Fuel Management Essentials

You could achieve big savings by adjusting your fleets’ fuel management processes.

If you run a fleet, you will be aware of the substantial cost involved in fuel management.

Even with advances in technology, fuel continues to account for around one-third of a typical fleet’s running cost – meaning there’s big opportunities for savings if you can work out how to reduce your consumption

The good news is, it’s really not as difficult as you might think.

Let’s say you operate a fleet of 150 vehicles …you could save around £30,000 per year by increasing your average MPG from 30 to 33.

So how can you harness these savings?
The following strategies can have a big impact:

Know your fleet

Do you buy wholesale or at the pump? What kind of vehicles are best for your operations? Where and how are your fleet vehicles driven?

It’s important to know the answers to all these questions. Your fleet is unique – so the best opportunity to save costs lies in having a thorough understanding of its inner workings.

Champion Education

It’s safe to say that many drivers simply don’t realise how much fuel costs for a fleet. Without buy-in, you’ll be hard pushed to achieve any real changes – so getting your drivers and staff on-board is essential.

Education and effective training is critical to helping you keep a handle on fuel costs. (Our own data shows fuel economy increases by an average of 3 MPG as a result of driver training programmes!

Plan Ahead

Proper planning prevents poor performance. Whether it’s assessing driver routes to analysing the best places to refuel your vehicles – planning ahead can potentially lead to big savings.

For example, buying at the pump might be necessary for your fleet but there may also be opportunities to buy wholesale or use fuel cards to reduce spending.

Take good care

Wear and tear, unnecessary or excess weight, hard driving.. All these factors can drive up a fleet’s fuel usage and expenditure. For example, did you know your vehicle can use one quarter of a gallon of petrol for every 15 minutes it idles?

Little changes to how you run and look after your fleet can lead to big rewards when it comes to reducing costs.