The Importance of Fuel Management – help save costs within your business. Fuel management should always be an important part of your business and the past year has increased the number of couriers on the road and thus the demand on these services. There are a number of variable costs that are involved within the transport and logistics industry and your margins could receive a positive boost by applying efficiency in the way in which you manage your fuel and/or bunded tanks.
Fuel Management allows fleet managers to get full control of their depot’s stock levels, get rid of errors that can occur in manual stock control, reduce fuel fraud and subsequently cut overall fuel costs. We have a few tips to assist you on how to reduce waste and thus maximise profits.
Fuel Theft Fuel theft is unfortunately high here in the UK and of that which occurs, a large percentage of it affects commercial businesses, of which less than 1% are followed through and convicted. Fuel theft can occur due to a number of reasons: not declaring the correct fuel consumption; odometer tampering and low and minimal maintenance of vehicles. It can be hard to detect at the time and exactly where it is occurring, making it hard to pinpoint accountability and thus deal with it. It is crucial to manage this in a timely way and reduce loss to the business immediately. A fuel management system would allow you to see any disparity in fuel usage within your fleet, allowing you to manage it quickly.
Efficiency Fuel management systems deliver accurate records so that you are always able to report back to your business in real time how things are tracking. This can help you look at ways of improving elements within your fleet or business to run more effectively, reducing costs and maximising efficiency. Having an automated system, means less hours spent on paperwork freeing up time for other tasks, reduced ‘human’ error which then needs double checking and delivering data digitally, especially important now when we have all experienced the need to reduce contact with others and movement around the workplace to help reduce Covid transmission. You can ensure that you order replenishment as you need it avoiding budget being tied up in fuel that is not being used imminently. Reviewing your whole fleet is also a lot easier – meaning you can compare how vehicles are operating allowing you to monitor vehicles, allowing you to see the optimum aerodynamics, engine and weight. It is also wise to review the skillset of your drivers, monitoring best practise and encouraging the right levels of acceleration and breaking whilst out on the road. Data can support you in guiding your team on best routes, to ensure they can drive safely and quickly, at a suitable speed allowing the minimum utilisation of fuel. Vehicle management is also a key factor to observe, vehicles should be checked regularly to ensure repairs are timely, tyre pressures are correct, and the tread is safe – all factors that can use up fuel at a higher rate than necessary – costing you unnecessary pounds.
Cost Tracking per mile To help you monitor performance levels – the Fuel Monitoring System creates a report showing you exactly how many miles the fleet can travel with a set amount of fuel – allowing you to improve areas where they are higher than necessary, saving you money. A fuel management system once installed deliver real time information which can help you effectively manage and improve many elements of your business quickly and effectively, allowing you to focus on delivering high quality service to your customers.
We understand how downtime can cost your business thousands which is why you’ll get 24/7 support on all our Fuel Management Solutions – one of our service promises that you will find hard to match from any other MCS partner in the UK.
To find out more visit our website www.octane.uk/com or call us 0113 201 2460
