Why fuel cost management is essential as pump prices fall
Fleets are advised to take a strategic approach to managing their fuel as pump prices begin to fall, according to FleetCheck.
Managing Director Peter Golding from fleet management software provider FleetCheck said that interest in fuel management at a corporate level often rise and fall in correlation to pump prices.
He explained: “The RAC are predicting that decreasing oil prices will start to feed through to sharp falls at the pumps quite quickly, meaning that a litre of fuel could soon be substantially cheaper than just a few months ago. In these situations, you can almost hear an audible sigh of relief across the fleet sector as prices are perceived to have dropped to a ‘sensible’ level.
“However, while lower prices are certainly welcome, they are not a pretext for fleets to take their eyes off the ball. Buying fuel remains a major expense in the running of cars and vans and, even if there is a substantial market adjustment forthcoming, it is a fundamental of fleet management to ensure that basic cost control measures remain in place.
“Of course, some fleets are good at controlling fuel expenditure on an ongoing basis – tracking fuel use to examine both overall trends, and drivers and vehicles at an individual level – but in others the subject tends to be more of a cyclical priority in response to current prices.”
Fuel prices have dropped by 9p per litre on average in December, but it should have fallen further, according to the RAC. It believes petrol is still currently overpriced by around 11p a litre and for diesel, 14p a litre.
Golding added: “In our experience over many years, the best way to gather fuel data is through a fuel card alongside journey information from telematics, and the best way to assimilate that data is through fleet management software that is able to make sense of the mass of information. This approach helps fleets to make strategic decisions at both a macro and micro level.
“However, there is also a step beyond this where questioning fuel use is ingrained into the culture of a business, where a line manager will raise questions about whether individual employees or whole departments need to be making all the trips they are undertaking. This can be much harder to achieve but, to our mind, is very much worthwhile and has a longstanding impact on fuel expenditure, whatever the current pump prices.”
So, how can Cambrian Fuelcard Services help with fuel cost management?
Cambrian Fuelcard Services provides a comprehensive range of fuel cards and telematics solutions to UK businesses of all sizes.
Fuel cards are an excellent way to manage and monitor the fuel consumption of your business vehicles.
Putting all your refuelling costs under one account with us, makes it easier for you to save time and money.
We offer:
• A portfolio of fuel cards with a current network of over 8000 UK sites
• No set-up costs, annual fees, transaction fees
• No card charges** (Subject to usage)
• A free online portal giving customers access to their account at any time
• Bespoke reports and analysis
• Fixed weekly diesel prices
• Fortnightly credit terms available with up to 30 days interest-free credit
• Excellent customer service and reacting quickly to customer requests
• Access to an extensive electric vehicle charging network
• Free Station Locator mobile app
Fuel costs account for almost a third of running costs for haulage firms.
Our telematics solutions from TrakM8 help alleviate these costs, increase fuel economy and cut emissions.
We offer telematics vehicle tracking solutions to businesses of all sizes. Telematics offers you the ability to monitor all your vehicles and drivers and keep an accurate track of business efficiency.
Telematics can benefit your business and help with fuel management in the following ways:
• Once fitted, the tracking device integrates with Google Maps giving you real-time data on your vehicles locations and journeys.
• Ensure the safety of your employees and safeguard costly company assets.
• You can monitor driver behaviour and ensure your branded fleet is driving safely.
• If your fleet makes deliveries or provides a service, you can give your customers up-to-the-minute information on the location of the driver and arrival times.
Fleet and transport managers can view map of historic journeys to see where each driver behaviour breach occurred, enabling them to identify trends and act accordingly.
• Knowing exactly where your fleet is allows you to help drivers avoid traffic jams and accidents.
• Reducing your fleets journeys times cuts fuel consumption. Route optimisation is proven to cut total fleet mileage by up to 20%.
• Reduce your companies carbon footprint.
• A full reporting suite is available with customised alerts and historical data archives.
Useful Links
To find out more about our fuel cards click here – https://www.cambriancards.com/fuel-cards/
To learn how our telematics solutions will help your fleet become more efficient and effective, click here – https://www.cambriancards.com/telematics/
RAC Fuel Watch: https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/fuel-watch/
