Guest Post, Author at Fleet Summit
Posts By :

Guest Post

The importance of good data & reporting in fleet operations

 960 640 Guest Post
By:

By BrightOrder

Reporting, Data and Analysis

We recognise that high level executives require accurate reporting, data capture, and analysis available in real-time. Now this information is available from anywhere, to everywhere with an internet connection. At BrightOrder our maintenance management system, EMDECS was created to address these very issues. 

Whatever the Breadth of Your Operation

We know the importance of getting good data and reporting into the hands of decision makers who manage medium to large to enterprise level fleets. EMDECS gives you peace of mind due to its variety, versatility and customisation of reporting available.

Eliminate Wasted Time

Many companies are still trying to get on using outdated systems or trying to retrieve critical data from multiple pieces of software and doing their own analysis and hoping it is right. So much time is being wasted. Our method utilises a stand alone all in one system. Just think about how much wasted time and effort would be eliminated with centralised information and transparency. We are able to fit our software to meet your needs and even offer optional software customisations, integrations, and more to better manage anything and everything you desire. For larger companies we are able to customise the software to fit your preferred specifications.

For Compliance Issues

We are an accredited DVSA Earned Recognition host provider. With a simple platform to facilitate and manage your maintenance operations across your fleet, you can access, monitor and realise standards across your fleet across reporting KPIs. And you are not wasting time waiting for managers to send in information and risk issues as with our system it is all automated.

Feel free to arrange a meeting with Jason Schurek, BrightOrder’s Senior Account Executive and Richard Smyth, BrightOrder’s Director of Relations, to chat about the many advantages of BrightOrder’s EMDECS.

Find out more about BrightOrder.

The TranSend Advantage: Unlock the full potential of your fleet

 960 640 Guest Post
By:

By Civica

What could your organisation achieve if your admin time was halved? Your team could focus on more critical tasks, saving costs and redistributing resources.

Organisations across the UK are doing just that by switching to TranSend Fleet Management. With TranSend’s single cloud ecosystem, they have slashed admin time by 50% whilst also improving compliance, increasing customer satisfaction, and revolutionising their operations.

Improve Efficiency and Compliance

TranSend is your key to enhanced operational efficiency. By automating processes and eliminating paperwork, TranSend allows you to redirect your focus and prioritise more important tasks. TranSend does more than just streamlining operations; it also optimises your compliance procedures, making it easier to keep your fleet in line with regulations, all within a single, user-friendly platform. Furthermore, a remote server removes strain on your internal IT resources and the need for costly servers.

Asset Management Excellence

The ever-evolving nature of fleet management demands a solution that adapts to your changing needs and maximises the value of your fleet assets. TranSend can support you in proactively managing your entire fleet of vehicles, trailers, and equipment. It empowers you to keep track of critical asset information, set alerts for upcoming services, and control maintenance costs.

Data-Driven Decision-Making

TranSend gives you the power to make smarter, more educated decisions. Real-time visibility through its intuitive dashboards provides critical insights into your fleet, helping you make informed choices. The cloud platform is accessible on any browser, allowing instant collaboration and data sharing with remote teams. TranSend empowers you to analyse data efficiently, lower costs, reduce fleet downtime and enhance overall organisational management.

If you would like to learn more about how TranSend Fleet Management can support your organisation, please visit our website and get in touch.

THE WHICHEV VIEW: Petrol Vs Public Charging Vs Home Charging – Compared

 960 641 Guest Post
By:

By WhichEV

As part of its EV Answers series of articles, the expert team at WhichEV take a look at a small commercial vehicles and the fuel cost differences from fossil fuel to public charging to ‘at base’ charging…

Petrol

First, let’s consider range. If you recently decided to fill a 50 litre tank with petrol at £1.55 per litre, then it will have cost you £77.50. That is around 11 gallons and the average petrol vehicle will do around 36 miles per gallon – so that tank will get you just shy of 400 miles. Older, less efficient vehicle that spend most of their time at 20 mph in traffic will get closer to 30 miles per gallon, or even less – so a range of 330 miles for £77.50. Doing the calculation, we have a cost per mile with petrol of 19p to 23p.

Public Charging

You will find some chargers close to 50p per kWh, but maybe the price will be higher. We’ll use 60p for this cost calculation and imagine that you’re using a charger capable of delivering a steady 100kW. Filling a 61.7kWh battery like this, will probably get you to 80% in around 30 minutes, but the last 20% could take another 20-30 minutes as charger technology slows the process as the battery gets full.

Either way, you can pick up 61.7kWh of charge for £37.02. Most drivers do their miles in town and on smaller A roads, where you’re more likely to get close to 270 miles on a charge. To match the range of the petrol vehicle, you’d need to add up to 25% more charge – which would be another £9.23 for a total of £46.28.

