How to Choose the Right Fleet Maintenance Software for Your Business
If your business is in the market for fleet maintenance software, you know there are plenty of options out there. The question is, how do you find the solution that’s ideal for your specific situation, circumstances, and needs?
What is Fleet Maintenance Software?
Fleet maintenance software helps companies with large fleets of vehicles, including delivery trucks, semi-trucks, construction equipment, field service trucks, and even aircraft, be as organized and cost-effective as possible with maintaining assets and keeping them in good working condition.
“Fleet maintenance solutions are designed to help you cut costs associated with maintaining vehicles by streamlining your workflow,” SoftwareAdvice.com mentions. “It will help you quickly and easily identify over- and underutilized vehicles, eliminate unnecessary inventory, track your assets, schedule preventive upkeep, predict potential hazards, manage risk and warranties and support the operations of your facility.”
If you’re currently without fleet maintenance software – or you’re wholly unimpressed with the solution you currently have in place – it may be time to shop around for a new option.
5 Tips for Selecting the Right Software
Not all fleet maintenance software is created equal. As you shop around for the perfect option for your business, there are several factors you’ll want to consider. These include:
1. Consider Features
Start by evaluating the individual features that come with each software solution you’re considering. A particular software can have great reviews and a good price, but if it doesn’t have the features you need, it’s not going to work for your fleet.
We recommend making a list of the features you need before ever starting the shopping process. For best results, divide your list into two columns – one for needs and another for wants.
Then when you evaluate software, you start by looking for the needs. Once a solution checks off all these boxes, you can move on to considering any wants it may satisfy.
2. Know What Matters Most
When creating your needs list, it’s helpful to know which features matter most. In other words, what’s going to help you lower costs, maximize vehicle lifetime value, and bolster your bottom line? For example, one thing your fleet maintenance software should absolutely do is help manage parts spend.
“When claims are handled manually, 70% of warrantable claims go unfilled,” Cetaris points out. “Fleet management software helps you identify cost-saving opportunities. You can use it to secure the best parts pricing from suppliers, reduce unnecessary inventory, optimize carrying costs, and improve efficiency by ensuring the right part is on hand at the right time.”
Features like these are the meat of fleet maintenance and management software. While it’s nice to have colorful dashboards and sleek interfaces, these surface level details don’t matter if the software’s foundation is lacking.
3. Compare Apples to Apples
This is comparison shopping 101, but make sure you’re comparing apples to apples when evaluating multiple fleet maintenance solutions side by side. Every fleet maintenance software developer is going to have slightly different names for features and settings. If you’re ever unsure about something, don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and ask.
4. Take Compliance Into Account
Depending on the industry you’re in, you have certain regulatory compliance rules that must be carefully followed. Make sure you’re taking these compliance requirements into account when searching for software. You’ll need access to certain information, and it’s important that you don’t have to go manually searching for it each time you need to create a report.
5. Account for Cost
Cost is obviously a determining factor when selecting any piece of software for your business. However, notice that we’ve included it last on this list. That’s intentional. Because while cost does matter, you’ll find that the price tag usually sorts itself out. In other words, you get what you pay for.
Rather than looking at the “sticker” price of fleet maintenance software, think about it in terms of ROI. Software A might cost $1 and Software B may cost $2, but if Software B generates $10 in savings and Software A only generates $3 in savings, you’re better off spending more for the one that generates a stronger ROI. Make sense?
Taking Action
There are plenty of good options for fleet maintenance software. It’s up to you to find the solution that’s the best fit for your company. Let the different factors outlined above give you some direction and clarity.