Fleet management is at the core of any business that owns or runs a fleet of vehicles. Be it rent-a-cars, car dealerships, taxi services, or even hospitals with an ambulance fleet, having a fleet manager and a fleet management system is an absolute necessity.
The task is overwhelming to many, no doubt, but the related software can make all the difference in smoothing out the process of coordination.
Odoo can make use of an extensive collection of plugins for the very purpose of fleet management, and each of those plugins come in different specifications to suit each type of company. However, for this article, we will be referring to Odoo’s official Odoo Fleet.
Challenges Faced in Fleet Management
Vehicle acquisition and maintenance:
Boost fleet management revenue annually using Odoo. Finding the right type of vehicle for your fleet can often be a subject of much scrutiny. You are required to decide after evaluating every vehicle model’s fuel consumption, tax, and insurance costs in addition to employee expectations.
Considerations also have to be made towards the vehicle’s resell value and annual repair costs, leading us to vehicle maintenance. You must also carry out vehicle checks to ensure legislation compliance and schedule vehicle inspections.
Fuel management:
This is the biggest challenge faced by a fleet manager. Fuel costs are always fluctuating, but it isn’t impossible to make savings in terms of fuel consumption and cost. Even if your vehicles run on diesel, which is fast falling out of use, an effective fleet management system such as Odoo Fleet can help you evaluate whether they deliver the most significant cost savings.
Health and safety:
When and if driving personnel meet an accident and injure themselves, it falls upon the fleet manager to look into it. It is necessary to put in place reporting procedures so that accidents can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.
A fleet manager will thus be responsible for ensuring that driving training records are up to date to minimize the risk of accidents.
Controlling costs:
Easily one of the top priority challenges in fleet management. Fleet managers are required to analyze the relevant data about each vehicle in the fleet and identify the areas with ample room for improvement. This may include vehicle purchase costs, fuel costs, and maintenance costs.
Information management:
By managing a fleet, a vast wealth of data is generated, and not all of it is useful data. Manually cruising through all the data to single them out is not only time-consuming, but you may also miss relevant information. Updating the information also takes a toll on time and money. Odoo Fleet can help you sort out the unnecessary information out and generate clear, concise reports on only relevant areas.
Odoo Fleet’s Role
Odoo Fleet is painfully simple to use a plugin that will still give you the best results you can hope for and undoubtedly lead to a boost in annual revenue.
The necessity of a specialized tracking system for company vehicles is made invalid thanks to plugin’s built-in administrative system. You can keep a close eye on fuel log data, refueling and maintenance costs, and a vast wealth of other necessary features for the management of company vehicles.
The processes of leasing and contracting are also made easy to manage as features such as warning emails when contracts reach expiration date, visual tools to remind you of contractual actions are quite robust and focused around giving you the best benefits in terms of cost saving. Vehicular services are also managed by the plugin, allowing you to communicate and make contact with the best-qualified service providers.
Most directly of use to maximize revenue is the plugin’s ability to give you a complete report of all the money going behind the running of the fleet.
Alongside the direct costs of fleet maintenance, recurring fees of your leases and service contracts are also added to your cycle. Integration with the accounting plugin further increases the information available to you, allowing you to make informed decisions in your approach to reducing costs.
Analysis tools go above and beyond in this regard through the feature of comparing different types of costs aided by graphs.
Odoo Fleet’s Features in Detail
In-depth details:
Allows you to specify brand and model, registration number, chassis number, vehicle class, etc. This is meant to identify each vehicle of the fleet quickly.
Leasing contracts:
Specify your contracts down to each detail; start and expiry dates, recurring costs, and contract status.
Keep track of mileage and maintenance:
You can keep track of every individual vehicle odometer readings. Data like this may prove to be instrumental in effectively scheduling maintenance and repair checks, allowing you to avoid unnecessary extra costs in that regard.
Monitor fuel consumption:
You can record every refill for each car and other variables allowing you to see a proper miles-per-gallon figure along with the amount spent. In conjunction with data from vehicle maintenance, you can find ways to reduce fuel consumption.
Vehicle statuses:
You can define parameters for several statuses to track your vehicles in totally. Classify them into vehicles ordered, vehicles currently owned, vehicles sent for repairs, vehicles you don’t own anymore.
Dashboard:
Provides you a clear overview of all your vehicles using live reports and graphs.
Reporting:
A clear and in-depth report is recorded each cost linked to your fleet produced by default. You may also create custom reports with any additional information you need.
Maximizing profits in fleet management is easier than ever by the completeness of information Odoo Fleet offers you. Further configuration and customization give you even more information to work with.
Odoo Fleet is a Fleet Manager’s companion; hence maximizing profits requires your diligence and tactfulness in making use of the relevant information. This is just what the basic Odoo Fleet offers; many more fleet management systems are available as plugins that accomplish more and more.