Charging at Base

There are various ‘overnight saver tariffs’ to choose from. We will use 9.5p/kWh for 7 hours, but there are other deals available at the time of going to press. Local production from wind/solar as well as battery storage on site can also make a difference to the calculation.

Starting from empty at mid-night, you would pick up 49kWh at £4.65 and then you’ll need to finish with the last 12.1kWh at around 30p each once your overnight rate expires. That’s a total to fill up in one sitting of £8.28. You will need to pick up an additional 15kWh on the second evening – if you want to balance the ranges. That can be done overnight for £1.43.

Cost per mile

Another way to look at the same data, is to calculate the fuel cost per mile for driving 330 miles:-

23p        Petrol

14p        Public Charging

2.9p       Home Charging (E-On)

Before committing to an EV, do some calculations yourself and shop around for a good tariff that makes sense for your lifestyle. Prices are volatile, so our comparison is for guidance only.

Head over to WhichEV to read the full story!

Reduce downtime & increase transparency with better Fleet Maintenance Management

 960 640 Guest Post
By:

By BrightOrder

Smart management knows that being proactive is always less costly than being reactive. But outside of standard Preventative Maintenance practices for fleets, what does this really entail in 2023 for the transport industry?

For over 25 years, BrightOrder and its cloud-based maintenance software, EMDECS, has been continually improving how fleets handle maintenance management. And proactivity for BrightOrder means centralised information that provides true transparency and insight to your operations. This means digitisation of work orders and inventory management, live tracking of labour and parts, multi-location management and scalability for your specific needs.

This is an ecosystem that includes everyone involved in the maintenance process to reduce communication silos. It includes 3rd party integrations with tools your operations wants or needs to connect with. EMDECS is also a DVSA Validated IT Systems Provider so driver and vehicle data is seamlessly communicated with governing bodies further reducing friction on your operations.

So what’s stopping you from being more proactive, from building better operations? Reach out to us to set up a call or even a demo of our system.

For more information on BrightOrder solutions check out our website, here.

EV charging infrastructure for fleets – Where to start

 960 640 Guest Post
By:

The simple fact is that electric vehicles (EVs) are the future of transport. A recent report from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed that one battery electric car is registered every 60 seconds and that exponential growth in EVs is being accelerated by fleet sales.

It’s clear that those in the fleet industry are well-versed when it comes to the procurement of EVs. However, this is only one part – albeit vital – in any EV transition plans for fleet operations of all sizes and across all sectors.

The challenge often lies in understanding exactly how, and where to start, when it comes to the implementation of effective EV charging solutions that will resonate with both employers and employees.

For those involved, it may seem as though the transition to EV is a huge task. It doesn’t need to be such a daunting journey. Concerns surrounding EV charging simply shouldn’t stall the rollout of cost-effective, efficient and, most importantly, accessible EV charging infrastructure plans.

There may not be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to EV chargepoint infrastructure – but it is simply about keeping the three ‘Rs’ front of mind – right time, right location, and right speed.

The light at the end of the tunnel is that help from EV and electrical infrastructure specialists – such as SMS – is available.  Working with a trusted partner can make the whole EV transition process simple – helping to deploy and optimise successful small and large-scale EV infrastructure projects from start to finish. From supporting a workable plan and advising on the appropriate EV software and hardware to meet individual fleet needs, to advising on energy trade and supply needs.

If you want to learn more about how SMS can help with your fleet’s transition to EV, please connect with the team at Fleet Summit.

The WhichEV View: Stellantis opens 100% EV-only UK manufacturing plant

 150 150 Guest Post
By:
There is a lot of talk in the media about the fact that the UK government has put in place provisions to ensure that every electric vehicle sold in the UK must use material sourced in the UK. That amount needs to be 40% of the total production of each vehicle.
This has led to the opening or commitment to open at least three large-scale EV battery plants. Stellantis has taken this one step further, by committing a £100 million investment in Elsmere Port.
This will be the first 100% EV production plant in the United Kingdom and will create a lot of jobs both inside the factory and the surrounding area and along the supply chains for the plant itself. The initial focus will be on van like products either for personal or commercial use…
To read more about this Stallantis initiative, head over to WhichEV.

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: ChargePoint for Businesses

 960 640 Guest Post
By:

ChargePoint is creating a new fueling network to move people and goods on electricity. Since 2007, ChargePoint has been committed to making it easy for businesses and drivers to go electric with one of the largest EV charging networks and a comprehensive portfolio of charging solutions.

The ChargePoint cloud subscription platform and software-defined charging hardware are designed to include options for every charging scenario from home and multifamily to workplace, parking, hospitality, retail, and transport fleets of all types.

Today, one ChargePoint account provides access to hundreds of thousands of places to charge in North America and Europe. To date, more than 158 million charging sessions have been delivered, with drivers plugging into the ChargePoint network on average every second.

Find out more at www.chargepoint.com.

