By Jay Palter | August 1, 2024
Warehouse and facilities managers are always under pressure from business leadership to cut costs and boost productivity. It’s pretty simple from leadership’s perspective: Warehouses are where products move, they’re the lynchpin for practically everything a company does. That tends to draw a lot of scrutiny to how reliable operations are, and how efficient warehouse and shipping team leads are with their resources. The problem is that people in the C-suite often don’t fully understand the complexities of making a warehouse and its fleet operate efficiently.
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An asset loss prevention strategy involves a comprehensive approach that includes advanced technology, robust policies, and continuous monitoring. The strategies and tips outlined in this article are designed to help medium-to-large organizations enhance their physical asset security measures. By implementing these practices, you can minimize the risk of loss, improve accountability, and, ultimately, protect your bottom line.
Better data is the answer to warehouse fleet management challenges
Collecting and analyzing high-quality data is the key to identifying inefficiencies and eliminating waste. Effective warehouse fleet management involves gathering, analyzing, and leveraging relevant data to reduce expenses and improve productivity for both operators and vehicles.
Access to reliable fleet data provides new insights into fleet operations and helps answer critical questions on vehicle and maintenance spending, fleet utilization, and KPI targets. However, despite these advantages, concerns over the cost and complexity of implementing warehouse fleet management technology have deterred some businesses. It shouldn’t. The savings generated from these initial efforts can be reinvested to expand the program's scope and value.
This article will explore how smart warehouse fleet management systems and intelligent warehouse technology solutions work to help you manage trucks, forklifts, and any other vehicle in your warehouse. We’ll also explore the value they can provide to warehouse team leadership and all other levels of your company, too.
Consider all of the essential elements of warehouse fleet management
Fleet management in any setting is complex, but it might be most challenging in the frantic environment of warehouse and shipping operations. Think about all of the different resources involved in operating a warehouse fleet.
Fleet Vehicles
First and foremost are the vehicles—trucks for shipping, forklifts for warehouse workers, and cars for management and sales. The vehicles are the backbone of any logistics operation. At a high level, warehouse fleet management practices focus on fuel savings, maximizing cargo volume per trip, and minimizing empty miles. Efficient fleet management ensures that warehouse operations are cost-effective and meet delivery timelines.
Fleet Managers
Just as important as the vehicles are the people. And right at the top is the fleet manager. Fleet managers’ responsibilities range from vehicle selection and route planning to ensuring compliance with industry regulations. They are the primary point of contact for resolving operational issues. They need analyses, reports, and real-time visibility of drivers and vehicles to make informed decisions.
Operators
Drivers and vehicle operators can enhance their performance by leveraging fleet management services that provide optimal routes, save fuel, and improve delivery metrics. Close collaboration with fleet managers helps drivers avoid SLA breaches by addressing unforeseen obstacles promptly. Effective communication and support systems are essential for maintaining high performance and reliability in delivery operations.
More:
9 Objections to Smart Fleet Management Systems and How to Overcome Them
Mechanics & Fleet Maintenance Teams
Fleet maintenance is a critical component of fleet management, ensuring all vehicles' reliable and efficient performance. This includes regular servicing, monitoring fuel efficiency, and conducting proactive maintenance whenever possible. Preventative maintenance practices help avoid costly and time-consuming vehicle breakdowns, extend the lifespans of fleet vehicles, and ensure safe operations.
Why Use a Smart Logistics Fleet Management System?
So those are all of the important components of warehouse fleet operations. If all of them, the vehicles and the people, aren't organized, fleet operations will never reach peak performance. You need data flowing in from all of these touchpoints. That is where a warehouse fleet management system comes in.
Fleet management systems integrate controls and data gathering on vehicle operations, facility management, and key or fob sign-outs. Centralized fleet key management allows for better control, real-time monitoring, and efficient resource use, ensuring that fleet management processes are cohesive and effective.
These are some specific benefits of using a smart logistics fleet management system.
Improve Productivity
A robust delivery fleet management system is essential for optimizing operations. It can provide crucial data on vehicle usage, including:
Operator Hours
Monitor each operator's driving hours and the vehicles they use so you can better understand work and maintenance distribution and performance across the fleet.
Battery or Fuel Status
Require operators to log power or fuel consumption when signing out or returning vehicle keys, ensuring up-to-the-minute records for refueling or recharging needs.
Impact Events and Mechanical Failures
Document and track incidents to understand patterns and identify problem vehicles or drivers. Aggregating this data for your entire fleet offers a holistic view of operations. However, this data must be consolidated and presented clearly to aid decision-makers without overwhelming them.
Are you responsible for the management of forklifts?
