage vendor contracts. A major source of stress for fleet administrators is making sure that productivity levels stay constant with the potential to be improved. Not only do they need to make sure the vehicles are available, but they also have to plan optimal routes and minimize costs wherever possible. As if that weren’t enough, they’re also tasked with making sure that HR regulations are kept to. An ideal technological solution would help make sure that every mile, movement, and expense could be recorded, stored, and easily extracted when it’s needed. It would also make it much easier to speed up and optimize routes while limiting room for error, saving time that could be better spent analyzing the data and deciding on future actions to improve productivity.
The Commuter. This is essentially anyone in a company who uses a car for both personal needs and work, such as visiting business partners or customers during the day – work that should be compensated by their employer. The administration of travel routes can be extremely complicated and take up a considerable amount of much time after working hours, as can the filling in of forms for finance administration – travel costs and distances are often the subject of heated disagreements. In addition, there are health and safety aspects to consider – in many countries, employers are responsible for making sure that working conditions and hours do not leave an employee too tired or otherwise unfit to drive safely, but commuting accidents still happen, and they are becoming a drain on compensation schemes as they tend to be more serious than other workplace incidents. A solution that benefits commuters would simplify or even automate the administration of travel routes and do everything possible to reduce driving time.
The Small Business Owner e.g., flower shop, bakery. Their main tasks are purchasing and delivering goods, which means that they live and die by the timeliness of their deliveries – both to the shop and to customers. They need to recruit and hire drivers, locate the safest and fastest routes around a city, and stay on top of deliveries to make sure everything is delivered on time and efficiently, even if that means rerouting drivers and vehicles on the fly. An ideal solution would allow them to easily know where their vehicles are, choose the nearest available vehicle for a service, and even send the driver all the necessary information. It would also increase productivity by assigning daily tasks for each driver and defining the best route for each task, while monitoring and analyzing the driving behavior of each driver.
The on-site service person e.g., mechanic, plumber. They have a van, a toolbox, and a list of customers that they have to visit on any given day. Making their job more difficult is the fact that when they leave the house every morning, they have no idea how bad the traffic will be or how long they’ll spend in a given location. This can lead to delays and angry customers, and could soon drive them out of business. The ideal solution for them would provide real-time updates on traffic conditions, recommend the fastest routes to given destinations, and help them make the most of their valuable time.
All of the individuals above could benefit from a comprehensive solution for urban fleet management, and the good news is that such solutions do exist on the marketplace. However, most of them are expensive, complex, and require either a loyalty period or external devices to be plugged into vehicles, both of which are non-starters for many fleet managers.
That’s where urbaniqe® enters the picture. urbaniqe® is an intuitive driving assistant that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to constantly assist drivers and fleet handlers alike. No matter what your role, it has features that are bound to make your life easier and keep stress to a minimum.
Perhaps best of all, urbaniqe® is designed from the ground up to be as flexible and easy to use as possible. That’s why it’s always been a pay-as-you-go solution – simply put, you only pay for the features you actually need and use, and if your circumstances change it’s easy to jump in and stop the service whenever you like. Everything is designed to offer you more flexibility around the products you want, when you want them. Once installed, the app helps you keep costs down, makes urban fleet management a far more environmentally friendly proposition, and keeps stress to a minimum, which in turn allows everyone involved in fleet management to focus on their core duties.