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Big Data’s Impact on Fleet Payment and More
Data is Providing Visibility to Improve Performance, Reporting and Fleet Payment
It is 2018 and technology is performing in ways we could never have imagined even ten years ago. While massive data breaches have taken over much of the news cycle lately, it is the positive aspect of data collection that has been magnified in its ability to power the success of business. Data is being leveraged in every form of business operations all across the world, and that has never been more apparent than in the transportation and logistics arena. Once considered a low-tech, blue-collar industry, the trucking industry has made strides in catching up with the rest of the world in implementing technology to help create efficiencies in time and money. Along with the advances and technology comes data —and lots of it. The transportation and logistics arena is utilizing data to inform and improve performance, monitor safety and security, maintain compliance and manage fleet payment. Drivers are informed of potential mechanical failure before they even happen and when they do happen, they are provided the closest location for repair. Fleet managers across the country are relying on data to analyze driver behavior, track mileage and routes, and manage fuel economy through the use of fuel and fleet cards. The analytics from the data is often provided by the manufacturer as well as the fleet, and essential in delivering insight and perspective for a healthier fleet.
Telematics and electronic on-board recorders (EOBR) are monitoring refrigeration equipment and food supplies, driver hours and locations, as well as fuel consumption and efficiencies. ELD mandates and compliances can sometimes seem a daunting task but, if data is used effective, those compliances will be streamlined and automated. Data from EOBR can also provide rich information to use in other ways that can maximize the productivity of the fleet.
“If you’re adopting EOBR and not using that now-visible log data in your planning and swap decision making, then you’re not taking the most advantage of that data,” — Ron Hall, senior director of operations technology at C.R. England.
The industry is seeing big data used in every aspect of the operations not the least of which is compliance. However, what seems to be on every fleet managers mind on any given day is fuel economy and payment, which is why the trucking industry is turning to big data for help.
How Big Data Works for the Trucking Industry
It is no longer enough to process a transaction or fleet payment. Companies are requiring more than just the responsiveness of a payment, and by looking at data generated from different tools and resources, fleet managers are able to leverage that data to make decisions faster and smarter with the speed of an automated process. These decisions and the speed in which they are made can set the company apart and provide a real difference within the competitive environment. Companies like EFS are enhancing the way we leverage big data to inform decisions, influence processes and completely shift the dynamics of fuel cards in the industry. EFS is a big data company that just happens to process transactions at its core. They are helping their industry make a transformational shift toward a more integrated approach for utilizing big data – both in real time and through back-end analytics that will improve efficiency, performance and in most cases, generate additional revenue.
Ways That EFS Fuel Cards and Web Tools Can Help to Capitalize on Big Data
- Control and prevent unauthorized purchases to increase bottom line performance – SecureFuelSM uses big data to help identify purchase irregularities, trigger real-time alerts and ultimately helps Carriers better manage and control their second largest variable expense.
- Validate, audit and improve fuel spend – The Fuel Reconciliation web-based tool helps Carriers save valuable time auditing and reconciling fuel spend with big data powering real-time reporting and analysis.
- Gain greater transparency and visibility and improve driver performance – The Electronic Fuel Management web-based tool leverages big data to provide KPI tracking and purchase reporting along with real-time and historical pricing analysis to take control of and better manage fuel spend.
- Evaluate how capacity is doing in the marketplace and benchmark volume against peer groups – Carrier TrendSourceSM leverages big data to show Carriers how freight volumes are trending, and in turn how that correlates to their volume. This powerful tool provides portfolio analysis to benchmark against peer groups, create actionable insights, and it emphasizes data visualization and dashboards to easily spot trends and exceptions across a wide variety of performance metrics.
EFS Fuel Cards are also leveraging data to help inform customized fuel solutions that meet the needs of any fleet no matter what size. So, what we know is that big data is no longer the future — it is now. However, it is important to keep in mind that big data can only be a useful tool if you know how to use it by combining two things:
- Access to a huge amount of relevant information.
- A powerful software engine that is fine-tuned by industry experts to identify accurately only those trends and patterns that are relevant to real-world business decisions.
Without both parts of the equation, you will have too little data, or the abundance of information will confuse and distract you, at best. EFS is uniquely positioned to provide that combination and will continue to look for new ways big data can drive efficiency and profitability for the industry.
Resources:
http://www.fleetowner.com/technology/qa-defining-big-data-trucking