How to transition to electric fleet vehicles using Fleet Management Software

 960 640 Guest Post
By:

By Barney Goffer, UK Product Manager at Teletrac Navman UK

The recent expansion of London’s ULEZ zone, meaning non-compliant cars or vans will face £12.50 daily charge to drive into the zone, has sparked debate across fleets in the UK.

According to recent research, rising operations costs are one of the biggest worries for fleets, and while many are considering changing to alternative fuels, the majority are not ready to make the switch – or simply don’t know where to begin.

Whether they’re being welcomed with open arms or they might take some getting used to, clean air zones are going to be a part of major UK cities, so the sooner fleet managers get educated on their current fleet status and how best to transition, the better and more prepared they’ll be to make the switch in a sustainable and stress-free way.

Although this process may seem daunting at first, electric vehicle management software can simplify the transition process in many different ways. Additionally, this software provides you with a holistic view of a fleet’s transition to electric vehicles by providing actionable data and detailed insights into operational costs and next steps.

To ensure a successful transition to electric vehicles, businesses should take a data-driven approach. The good news is that the information sits within telematics platforms and with the right vehicle type segmentation and an understanding of the key data points to focus on, fleet operators can build a data driven transition plan pretty easily.

Key considerations to be taken into account include fleet vehicle type, separated by weight and size, as well as various data points collected by telematics software – including but not limited to duty cycles, dwell time and trip locations. Once all of the above has been collated and reviewed, practical implications such as cost of ownership, fuel consumption and charging infrastructure come into play, along with government schemes and incentives and driver training to onboard teams onto the new fleet.

While it sounds like a lot, the EV Readiness Tool has been developed by Teletrac Navman, to simplify the process and automate the planning of an electric fleet transition. By using current fleet information to analyse all the key factors, the tool uses artificial intelligence to generate an actionable list of recommendations, suggesting where changes to the fleet will have the greatest impact on business. The software also supports hybrid fleet models, allowing for greater scalability as traditional ICE vehicles are replaced with new EVs.

If you’re ready to learn more about how the EV Readiness Tool can help your fleet transition to an electric vehicle fleet, contact our team today who are ready to talk you through how it all works.

IN FOCUS: Teletrac Navman’s EV Readiness Tool 

 960 640 Guest Post
By:

By Barney Goffer (pictured), UK Product Manager at Teletrac Navman UK

With the government bringing the ban on selling new petrol and diesel vehicles forward to 2030 and most major UK cities booming with clean air zones or about to launch one, operators need to have a clear understanding on where their fleet stands, and what exactly can be done to maintain an efficient and compliant operation.

From talking to our customer base, we can see a few fleets have ambitious plans to switch everything to electric, while others are waiting and focusing on immediate issues such as supply chain issues and economic challenges. Making greener choices doesn’t need to be this huge overnight change as that can be unrealistic for many fleets. This is more about being empowered with the right data to make the most informed decision for your fleet and your business. After all, you don’t know what you don’t know.

Fleet operators need to be able to make the switch in the most informed and sustainable way, and that’s where technology has a big role to play. Teletrac Navman’s EV readiness tool gives fleet operators all the information they need to be able to look at the full picture and make an informed choice – to begin transitioning now, or to plan for it in the future.

By using smart algorithms to assess trip data, the tool provides fleet operators with insight into the feasibility of switching to EV, amongst other elements including suitable vehicles in-market, total cost of ownership, fuel savings and environmental impact. It examines whether a fleet is viable for switching and rather than providing a blanket yes or no, the customisable platform can offer a forensic analysis of vehicle use-data to provide a phased approach to transitioning to an EV fleet.

As well as having a huge positive impact on emissions and a company’s eco commitments, switching to EV can also save companies time and money if done correctly.

Visit Teletrac Navman’s website for more information.

The WhichEV View: Affordable EVs now arriving with 300+ mile range

 960 640 Guest Post
By:

By WhichEV

This multi-award winning MG4 EV design has now been revised with a much stronger power train/battery combination, with the updated version now offering a 323 mile range. That means the car is is likely to be able to complete London>Manchester without stopping – opening up new possibilities for fleet users.

As WhichEV points out in its Care of the Year guide, theMG4 EV costs less than half as much as a Tesla Model Y, and as a result is the more significant new arrival in the last 12 months.

It probably won’t sell as many units as the Model Y even after a full year on the market, but it draws a line in the sand about EV pricing. While the MG4 EV uses some cheap materials and still needs a little more work in its infotainment (albeit much better than before), in every area it’s more than just acceptable.

In fact, it’s great to drive, immensely practical, and – most importantly – sets a new benchmark for EV value. If any car released in the last year sets the direction for electric cars, it’s the MG4 EV. This car comes close to making EVs better than ICE in every way – including sticker price.

Read WhichEV’s full review of the original MG4 EV.