Nowadays, the competition in the logistics field becomes more and more intense. According to the most recent research, the logistics market will rise to around 13 billion by 2027 compared to 7 billion in 2017. Considering the lockdown that paralyzed the dynamic traffic of supply chains and logistic companies worldwide, it is pretty good growth.

Indeed, those troubles have only made logistic businesses stiffer and compelled them to integrate state-of-art tech solutions like IoT sensors, GPS, and specialized software. Tech equipment has become the core criterion of the fittest’s survival within the logistics ecosystem. So, to stay on your feet, you should keep your hand on the pulse of fleet management software innovations.

However, many managers have a hard time choosing and implementing the right fleet management system. That makes them less productive than business rivals and threatens to send them out of business. But we are going to give them a lifeline with the ultimate guide on how to choose the best vehicle maintenance app in 2022. Further, you’ll know:

• How fleet management software contributes to your success;
• What features make the great fleet maintenance app;
• The guideline to pick the right one.
  

How fleet management software can help you

Fleet management software is a great companion to your business that can bring benefits on multiple levels:

Reduces expenses

A proper fleet management application can save your money in many ways. First of all, it frees you from the middlemen between you and your drivers. It means that you reduce your salary payments and manage the processes faster.

Then, the preventive maintenance feature of a car maintenance app allows you to avoid high repair costs. The logic is simple: the sooner you know that something is wrong with a vehicle, the less money you’ll pay to fix it.

What’s more, such apps, paired with IoT sensors and GPS, track fuel consumption and plan optimal routes. These features make the delivery faster and reduce your resource consumption.  

Enhances fleet performance 

The route planning feature streamlines the effectiveness of your vehicles too. Suggesting the best way to reach the destination, the app eliminates fleet downtime.

Fleet maintenance apps allow managers to connect with the drivers at any time and give urgent instructions. For instance, you can redirect a car in a priority area or inform a driver about vehicle breakage on the go.

Also, the vehicles’ health tracking tools assist you to schedule maintenance works with perfect timing. As a result, you will reduce fleet downtime and always have your cars in top condition.

Brings valuable insights

Powerful big data tools paired with the right fleet maintenance app show you the bigger perspective on your business’s functioning. With the help of the information, you get the statistics on fuel consumption, drivers’ behavior patterns, various expenses, and income. It will present it on a clickable dashboard that demonstrates the information in comprehensive charts, graphs, etc. 

Having all that insights in front of you, you can build an effective marketing strategy easily. Additionally, analysis of the fleet-related metrics will help you to propel your business workflow.  

Features a Fleet Maintenance App Should Have

Alright, as we’ve reviewed the benefits of using such apps, let’s dive into the fleet management software features themselves. Here, you’ll find the features that top fleet maintenance apps must include.  

Positioning & Route planning

Using GPS (Global Positioning System), fleet management software displays the location of any car of your company in real-time. This feature also builds optimal routes for your vehicles to avoid traffic jams and be at the destination point as soon as possible. 

In addition, vehicle monitoring features enhance the customer experience. When you know the pace and the route of your vehicle, you can predict the time it comes to a customer. If you embed the timer in your customers’ apps, they will see the estimated delivery time. Apart from this, you can inform the receiver if there is any delay. The feature is a must for B2B relationships. There, supply timing failures affect not only the business relationships but can result in additional costs.

Advanced communication tools

To give orders and get updates from the drivers faster, fleet maintenance software offers various communication tools. On the one hand, a driver can leave his/her comment below the work item. Thus, they inform you about unexpected events that hinder the work processes or ask for assistance and issue specifications. On the other hand, you can guide your employees instantly. It applies to drivers and maintenance workers to whom you can give detailed task instructions. This helps to avoid possible misunderstandings. 

Eventually, you can get rid of paperwork and old-fashioned communication methods. This feature makes the fleet management process as easy as a tap on your smartphone.

Preventive maintenance

Fleet vehicle maintenance app prevents serious vehicle damage by tracking its health parameters in real-time. Due to that feature, you can find and eliminate any malfunction proactively. In the first place, you can set obsolescence reminders in your app to never miss routine maintenance works.

Moreover, IoT sensors scan parts of the vehicles that are prone to wearing. Then, they send the reports to an app, and it presents the component’s state in your interface. Depending on the conditions, you decide whether to take urgent actions, schedule the maintenance later, or replace the vehicle. Afterward, you can streamline the mechanics’ work by sending him/her the breakage report. This feature is what makes the best car maintenance app. But the picture’s worth a thousand words.

