Fleet software isn’t the sexiest of topics – even those who work within the industry will admit that. But a clever system has the capacity to make a business car operator’s life an awful lot easier and, if it’s implemented properly, generate big savings.
Chevin’s Fleetwave took the highly commended spot in the Best Fleet Management System category in BusinessCar’s 2012 Techies awards, the judges citing its raft of different features as the reason for its success.
The firm upgraded the Fleetwave software around 18 months ago and added a series of functions including alerts for often missed annual check-ups such as vehicle maintenance and driver medicals, along with a Green Car Share function, which tallies up employees’ journeys and suggests opportunities to buddy up on similar trips.
Managing director Ashley Sowerby explains the moves: “What we did with Fleetwave 2 was to really overhaul the whole user side of things, so we took advantage of all the new features that Dot Net [the technology that underpins Fleetwave] gave us, all the performance features, all the interaction features – we introduced dashboards at that time – just a whole myriad of changes.”
In the UK, the firm has done a lot of work with local councils, specifically upgrading older software systems, as Sowerby explains: “Ayreshire council has gone from Roadbase to Fleetwave. Bristol also went from Roadbase to FleetWave.
“Roadbase is for a smaller fleet market – 20 vehicles and upwards. They’ll be single base [operated from one site] and managed by someone who could be the finance director. Fleetwave tends to be larger, multi-location fleets. They could have three to 50 depots.
“Public sector budgets are being cut left, right and centre, but the phrase ‘you can’t manage what you can’t measure’ really does apply here. It’s cost-driven motivation essentially, and to do that you need visibility.”
He claims visibility is where the cost savings lie for business car operators and that being able to see where you’re spending money is vital if you’re going to save it.
When quizzed about how much a business can expect to claw back after buying into the technology, he says: “I can’t give you a canned answer. It’s about visibility and making informed decisions – and that’s what will save money.
“We’ve done benchmarking exercises in the past for fleets of similar vehicles – if you’ve got 50 trucks and you’ve got a budget to reduce costs, what do you put that into? Do you put that into an aero package, low rolling-resistance tyres, driver training, telematics?
With benchmarking you can apply different funds then see which is the most cost-effective.”
The company has also cottoned on to the increasing need for large businesses to report on the specifics of their eco credentials, which is another area where visibility counts for a lot.
“It’s gone from a sort of ‘greenwash’ level of interest – people wanting to show something for the PR side – to a full requirement.
“A litre of diesel produces the same amount of carbon, regardless of whether it’s burned on a bonfire or coming out of the exhaust of the latest clean Merc. We can refine it by depot, region etc., for no extra work. It’s just how you choose to report it.”
For most car fleets, the amount of money they’re spending on day-to-day operation is where a software system is likely to give them the biggest benefits. Sowerby reckons that filling up with premium fuel – or over-grading – and mismanagement of parking tickets are some of the more overlooked areas that fleets are haemorrhaging cash on, and can be sorted out with software.
“Company cars are emotive to the drivers, so [over-grading] tends to be more of a car fleet thing. Again, it’s a visibility thing – you can say ‘hang on, the policy says use unleaded, you’re using premium unleaded’. It’s quite a significant cost, so if only a handful of drivers do it and then change, you’ve made quite a saving.
“With parking fines, as soon as the fine comes in it gets keyed into the system. That can then appear on the dashboard of a depot manager or a driver somewhere else. Historically, it would come into a central office, who would then put it in the mail box for that depot, which will perhaps go that day or the next day, then before you know it it’s nearly too late [to make the two-week lower payment or appeal]. Also, a lot of the issuing authorities don’t accept credit cards, so you’ve got make a cheque payment, which takes longer.”
Chevin users can expect some more functionality from the firm too. There are plans to launch Fleetwave 2.1 in spring, which, according to Sowerby, will feature a number of minor upgrades: “It’s a minor release and a lot more user-friendly. There’s a big user filter and a much bigger, much stronger help system. You can get context-related help. We’ve also produced a number of video guides to explain processes to people. We’ve spent the past six months revisiting old work and building a knowledge directory. We’ve gone back and harvested it so we can allow other people to benefit from our experience.”
