Position Your Fleet to Beat Skyrocketing Gas Prices<\/strong><\/h1>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text disabled_on=”|off|” admin_label=”Blog Intro Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”||||||||” link_font=”|700|||on||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||20px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”||30px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_2_font_size_phone=”20px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Over the last year of the pandemic, organizations with a fleet of vehicles were already dealing with high fuel prices and other cost increases. Supply chain issues, the sudden surge in consumer demand, and more Americans returning to their commute\u2014or just taking more road trips\u2014have led to steadily rising gas prices. But the sudden and extreme surge in fuel costs since Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine is a severe shock to the system, greatly impacting the bottom line for all fleets.<\/p>\n
Fleets have been forced to adjust to major price hikes every week. In some areas, diesel costs have nearly doubled<\/a>, and overall gas prices have already spiked just 19% this month. What’s more, the current administration<\/a> believes high prices will continue for months.<\/p>\n Fuel costs have long been one of the top two expenses<\/a> for fleets, but the recent surges are causing fleet companies to hemorrhage cash, forcing many to raise prices, and risk lost business from equally cash-conscious clients. Higher fuel costs are particularly painful because they hit businesses on both sides of the ledger, raising operations and material costs, but also leaving consumers with less to spend. Increases also force workers to pay more on personal fuel, groceries, and other necessities and raise fears of layoffs…straining budgets and fraying nerves.<\/p>\n As fleets seek to weather the current storm, the good news is there are several steps that managers can take to lower fuel usage, save money, and improve operational efficiencies to take a bite out of soaring gas prices.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text disabled_on=”|off|” admin_label=”Blog Intro Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”||||||||” link_font=”|700|||on||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||3px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”||30px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The first step to lowering fuel costs is to know exactly how much fuel your fleet burns. With GPS tracking and telematics, you can take meaningful steps to gauge your current fuel use and formulate an action plan to reduce it. For instance, GPS tracking can have an immediate impact by pinpointing how much fuel is lost idling. According to the U.S. Department of Energy<\/a>, an idling truck wastes .8 gallons of fuel every hour.<\/p>\n For instance, when one GPS Insight customer established idle time benchmarks, some of its vehicles were turned on all day<\/strong>, every day without ever being shut off. Idle time across the fleet in one month alone added up to 22,660 minutes<\/strong>, which translates to almost 400 hours<\/strong>, and approximately 200 gallons of fuel<\/strong>!<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.gpsinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Road-Warriors-Position-Your-Fleet-to-Beat-Skyrocketing-Gas-Prices-Infographic.jpg” alt=”Customer Fuel Savings” title_text=”Customer Fuel Savings” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”|off|” admin_label=”Blog Intro Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”||||||||” link_font=”|700|||on||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||3px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”||30px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n They weren\u2019t just burning fuel; they were lighting money on fire through wasted gas and greater vehicle wear and tear. GPS Insight tracking notifies the driver in real-time to shut off the vehicle and can help with the management of these idle events. Within 3 months, idle time decreased by 30%.<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text disabled_on=”|off|” admin_label=”Blog Intro Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”||||||||” link_font=”|700|||on||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||3px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”||30px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Effective\u00a0route planning is one of the best ways for fleets to keep drivers on track and generate fuel savings. A routing feature (part of a GPS tracking solution) allows you to create pre-defined stop routes for your fleet that are optimized for highway, speed, and distance preferences. Routing features are typically most useful for organizations with pre-determined or static routes, such as delivery and service fleets. By setting your routes, you can ensure drivers aren\u2019t taking the long way to their destinations, reserving fuel. <\/span><\/p>\n Optimizing dispatching and scheduling for your organization can help increase first-time fix rates and reduce the need for repeat service visits, which ultimately means techs also spend less time driving from job to job. By utilizing a leading dispatch software <\/span>like Smart Scheduler<\/span><\/a>, dispatchers or service managers can assign work to the right number of drivers, and ensure the right technicians are tasked to the right job at the right time, smoothly and seamlessly.<\/span><\/p>\n Better and more accurate scheduling and route optimization solutions allow managers to increase efficiency and significantly reduce fuel costs across their entire fleet, increasing profits.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text disabled_on=”|off|” admin_label=”Blog Intro Text” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ text_font=”||||||||” link_font=”|700|||on||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||3px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”||30px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” hover_enabled=”0″ header_2_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Driver behavior can have a major impact on your fleet\u2019s fuel bill. If one of your drivers has a lead foot, they are burning cash with every tick of the speedometer above the speed limit. In fact, <\/span>report<\/strong>s show<\/span><\/a> that every five miles per hour over 30 MPH burns an additional $0.20 per gallon of gas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Adding smart dash cameras<\/a> into your fleet can help reduce speeding violations, avoid hard braking, increase safety, and limit accidents. This technology automatically detects and alerts drivers when they are speeding, engaging hard acceleration of braking, and other inefficient driving techniques, while Artificial Intelligence recognizes safe and unsafe driving behaviors without human intervention or review.<\/p>\n On another note, speeding leads to more severe accidents than those that occur at lower speeds. These accidents can result in large payout and fines and damage your reputation\u2026enough to lose business. Smart dash cameras are a simple solution that can improve driver performance and safety.