Leveraging BI to Chart a Data-Driven Path Forward
There is a lot of change occurring in the fleet space today – supply chain, fuel costs, new sustainability commitments, etc. Using your data effectively in decision making is critical to a successful fleet operation.
If you’ve been following our recent posts about business intelligence and data, there are a few things we have established by now.
1. We all want reliable, understandable and profitable data insights.
2. Unified, cleaned, high-quality data is the foundation for any successful data reporting.
3. Having all your data in one place gives you the power and flexibility to create the custom metrics and reports around your specific fleet needs.
Essentially, the goal of BI is to get your siloed, raw data to a place where it is easy to understand and take action. With all fleet data – tracking usage, operations, and capital spend – centralized in one place, fleet managers eliminate hours of busywork, leaving them to analyze clear reports and visualizations, strategize around these performance metrics, and ultimately, make the key decisions.
Some managers might ask themselves if BI is a solution that could work for them, as no two fleets are exactly the same. An effective Business Intelligence platform is not only data-agnostic, but also completely malleable and developed to be shaped around each organizations’ unique operation. It doesn’t matter what your organization looks like or the systems you’re currently working with – BI can still deliver the same successful outcomes. This is especially critical as new technologies emerge and fleets look to futureproof their operations.
What is futureproofing?
Ensuring that a fleet is ‘futureproof’ is certifying that the organization is prepared to confront and adapt to the inevitable changes that happen overtime. Whether this be changes in the industry, changes of vehicles and technologies in your fleet, changing global socioeconomic situations – the fleets that prosper through change are the ones that are ready from the start.
BI helps fleets to futureproof by creating a reliable and repeatable management strategy that is flexible to change. This helps managers look toward long-term success, focusing on cost-reduction opportunities and sustainable resource management.
Is this scalable?
Business intelligence is scalable and data-agnostic which makes it incredibly flexible.
This makes it easy for your fleet to bring in new technologies and data systems and have them seamlessly flow into the same platform as all your other streams. In an age of quickly advancing technology, quick adaptability is key for getting real-time feedback and decision making from new data sources with minimal delay.
This flexibility also helps managers to switch their focus as years go on. A fleet’s main objectives today may not be the same in 10, 20 or 50 years. With BI, managers always have access to custom metrics and reports that track progress toward whatever their goals may be. This could mean a fleet rightsizing initiative today and achieving carbon neutrality down the line – either way, BI has you covered for both.
In addition to changing technologies and objectives, organizations themselves can fluctuate a lot over time. Whether you fleet grows or has to downsize, data insights are key for helping you figure out where to start. Rightsizing reports look at utilization and availability to help you identify the vehicles that you do and don’t need. On the other hand, fleet lifecycle analyses and electric vehicles initiatives can help your organization find opportunities for replacement and growth.
The bottom line
The fleet industry is constantly changing and maybe now more than ever. With increasing sustainability initiatives, government mandates and brand-new technologies, BI provides the analytical stability to help fleets keep up. Fleets can no longer afford to be reactive to change, putting themselves at a major disadvantage and falling behind competition. Managers today need proactive management strategies that are forward-thinking, quick-to-adapt and profitable in the long run.
If you’re interested to learn how our BI platform and team of analysts are driving fleet success, schedule a demo with us today.
Michael Carr
Michael Carr is an account manager at Utilimarc, previously attending Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. If you can't find him on a golf course, watching documentaries or a Formula One race, you can count on him being in the northern Midwest with a dog or two by his side. See more from Michael
Book a Demo
Related Posts
Utilimarc announces the release and performance of its Rightsizing Solution designed to help clients reduce vehicle and equipment expenses.
Fleets preparing for the replacement of ICE vehicles for EV alternatives are looking to understand true utilization of assets to identify surplus needs and rightsizing of assets.
Many fleet managers are utilizing idle reduction tools not only to decrease fuel consumption and emissions, but as a strategy to reduce fleet costs. With budget-cuts happening all around, opportunities for scaling back unnecessary spend are top-of-mind for every fleet manager today. Luckily, idle reduction efforts are a successful approach to this challenge.