{"id":3535,"date":"2019-10-03T16:59:09","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T14:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/?p=3535"},"modified":"2019-10-03T16:59:09","modified_gmt":"2019-10-03T14:59:09","slug":"how-fuel-management-has-adapted-to-industry-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2019\/10\/03\/how-fuel-management-has-adapted-to-industry-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"How Fuel Management Has Adapted to Industry Changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fuel<\/p>\n

Fuel management professionals have expressed interest in the feasibility of new technologies that may change how people pay for fuel. Photo courtesy of\u00a0Skitterphoto<\/a> via Pixabay.<\/p>\n

How Fuel Management Has Adapted to Industry Changes<\/h2>\n

An integral aspect of corporate fleet management is effectively managing fuel spend<\/a>, an oft-fluctuating area to oversee.<\/p>\n

As this facet of the industry evolves, so too must the fleet managers and all the supporting players who work in the space.<\/p>\n

Start with Data<\/h3>\n

The benefits of data in the fleet industry cannot be understated; being able to benchmark industry averages and compare with like-minded peers is certainly key. Due to the rapid pace that data can be parsed in the industry, immediate evaluation is possible, and a fleet can review more data than ever before, which means timely decisions can be made to keep a fleet in top shape, including with regards to fueling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re just at the start of capitalizing on data and technologies that go along with it,\u201d said Lanelle Duke, director, analytic products, WEX. \u201cSo I think we\u2019re going to see growth in that, with more use of data, collecting data, combining various data sets of insight, and marrying that up with machine learning and data science to get increased insights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rusty Barron, VP of Shell Fleet Solutions, North America, observed how important these data sets are in evaluating the specific needs of a given fleet, since every fleet is different.<\/p>\n

\u201cDifferent fleets can have different needs at different times, and then you address those needs,\u201d said Barron.<\/p>\n

And being able to understand those needs will heavily dictate how fleets address other areas of management, including vehicle acquisition and considering MPG and alt-fuels.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlexibility and choice will remain front and center for fleets. There will continue to be a mix of vehicles and fueling needs as new vehicles are acquired and older vehicles are retired,\u201d said Travis Lachinski, vice president, Group product manager, Voyager Fleet Program. \u201cThere will be a variety of hybrid, electric and autonomous vehicles available and fleet managers and drivers will need to adapt how they operate.\u201d<\/p>\n

When discussing the future of fleet and its major components, conversations sometimes gravitate toward how the abundance of fleet data in the industry will heavily impact fuel spend, and other key areas of fleet in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cFleets are investing heavily into getting data about their day-to-day operations and how their fleet is performing, and if it\u2019s on track to meet its goals, especially environmental goals these days,\u201d said Marco Della Torre, CTO of Derive. \u201cIf you don\u2019t measure it, you can\u2019t manage it. Fuel management is an important element of a fleet\u2019s ability to be sustainable, safe, and profitable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although not every fleet is investing in the technological developments of this area, these advancements are becoming even more ubiquitous and increasingly beneficial.<\/p>\n

A concern with regards to the abundance of data \u2014 which will only continue to grow especially with the burgeoning acceptance of telematics solutions \u2014 is understanding the best types of data sets for individual fleets to evaluate and focus on.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the pitfalls of early use of data is that it\u2019s overwhelming. There are tons of information that come from telematics. And what we have found is that it works well to focus on a problem. What are you trying to solve for and what data is available to solve that,\u201d said Barron. \u201cI think how you focus your efforts will go beyond a particular issue or problem at hand. The basics of fuel efficiency can be driven by information and data that\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fraud in an Advanced Fleet Market<\/h3>\n

Concerns of hacking and other breaches of privacy pervades nearly every aspect of our lives, and this is no exception for corporate fleets. One major area of concern is fuel fraud<\/a>, which is already a growing concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know fuel cards have gotten smarter and allow managers to put caps on spend and that mileage must match \u2014 but there are still opportunities out there for drivers to use their cards for more than fuel,\u201d said Della Torre of Derive.<\/p>\n

While certain types of fraud can be directly related to improper driver etiquette, e.g. via the misuse of a company card or \u201cslippage\u201d by way of employees using fuel cards to purchase non-fuel items, fraud can also be perpetuated by a third party through skimming, which is when a device is attached to a fuel pump credit card reader that is used to steal purchaser information.<\/p>\n

And while technology has helped enable practices of fraud, on the flip side, it has also helped fuel management professionals to combat this issue, including through predictive analytics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot that can be predicted just by looking at past data, and so one of the best examples of predictive analytics is to do fraud detection,\u201d said Justin King, SVP of product and innovation for Comdata.<\/p>\n

For example, available technologies are available to detect potentially fraudulent activity and send necessary alerts to fleet manages.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of innovative things going on in data today. We are very focused on business intelligence and predictive analytics,\u201d said Barron of Shell. \u201cFrom a security standpoint, we are very focused on marrying disparate pieces of information about a purchase, or a fill up, and knowing the vehicles location as a well as pings along the route and combining that with the actual purchase that happens on the car.\u201d<\/p>\n

Current evolutions in the realm of managing fleet fuel spend also includes changes happening in related industries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese decisions will ultimately improve safety and foster more efficient operations. The use of EMV chip cards is growing as more fuel dispensers are upgraded and we expect our payment solutions will continue to evolve to offer greater flexibility, control and integration for all stakeholders,\u201d said Travis Lachinski, vice president, Group product manager, Voyager Fleet Program.<\/p>\n

Phil Baker, director of product management, for WEX also mentioned that their company was exploring this technology more as another means to further curb fuel fraud.<\/p>\n

Future Technologies<\/h3>\n

Beyond contemporary fleet fuel management technologies, these companies are keeping an eye on developments in other areas of the industry, which includes EVs, changes to payment solutions, and further down the line, autonomous vehicles, especially for trucks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say autonomy is another big macrotrend, and something folks are watching in the trucking space, and I think we\u2019re a long ways away from full autonomy, just look at the seriousness of the implications of that, but certainly there is partial autonomy that is a lot closer,\u201d said King of Comdata. \u201cBut then we have to think about how that changes our business and its certainly going to change our customer\u2019s business-automation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond self-driving vehicles, automation elsewhere in the industry can be seen via data analysis in the fuel management process. Fuel management professionals have expressed interest in the feasibility of new technologies that may change how people pay.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne idea I find intriguing is this idea to grab vehicle data during the transactions and use it to make decisions around that transaction,\u201d Baker of WEX mentioned. \u201cNot only with telematics but with the coming wave of connected vehicles that we\u2019re seeing out there. There\u2019s a huge opportunity to grab that data in real time to make decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

These companies have also considered how the future of EVs may impact how fleets pay for fuel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s another big change that\u2019s coming, and coming fast,\u201d said King of Comdata. \u201cHow do we focus our resources on the data and security element of that type of transaction, that\u2019s something we\u2019re very focused on, from a product standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n

by Andy Lundin<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.automotive-fleet.com<\/a><\/p>\n

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/h3>\n

Fleet management is the use of a set of vehicles in order to provide services to a third-party, or to perform a task for our organization, in the most efficient and productive manner with a determined level of service and cost.<\/p>\n

Fleet management activities are shown in the following graph 1:<\/p>\n

\"fleet<\/p>\n

Graph 1: fleet management activities<\/p>\n

The proposal audit analyses and assesses all fleet management activities shown in the graph 1, and its main goals are:<\/p>\n