Read Now: The Ultimate Guide to Forklift Fleet Management
Reduce Fleet Costs
Logistics key management systems enable a comprehensive view of fleet costs by providing fleet managers with up-to-date, objective data through an online reporting console. Decisions about vehicle replacements can be based on actual servicing costs rather than estimates, ensuring consistent and thorough maintenance for all lifts. Analyzing the operating hours of each vehicle helps optimize fleet sizing and resource allocation.
Centralized delivery vehicle key management minimizes unexpected charges and tracks warranty repairs effectively. This proactive approach allows you to prioritize preventive maintenance over reactive repairs, improving uptime and ensuring uniform service quality across the fleet.
Real-time data collection and analysis are crucial for optimizing overall fleet management. This can be achieved through key tracking or vehicle-mounted telematics devices that gather information directly from each vehicle. For fleet key tracking systems, you control access to keys and fobs at key cabinets. When a user signs a key in or out–or is late for either activity–the cabinet reports the event to the central fleet management system.
Read the case study: New Fleet Management Program Saves Municipality Six Figures Annually
Generate New Insights
Well-organized fleet data is crucial for optimizing warehouse and material handling operations. Fleet managers can gather actionable insights during service events and through real-time monitoring. This approach reduces service costs, helps accurately size the fleet, and identifies underperforming vehicles and operators for corrective actions.
Smart systems enhance productivity by making vehicle downtime predictable through planned maintenance and impact monitoring. Effective resource management increases vehicle utilization rates, and monitoring operator performance ensures that productivity targets are met consistently. Continuous monitoring supports ongoing improvement initiatives, such as Lean or Six Sigma, driving sustained business growth and efficiency. | Download >> 7 Types of Waste that Lean Thinking Organizations Should Avoid.
Streamline Your Fleet Management Process with Real Time Networks
Our smart key and asset management solutions give you powerful tools to efficiently and effectively manage your distribution center fleet.
Best Practices for Warehouse Fleet Management
Effective warehouse fleet management requires adopting proven best practices that streamline operations and ensure optimal performance. Regardless of the fleet's size or complexity, these guidelines can significantly simplify the tasks of managers and operators alike.
Develop comprehensive policies covering all aspects of fleet use and management. Well-structured policies streamline communication and enforcement. They create “guard rails” on behavior and performance so everyone stays on the same page and knows what everyone else is accountable for.
Of course, they reduce fleet managers' administrative workload by clarifying responsibilities for drivers, mechanics, and other personnel. These policies should be easy to understand and follow, ensuring consistency across the board.
Implement mandatory checklists that all personnel must follow at vehicle key sign-outs and returns to ensure accountability. Require drivers to complete a checklist on a fleet management system smart panel before receiving or returning keys. That ensures they log mileage, report vehicle damage, improve vehicle key security, and take responsibility for their assigned vehicles.
Many drivers will have a favorite vehicle and sign out that one only if given the choice. However, allowing them to select the same truck or forklift over and over can lead to uneven wear and tear across the fleet. Develop a system that rotates vehicle assignments or uses lifecycle management technology to automate the process, distributing mileage evenly and balancing maintenance schedules.
Establish a preventive maintenance schedule for all fleet vehicles to avoid major repairs. Regular maintenance is more cost-effective, mitigating potential issues and maintaining overall vehicle health.
Data collection is crucial for optimizing fleet utilization and making informed purchasing decisions. While specific metrics will vary based on your fleet composition, essential data points for any fleet typically include:
- Fuel Usage–Track fueling dates, quantities, and costs.
- Vehicle Utilization–Record sign-outs for specialized trucks, forklifts, and other vehicles.
- Driver Performance–Log license and certification expirations, accident details, including dates, times, locations, nature of the incident, personnel involved, and any insurance claim information.
- Maintenance–Monitor scheduled and unscheduled repairs, noting work performed, maintenance dates, parts used, and associated labor costs.
- Purchasing and Leasing Agreements–Maintain accurate records of contract and warranty details for all purchased or leased vehicles.
You don’t want a fleet that is too large or too small. Aim to balance fleet size to avoid budget strain and operational impacts. Ensure there are enough vehicles to handle emergencies and unexpected downtime while avoiding excess capacity that adds unnecessary costs.
As fleets grow, manual operations can become inefficient. Adjust checklists or logging procedures to ensure forklifts are fueled or charged and in working order. For example, drivers must log fuel levels and check for damage upon return, ensuring vehicles are consistently maintained.
Technology Enhances Delivery Fleet Management
If you need help with how to begin improving your warehouse fleet management, consider leveraging technology. Real Time Networks offers smart key and asset management systems that enable fleet and warehouse managers to track vehicles more efficiently, cost-effectively, and safely. They’re an effective solution for delivery services key control.
CASE STUDY
New Fleet Management Program Saves Municipality Six Figures Annually
See how the Fleet Services Division of a city reduced the size of its fleet and saved over $155K annually by implementing a fleet management system.
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