Without doubt the biggest outlay for businesses moving goods or products from A to B, is fuel. Constantly fluctuating prices mean it's hard for fleet operators to predict their outgoings from month to month, making forecasting difficult.
It's also an area where firms can easily make instant cost savings with a little training, target-setting and common sense. By following a few simple steps it's surprisingly straightforward to reduce the administrative side of things and get cheaper petrol and diesel at the same time.
The starting point is almost always a review of your fleet to see where and when it's being wasted and whether it's down to poor route planning, lack of driver training or just not getting a good deal at supermarket fuel stations.
How do you benchmark consumption?
Before seeking ways to save, it's important for cash flow purposes to know how much your fleet uses. Start by keeping track of your fleet’s mileage and fuel purchases over a certain time. Check how much fuel each vehicle, driver and route uses and problems or high usage areas will soon start to emerge.
Track usage over time for each vehicle and calculate efficiency based on metrics such as miles per gallon. Telematics systems can help collect detailed data, including idle time, efficiency trends and driver behaviour. Understanding your starting point will enable you to identify areas for improvement and set achievable benchmarks.
Factors such as type of vehicle, driving habits and optimising routes all play their part in fuel use. Once you're armed with this information, it's an excellent way to set realistic goals or benchmarks to reduce it.
Quick tips for cutting costs
- Plan and optimise routes: Use GPS technology and route planning software to improve your fleet's fuel efficiency. It helps you find the best routes to reduce mileage and fuel use.
- Encourage efficient driving habits: Teach your drivers to use smooth acceleration, keep a steady speed and avoid idling for too long.
- Regular vehicle maintenance: Make sure vehicles are serviced on time. Check tyre pressure, change the oil and tune engines to improve fuel efficiency and reduce out of service time.
Set realistic and specific goals
Petrol and diesel consumption benchmarks should be tailored to your fleet’s operations, vehicle types and driving conditions. For example, a benchmark for urban delivery vehicles might focus on reducing idle time, while long-haul trucks might prioritise improving highway miles per gallon. Ensure your goals are measurable and align with broader company objectives.
Factor in route and load variables
Fuel consumption can vary depending on whether the route is urban, suburban or motorway – as well as the weight of the load. Assess a wide range of common routes and loads to set benchmarks that reflect conditions.
Incorporate driver behaviour
Rapid acceleration, excessive idling and inconsistent speed significantly impacts consumption so add benchmarks for behaviours, such as reducing idling by 20% or lowering cases of hard braking. Use telematics data and training programmes to monitor and incentivise better driving.
Monitor maintenance and vehicle health
Establish benchmarks around maintenance schedules, Ensure all vehicles have oil changes, tyre pressure checks and engine tune-ups. Tracking issues like underinflated tyres or clogged air filters is the best way to achieve better overall fleet efficiency.
Embrace technology and analytics
Fleet fuel cards small business can use to make benchmarking and refining actions easier through data insights, are another effective quick-win. As well as offering analytics tools to help operators pinpoint specific inefficiencies and track progress, the right debit card linked to mobile app also offers a lower pump price and best route information. Key benefits of a dashboard are the ability to easily track and streamline business fuel expenses, making life easier for the end of year tax returns and growing your fuel network. Reduced admin, greater security, better cashflow management and access to data are other key factors in switching to a best deal company fuel card.
Allow for seasonal and regional differences
External factors such as weather and fuel quality impact consumption across a fleet of vehicles. Winter driving can result in lower efficiency due to increased idling and engine warm-up time. Regional differences in terrain and traffic conditions should also be factored into your benchmarks to ensure they remain fair and attainable across the board.
Be clear in your objectives
Create a mix of short-term benchmarks – reducing costs by 5% in six months – and long-term ones. Having a dual approach is a great way to keep progress measurable in the short term while aligning with strategic fleet management goals.
Engage and incentivise the team
Drivers' business expenses play a critical role in meeting consumption benchmarks. Explain the importance of these goals and incentivise achievement through recognition programmes or by rewarding drivers who exceed efficiency benchmarks or demonstrate exceptional eco-driving.
What are the benefits of using fleet cards for a small business?
The fleet fuel card solution offers small businesses benefits like pump cost savings through discounts, improved tracking of expenses, better network coverage, simplified record-keeping, enhanced security and detailed reporting that helps in monitoring fuel usage and optimising fleet efficiency. Find out more at Fuel Cards for Small Fleets.
