A new study has revealed that fleet managers could save as much as 14 hours a week by adopting technology that helps them automate tasks.
 
The new study of fleet managers across the UK by Verizon Connect found that two fifths (40 percent) spend the majority of their time doing general administrative tasks, which means they aren’t able to focus on getting on with their day job.
 
Less than half (47 percent) of fleet managers currently use technology to assist them in their daily tasks, including automating routing, scheduling, and compliance, highlighting the significant untapped productivity gains across British fleets.
 
Fleet managers that don’t use technology spend the most time on managing routing and scheduling. On average, these individuals spend two hours per week on the task, which can easily be automated, but one in six (16 percent) invest more than four hours each week completing it manually. For larger fleets (101 – 250 vehicles), the average fleet manager spends 3.9 hours per week on managing routing and scheduling without technology.
 
The research also highlights the scope for technology to enhance operations across the fleet industry. Over half (54 percent) of fleet managers don’t use technology to monitor vehicle incidents, even though the average fleet loses nine working days each year due to accidents or unscheduled maintenance. Furthermore, just less than half (49 percent) use technology to monitor driver behaviour to help improve safety, despite driver safety and behaviour being cited as a top safety concern by 44 percent of respondents.
 
The lack of investment in technology means fleet managers are also missing a sizeable opportunity to reduce fuel costs. The study found that the increasing cost of fuel is one of the top three issues keeping fleet managers awake at night, with 23 percent citing it as a key concern; however, 53 percent of fleet managers fail to use technology to monitor fuel usage.
 
Derek Bryan, Vice President EMEA, Verizon Connect, said: “We know time is critical for fleet managers and many are tasked with trying to juggle lots of different tasks at once. The introduction of a few simple technology tools can really make their life easier and help improve business efficiency.
 
“Technology provides an enormous opportunity to unlock the potential of fleet-based businesses, but it still seems many fleet managers simply aren’t taking advantage.  With just the tap of a few buttons, they can access data from across their business, and use this to both help improve performance of all their employees and monitor situations in near real-time. Nearly half of fleet managers spend most of their time bogged down by admin, and this is time they could recover if they can use technology to help them to do their job more efficiently and effectively.”