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Turning Data Into Action: 5 Ways that Fleet Maintenance Software Can Keep Your Trucks Moving

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Whether you maintain your own trucks, outsource your repair needs to a third party or operate a service center for outside customers ‒ efficient fleet maintenance is essential to your continued success. But how efficient are your current processes, really? Are you taking full advantage of the vast wealth of information available to you to streamline your maintenance operation? 

From vehicle health to parts tracking, fleet maintenance software can empower your team to make both small and sweeping adjustments to your organization. Armed with unparalleled business intelligence and reporting capabilities, you’ll be perfectly positioned to limit inefficiencies, reduce roadside breakdowns and maximize productivity. 

By having the right fleet maintenance software in place, you can help you turn data into action to deliver tangible benefits, including:

 

  1. Lower Equipment Costs

The numbers don’t lie—optimizing your inventory allows you to reduce carrying costs. With the help of our fleet maintenance management software, Trimble customers have been able to substantially cut existing parts inventories, which translates into significant cost savings. On top of that, vehicle health and equipment life cycle data allows you to extend the performance and lifetime of parts while ensuring that they get replaced when the time comes.

 

  1. Maximize Warranty Recovery

For many enterprises that are switching or just beginning to implement fleet maintenance management software, warranty recovery is one of the most startling and noticeable sources of ROI. Automating the warranty returns and claim management process will ensure you don’t miss any opportunities to recover funds.

 

  1. Increase Uptime

Breakdowns don’t just cost you in terms of equipment and repair services—they also result in decreased productivity, more downtime, and even lost business. To minimize these adverse effects, you need to take your trucks from one preventative maintenance to the next without unforeseen equipment failures. 

Managing shop schedules and maintenance needs with fleet maintenance software ensures that your trucks get needed repairs before they wind up on the side of the road waiting for assistance.

User-defined and system-designed reports help uncover new opportunities to improve equipment management and maintenance practices.

 

  1. Enhance Equipment Management

Fleet maintenance software can also provide both user-defined and system-designed reports to improve equipment management by spotting key trends to help inform improved decision making. 

By harnessing this reporting, users can track maintenance costs by metrics such as per mile or per hour, generate accurate equipment cost comparisons and document license permits and inspections - each enabling you to make smarter decisions about the assets you manage.

 

  1. Make Fleets Safer

Vehicle health monitoring and fleet telematics devices won’t just help you avoid costly repairs; they’ll also allow you to keep your fleet compliant and your drivers safe. Fleet maintenance software will allow you to put this feedback to good use. 

From pre and post-trip inspections to repair order generation and parts procurement, you’ll be able to streamline your entire maintenance operation, cutting down on hours of manual data entry and human error. The result? Access to information when and where your drivers and mechanics need it, along with improved employee satisfaction, fewer breakdowns and a safer fleet.

 

Choosing the Right Fleet Maintenance Software

While the benefits of fleet maintenance software are clear, making the transition from manual data entry or another fleet maintenance software system can seem daunting. But the benefits of powerful fleet telematics and maintenance software are well worth the effort. 

 

 

So, where do you begin? There are a number of steps you should take when evaluating your fleet maintenance software options. In short, you’ll need to clearly define your needs, plan for changes in both process and work culture, and choose a software vendor that can provide long-term support. This includes weighing whether to select an on-premise system or a cloud-based platform, which can enable you to leverage comprehensive tech support and automatic updates, eliminating the need to worry about providing on-site IT support.

You should also consider the kinds of add-ons or integrations you might want in a fleet maintenance program. For example, could your fleet benefit from warranty management? What about an interactive user interface that makes data entry significantly easier for mechanics?

It is also important to consider the benefits of advanced fleet maintenance software, such as Trimble’s TMT Fleet Maintenance and TMT Service Center. By selecting a more robust platform, you can not only access monitoring and diagnostic tools to minimize repairs and downtime but also rely on a comprehensive platform that allows both carriers and service providers to improve performance across the board.

 

Refine Your Fleet Maintenance Management Efforts with Trimble

Fleet maintenance doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The right fleet maintenance software will connect your repair and maintenance processes to your business enterprise—making your whole operation more efficient, safer, and more productive.

Ready to learn more? Take a look at our Bridge the Divide eBook to discover how fleet maintenance technology can play a crucial role in optimizing all aspects of your transportation business.