{"id":3734,"date":"2019-11-20T16:51:09","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T15:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/?p=3734"},"modified":"2019-11-20T16:51:09","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T15:51:09","slug":"3734","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2019\/11\/20\/3734\/","title":{"rendered":"Integrating Data: Identifying Untapped Opportunities for Fleets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Integrating Data: Identifying Untapped Opportunities for Fleets<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You might think the expression \u201cthe firehose of data\u201d is overused by now, if it weren\u2019t for the fact that the size of the data pipe and what flows through it keeps growing.<\/p>\n

Fleet operators are\u00a0tasked with managing ever-increasing streams of data from obvious sources such as telematics. It\u2019s now incumbent on them to begin to integrate with other sources such as fuel cards, EV chargers, navigation apps, and the connected car. They then need to analyze the data sets to tell a story and ultimately drive efficiencies for the fleet.<\/p>\n

Yes, the phrase \u201cfirehose of data\u201d is alive and well.<\/p>\n

Though daunting, creating these integrations represents untapped opportunities for fleets, says Kurt Thearling, vice president of analytics for WEX Inc. But before sourcing the data, Thearling says fleets first need to consider how they\u2019ll approach the analysis.<\/p>\n

Though fleets don\u2019t necessarily have the internal resources for analytics, it\u2019s easier today than it was even a decade ago. \u201cLarge financial services companies would hire hundreds of employees for data analysis,\u201d Thearling says. \u201cNow you can get started with a small group, an open source tool, and services that you contract from a third party.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important for fleets to lean on their vendor partners. Many of them, from telematics to fleet management and fuel card providers, have the advantage of processing millions of transactions every week across a wide variety of industries. \u201cThey have experience working with data that can go back decades. When additional data is brought into the mix, you can see more than you could\u2019ve otherwise,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The next step is to identify and explore relevant data sets internally and among stakeholders, making sense of them, and then coming up with some meaningful insights. \u00a0Once you have something interesting, look for ways to integrate the insights into business processes. Thearling gives some real-world examples of successful data integrations:<\/p>\n

WEX matched one customer\u2019s vehicles\u2019 fuel levels from its telematics data with WEX fuel card transaction data at the pump. The integration was designed to make sure the vehicles\u2019 fuel gauges reflected the number of gallons added to the tanks as a backstop against fuel fraud.<\/p>\n

These types of integrations aren\u2019t necessarily simple, as issues surrounding access to data and aligning the timing of the transactions need to be solved.<\/p>\n

Another way to look at the data is to compare the tank size with the purchase.\u00a0 But some fleets may not know the tank sizes of all their vehicles. This is where another mini integration could be put in place: feeding data from previous purchases into machine learning algorithms to build a reliable model of tank size.\u00a0 Combining this kind of analysis with telematics can provide strong indicators of possible theft.<\/p>\n

While monitoring fuel fraud is important, detecting instances of waste could yield greater cost savings.<\/p>\n

Identifying when drivers are buying premium fuel is a worthy but straightforward data integration. It gets more interesting, Thearling says, when analyzing the wide price swings for regular fuel. Whereas a fleet wouldn\u2019t see all pump prices in a geographic area, WEX can use its transactional data set to understand prices at nearly all stations.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The fleet sees) all the transactions that their drivers make, but they don’t see that the station down the street has gas for 17 cents a gallon cheaper,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The reasons are generally benign, such as a free breakfast promotion or collecting more loyalty points. Yet mitigating this behavior could yield substantial cost savings.<\/p>\n

Of course, ensuring the accuracy of the data is paramount. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to be calling out a driver, you better be sure you’re right,\u201d Thearling says.<\/p>\n

Another integration could help to overcome errant or undetailed vendor data, such as incorrect or lack of detail on fuel types and non-fuel purchases such as food. If the vendor data is messy, WEX can use historical data to find these problems and make corrections to the data.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve used AI and machine learning algorithms along with data that we\u2019ve collected across all the fleets to better understand the nature of the transaction,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

These examples represent a fraction of the data integration possibilities. What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

Thearling sees the next frontier as tapping into the increasingly vast amounts of data coming out of connected vehicles, from not only engine specs and driving patterns but also new data sets such as the placement of the seats and cupholders and measurements of body weights, for instance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know what that could be used for right now,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I like the idea that somebody is finding new ways to look at this data that we’re not already thinking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thearling will deliver a TEK talk, \u201cIntegrating Data Sets to Drive Fleet Efficiencies,\u201d at the <\/em>2019 Fleet Forward Conference<\/em><\/a>, Nov. 11-13 in San Jose. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally posted on Fleet Forward<\/a><\/p>\n

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Kurt Thearling, vice president of analytics for WEX Inc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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