Fuel Management

Although the world is moving towards electric engines, currently, fuel is the blood of most vehicles on the planet. Given that the fleet is the heart of the logistic industry, we can see fuel as what makes it beat. Therefore, thorough fuel consumption control is crucial for healthy logistic business development and requires a practical fuel management approach.

Software fleet maintenance service in tandem with particular sensors keeps track of the fuel flow in real-time. Also, a worthy app should monitor the vehicles’ idle time so you can see where it happens more often. Besides, it can estimate its cost and create fuel consumption reports. They will come in handy when you plan a budget or make an analysis to improve your fuel efficiency.

Asset & Driver Safety 

Driving is a complex task that demands much concentration and resilience. A good manager knows that and makes everything possible to make sure the drivers work in comfortable conditions. Top-of-the-line fleet management apps do a great job keeping vehicle operators sound and safe.

First of all, a driver’s smartwatch or other devices that track his/her heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen level can be connected to an app. In this way, you can get a notification when a driver feels ill. This feature allows preventing any accidents caused by health issues. Apart from that, IoT sensors can measure temperature in a car cabin and flag the drivers if it becomes too high or low. 

By itself, driver safety features improve asset durability. Though, you can equip your fleet with dash cameras. They will record and store the information on the road’s footage or dangerous situations. Also, in case of a car crash, the video records can serve as evidence. On top of that, you get rid of speeding and aggressive driving by analyzing drivers’ behavior patterns. You can even turn it into a fun game with prize money, giving marks for driving safety to your workers and finding the safest one.   

Work time tracking

Car maintenance tracking apps are capable of monitoring the time on the road of the drivers. Although it seems like a simple and subsidiary feature, it is a must for fleet management. To comply with Hours of Service regulations, you need to know exactly what time your employees are on the move. It echoes with safety because the HOS regulations were designed as a deterrent to work-overs. The latter is one of the main reasons for car crashes nowadays. Failing to provide team working hours and comply with the regulations will inevitably result in the loss of license. 

Choosing the right fleet maintenance app

In this section, we will touch on the points to consider when choosing a fleet management app. 

Usability

Ease of use is essential for fleet maintenance apps. The interface should be intuitive and convenient for you to have instant access to the core features. Otherwise, it loses half of its purpose if you waste time making sense of the intricate settings. Simply put, a good app will offer you all the essentials in a tap & swipe distance.

From the driver’s side, the best car maintenance app should also be easy as pie. Drivers will need a tool that doesn’t steal much attention and provides comprehensible data. 

Data processing & insights

The quality of the insights you get from your app heavily depends on its ability to process big data. Thus, you’ll need one that supports a good database. It’s necessary to store more statistical data and various work-related records. 

Apart from storage, a proper auto maintenance app must be able to process and showcase the information in a digestible way. The more valuable information charts, diagrams, graphics you can have on your screen, the better. Usually, great apps support specialized fleet management dashboards that you can get for free. You can have a look at the free dashboard below to see how many performance metrics it displays. 

Integration Capacity

The software you choose should be able to integrate other fleet management solutions. To expand the functionality of the fleet maintenance app, you need to have the ability to apply additional tools. It can be routing and payroll systems, HR management software, and more. That’s why the capacity of the app to integrate more of such tools will define the level of your fleet productivity.

Resume

To consolidate the message, let’s make a brief outline of the benefits, features of the auto maintenance app, and how to choose the right one.

Fleet management apps help logistic businesses to:

• Reduce various types of expenses;
• Improve fleet performance and keep assets safe;
• Manage your personnel more effectively;
• Get a clearer picture of your business functioning;
• Build an effective business strategy and marketing campaigns;
• Enhance customer and partner relations.
  

A good fleet maintenance service should offer:

• Asset tracking & route planning feature;
• Vehicle health checking systems for proactive maintenance;
• Fuel management & report creation features;
• Safety features for drivers and vehicles;
• Work time and mileage tracking features;
  

To pick a proper fleet management application, check the following parameters:

• Ease of use and accessibility;
• Data processing & storage capacity; 
• Ability to make valuable insights;
• Comprehensive presentation of the info;  
• Integration with other tools and technologies;
  

Here you go. With these guidelines, you’ll choose the right car maintenance software in no time. Once you’ve implemented it, get ready to see larger numbers in your quarter bottom line. 

P.S. If you are too busy or you’d like to rely on professional assistance to implement the solution, delegate it to us. We provide a full-cycle of fleet management implementation services and are proud to have hundreds of happy clients.