Fleets continue to be challenged by an unpredictable fuel market, and that is making it extremely difficult to budget for fuel expenditures. As a result, strict oversight of fuel assets is imperative to maintaining a healthy bottom line over the long term.
With traditional fuel prices lower than they have been in years, and reports of price increases on the horizon, now is the time for fleets to review the effectiveness of their site’s fuel management equipment. This audit will allow fleets to identify investment opportunities that will cut costs through reduced fuel losses and streamlined operations.
CONTROL
Whether managing a large fleet of more than 1,000 tractor trailers or a small fleet of 25 vehicles, aging equipment and fuel are typically two of a fleet’s largest expenses. What’s more, one expense – variable fuel costs – makes it difficult to fund the maintenance and equipment needed to overcome the other expense – aging equipment. As such, strict management of operating costs is critical for fleets.
Cardlock systems, also known as fuel control systems, enable fleets to carefully manage their fuel assets by providing authorization and accountability of fuel usage. By tracking every gallon of fuel that goes into every fleet vehicle, fuel control systems help fleets identify unauthorized fueling, prevent fuel theft, document fuel usage and create visibility into their operating costs.
In addition to reducing fuel losses, today’s fuel control systems create numerous operational efficiencies. For example, many fleets still rely on manual statistical inventory reconciliation, which is both inaccurate and expensive due to its inefficient nature.
Automated reconciliation programs not only eliminate hours of manual data collection, calculation and reporting, today’s software-based solutions improve the accuracy of the fuel usage data that is collected. Fleets that incorporate a tank gauge and a full-featured reconciliation software into their system significantly increase the depth of inventory data available to them while also streamlining reconciliation procedures.
Through instant visibility into fuel volumes and anticipated usage, fleets are able to optimize the timing and pricing of fuel deliveries – a cost-cutting strategy that quickly pays off, whether buying millions of gallons of fuel annually or less than 50,000 gallons.
Fleets can also optimize preventive maintenance programs by utilizing fuel management software. Many fuel management programs enable vehicle mileage data to be exported into fleet management programs.
By supporting judicious scheduling of vehicle maintenance, the software prevents unplanned vehicle downtime and, as a result, unexpected costs.
A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Today’s cardlock systems can be a vital asset to fleets that are tasked with implementing sustainable cost-saving strategies. Partnering with a manufacturer who designs its fuel management equipment with upgradeability in mind is a tenable approach.
Upgrading select components within an existing cardlock system is especially beneficial to fleets because the upgrades often significantly advance the fuel control system’s capabilities, leading to workflow efficiencies and cost savings. For example, a terminal that upgrades its 20-year-old cardlock system’s site controller will significantly enhance the system’s performance capabilities overall.
Fleets will be able to take advantage of the services provided by the latest fuel management software, which often includes advanced reporting capabilities and fleet maintenance integration – all hosted on a modern and user-friendly platform. Now equipped with powerful fuel inventory data collection and reporting capabilities, the updated site controller positions the fleet to reduce costs through streamlined data management.
The recent low fuel prices have yielded savings for fleets. With the likelihood of prices increasing soon, there may be no better time to invest those savings in fuel management technology.
Expanding fuel control practices before higher fuel prices hit is essential because when fuel prices rise, fuel theft also increases. Fuel theft at $2 a gallon is certainly unwelcome, but theft when fuel is $4 a gallon can be devastating to an already tight budget.
Fleets that invest now in order to strengthen their fleet and fuel management programs for the future will be in a better position to preserve their bottom lines amid challenging economic conditions.
Bobby Hayes is the domestic sales manager at OPW Fuel Management Systems (www.opwglobal.com). OPW is a global leader in fully integrated fluid handling, management, monitoring and control solutions for the safe and efficient handling of critical petroleum-derived fluids.
