1. Examine the settings of your fuel cards
Set things like; time restrictions, authorized fuel types, and fill limits. This way, you won't have to worry about lost receipts. You'll have established controls for each card. These controls allow you to generate fuel summaries. By vehicle, you'll have odometer readings taken at each site and you'll know actual miles per gallon. This information will help you to, track monthly fuel consumption by vehicle, and then develop, effective cost benefit solutions.
2. Evaluate your fleet's fuel purchase history
By comparing historical data and current fuel expenses, you'll be able to identify trends and anomalies in the data. Once you've identified trends, where fueling is consistently higher, or unique instances where fueling spikes, you can research the source of those expenses, and determine ways to reduce.
For example, if you analyze your driver's fueling patterns, you'll be able to see if they are fueling along their routes, and at the authorized times.
3. Ensure your drivers are fueling at locations with the best prices
This is much easier to accomplish, when you have access to a large wholesale fuel network. In this case, you can generate routes that factor in the closest fueling locations. Having this ability, will reduce transport and delivery time expenses, for each trip. Then, you can track each purchase online, and easily spot excess fueling, or unexplained charges in real-time.
If you're just starting out and using discounted retail locations, you can still follow the same principle of mapping driver routes, identifying best fuel rates along the route, and estimating expenses, in advance. By sharing this information with the driver, it sets the expectation that fuel costs will estimated, tracked and accounted for, on each trip.
This type of tracking provides security for driver and the company. When a driver ID is recorded, the driver has proof of where and when, they fueled the vehicle. Even, if a receipt is misplaced, you'll still know which driver, used a specific card.
4. Stay on top of activating and canceling fuel cards
Regularly review your driver list, as you add new vehicles and drivers. This way, you can easily remove inactive drivers and cancel inactive cards in the system. This is especially important if you use floating PIN #s.
5. Educate drivers about driving practices that generate the best fuel economy
Take the time to explain your expectations to drivers. Training is one of the best tools, that you can give to your team.
When you communicate your expectations, and hold drivers accountable, using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that they can achieve, they are more likely to honor your established requirements, adhere to your company road and fuel rules, and take better care of everything - from your vehicles, to your customers.
Everyone wants the chance to be successful and proud of their accomplishments.
Show drivers, exactly which data is tracked and saved, each time they use their company fuel card. Explain, that you can capture up to 54 types of information automatically, and how this benefits everyone. A driver who consistently stays on schedule, follows routes, speed limits, fuel quantities, etc., has exceeded his KPIs, reduced risks, and saved the company money. Safe, conscientious, and professional driving, should always be rewarded.
At energie·fuel this is some of the data, that we teach our members to track:
