If you have a transportation and delivery business, chances are that managing your vehicles and your staff is causing you a headache. You will need to know where your cars and vans are, be able to communicate with your drivers, and control the cost of running your vehicles.

If you feel like you want more control over your fleet, below you will find a few tips on how to make managing it easier.

Regular Maintenance

It is important that you keep your fleet running smoothly. When you take out a lease on vehicles, you will need to shop around for service and maintenance plans. Just imagine the damage a broken down vehicle would cause in your business.

Chances are that you can get a vehicle maintenance plan for much less than the cost of your downtime overall and the reputation damage.

Control Costs

You will also have to find a way to control the costs and manage them effectively when it comes to running a business fleet. You will have to shop around for motor trade car insurance so you can calculate the total cost.

Work out the fuel consumption of each car and van and make adjustments in order to reduce the overall running cost and increase your profits. If delivery is the way you make money, you will have to be competitive and reliable.

Consider getting fuel cards for your fleet, which could save you money over time. These have two main pricing options: a weekly fixed rate and pump related price. Check out this explainer on iCompario for more details.

Vet Your Drivers

It is crucial that you complete a full background check of people you trust your fleet with. If you fail to complete this step, you are risking going out of business.

Apart from the cost of insurance for disqualified drivers, you will also have to face the risk of accidents and liability claims in case your drivers cause damage to other people’s property or end up in an accident. Not to mention the cost of repairing the damage and having your vehicle off the road for a few weeks.

Get a Black Box Installed

It might also be a good idea to track your fleet and keep an eye on your drivers’ behavior behind the wheel.

In the age of connected vehicles, you can now get a black box installed that will track the speed and the stops. You can make sure that your employees are not taking advantage of the freedom they have planning their routes and take extra stops when they are not supposed to.

Take Advantage of Apps

If you want to track your drivers, deliveries, and fleet, you can now do it through your computer or your mobile phone. There are plenty of advanced fleet tracking apps available for companies that will work with your other systems and allow you to get in touch with people, reroute vehicles, and inform your customers.

If you want to reduce the cost of running your business fleet and make sure that you are not spending too much on fuel and training, you might want to implement some changes that will help you see clearer about your operations and increase your profits, too.