[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text disabled_on=”|off|” admin_label=”Blog Intro Text” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ text_font=”||||||||” link_font=”|700|||on||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||3px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”||30px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” hover_enabled=”0″ header_2_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n One of the most straightforward ways for fleets to save fuel is to keep vehicles properly maintained and running at peak efficiency. Older or malfunctioning parts can reduce performance and fuel economy. With a GPS tracking solution, fleet managers can track each vehicle\u2019s last oil change, smog check, brake inspection, transmission flush, and more\u2026letting them know exactly which vehicle needs attention and when.\u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.gpsinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GPSI-GPS-Tracking-Alerts-DTC-Phone.webp” alt=”GPS Tracking DTC Alert” title_text=”GPS Tracking DTC Alert” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”600px” module_alignment=”center” custom_padding=”30px||30px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”30px||30px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”|off|” admin_label=”Blog Intro Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”||||||||” link_font=”|700|||on||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||3px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”||30px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Tires are one of the biggest costs fleets must bear, and rising oil prices are driving up those costs. But tires are a critical part of a healthy fleet operation. How important are good tires to any fleet? Look no further than Russia\u2019s recent invasion of Ukraine. Some experts believe Russia\u2019s reliance on cheap tires<\/a> has played a critical role in the setbacks of their military operation.<\/p>\n Though you may not have a fleet of military trucks, your vehicles\u2019 tires are no less important in meeting objectives and play a big role in reducing overall costs.<\/p>\n Fleet managers can use telematics and tracking software to ensure proper tire maintenance to lower cents-per-mile and save fleets thousands of dollars every month. Some handy and easily implemented tire maintenance tips include:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”5||divi||400″ icon_placement=”left” image_icon_width=”28px” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” body_font=”|700|||||||” custom_margin=”||10px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Check tire pressures, monitor when pressure loss is much different than other tires on the same axles, and repair accordingly<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”5||divi||400″ icon_placement=”left” image_icon_width=”28px” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” body_font=”|700|||||||” custom_margin=”||10px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Monitor tired tread depth and note abnormal wear<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”5||divi||400″ icon_placement=”left” image_icon_width=”28px” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” body_font=”|700|||||||” custom_margin=”||10px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Maintain regular rotation and balance schedules\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”5||divi||400″ icon_placement=”left” image_icon_width=”28px” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” body_font=”|700|||||||” custom_margin=”||10px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Check alignment every 80,000 to 100,000 miles or every 12 to 18 months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_text disabled_on=”|off|” admin_label=”Blog Intro Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”||||||||” link_font=”|700|||on||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”30px||||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”||30px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Fuel prices are currently skyrocketing, and little relief is expected in 2022. Thankfully, there are steps you can take right now to ensure significant savings for your fleet. GPS Insight can help fleet managers improve efficiency, productivity, safety, and customer service during the gas price crisis. [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fuel prices are currently skyrocketing, and little relief is expected in 2022. Thankfully, there are steps you can take right now to ensure significant savings for your fleet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":47794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" GPS Insight has been selected by Garmin to integrate with the fleet 590 device, which is a portable device that combines GPS tracking<\/a> capabilities for fleet management and the simplicity of Garmin navigation.<\/p> Since outside sales teams are typically given a company leased vehicle, reps use them for work and for personal use. The issue lies with tracking their employees during off hours and weekends. Sales reps understandably don\u2019t want their employer having insight to what they do with their personal time.<\/p> The Garmin fleet 590<\/a> device can be taken out of the vehicle on evenings and weekends so that the invasion of privacy conversation goes right out the window.<\/p> The fact that the majority of GPS tracking software providers sell hardwire installed devices is a problem for companies with outside sales teams, like pharmaceutical companies, seeing as they usually lease vehicles. Fleet managers do not want the hassle that comes with messing with wiring on a vehicle they do not own. This would also make it cumbersome to move the devices from vehicle to vehicle as new reps leave and come on board or as vehicles get traded in.<\/p>[caption id=\"attachment_1989\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"] The Garmin fleet 590 device plugs into the cigarette lighter for power and ignition on\/off recognition. This device works perfectly for companies with leased vehicles, because all professional installation costs and downtime are eliminated.<\/p> With those 2 obstacles aside, GPS tracking software provides not only fleet managers with an array of benefits, but it also supplies sales managers of outside sales teams with powerful information, they wouldn\u2019t otherwise have, to help optimize sales operations.<\/p> GPS tracking software is a powerful tool for sales management and fleet management. Coupling the fleet 590 device with advanced GPS tracking software gives companies with outside sales teams what they need to take advantage of the many benefits and increase their bottom line.<\/p>Telematic Tracking Tools
<\/strong><\/h2>\nOptimize Routes, Dispatching, & Scheduling
<\/strong><\/h2>\nReduce Speeding & Accidents
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\nKeep Vehicles Well Maintained
<\/strong><\/h2>\nTIRES!
<\/strong><\/h2>\nStart Taking Steps to Save Money on Fuel
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"\/\/www.gpsinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/gps-tracking-outside-sales-teams-e1387578089373.png\" "\\"gps-tracking-outside-sales-teams\\""){kind=tracking}
<\/a>For the most part, companies with outside sales teams, such as pharmaceutical companies, have not adopted GPS tracking software to monitor their reps. There have been a number of reasons as to why they haven\u2019t, two of which being privacy issues and the hardwired installation of the devices. These are two legitimate issues that we have the answer to.<\/p>Problem #1: Invasion of Privacy<\/h2>
Problem #2: Installing a GPS Tracking Device<\/h2>
![\"Garmin](\"\/\/www.gpsinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/cf-lg.jpg\" "\\"Garmin")
<\/a> Garmin fleet 590 GPS tracking device[\/caption]How GPS Tracking Benefits Outside Sales Teams<\/h2>