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Do all management tasks have to take so long?
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Whatever systems you employ in managing your fleet, they have a common
characteristic. They all run on data that is, in itself, useless to you. Data only
becomes useful in informing fast, accurate decisions once it has been
processed into information. This is particularly true of fleet fuel procurement.
With either cash repayment or credit cards systems, analysis and reporting
is performed manually. Somebody collects the data on total mileages, fuel
quantities, fuel costs, refuelling locations and more, for each vehicle. This is
collated and, possibly, split between business functions, operating locations,
both or more. It is loaded into offices systems, perhaps via keyboard entry.
Reports must then be defined for processing.
With the right fuel card, full analysis and reporting are available online, 24/7.
Pre-defined parameters are easily selected for immediate bespoke reports.
These then drop straight into standard office software.
Having equally simple software from the same source to track mileages
makes reporting more powerful, with minimal extra administration. It can
also ensure that information is HMRC-compliant, whether for VAT reclaiming,
P11D returns or other mandatory reporting.
The fleet manager can see exactly the fleet refuelling information needed
within moments, with confidence in its accuracy. There is no need to task
administrative with data entry or report compilation. Producing any
necessary report takes just a minute or two, rather than hours.
Action point:
Compile and analyse two lists of reporting requirements.
Firstly, assess current fuel-related reporting, from annual
fleetwide fuel costs to per-vehicle mpg information.
Estimate the cost of creating these reports. Next, do
the same for all similar reporting that is desirable but not
currently available. Then, talk to a fuel card provider about
how such reports could be created via their products.
Ensure, however, that they meet the key criteria of offering
cost-saving commercial rate fuel cards and have a
comprehensive range, including mileage recording.
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Best practice in fleet management - Issue 03
