NEW research has revealed that the systems used by fleet managers for keeping track of important fleet data are outdated and inefficient.

The research –  from Vimcar – the fleet management software company for SMEs –found that nearly a quarter (24%) of fleet managers surveyed spend half their working day on spreadsheets, with more than half saying it prevents them from completing other important fleet tasks. 46% find spreadsheet set up too time consuming and 37% say it leaves room for mistakes, with 63% admitting to having missed deadlines.

As many businesses are increasing their fleets in the wake of economic recovery post-pandemic, the data points to a trend that fleet managers are not equipping themselves with the right tools to keep track of activity and costs and are not utilising their data to analyse the efficiency of their fleets.

The research also reveals that the majority of fleet managers say vehicle maintenance and cost management is the most important part of their role, yet 60% are using multiple digital spreadsheets and 10% still using pen and paper.

Of those surveyed, 79% have more than five different spreadsheets to keep track of important data such as cost, maintenance and mileage, with a further 1 in 10 using over thirty. Almost half said that spreadsheet set-up was too time consuming and was preventing them from completing other important tasks, with less than a quarter using a dedicated fleet management software designed specifically with their job in mind.

A new product by Vimcar, Fleet Admin, offers a solution to support and assist fleet managers in the organisation of day-to-day tasks and will allow them to keep track of and analyse data such as fleet costs, vehicle maintenance reminders and mileage updates.

Ronald Clancy, UK Country Manager, Vimcar said: “It’s clear from our research that those running fleets in SMEs are feeling defeated by their data, and it is having a negative impact on their businesses.

“Running a successful fleet starts with how its managed and fleet managers cannot be expected to run things efficiently while still relying on admin tools that aren’t fit for purpose. It is critical that fleet managers are well equipped with an automated and digitised management system that not only streamlines their data and daily tasks, but allows them to view, evaluate and compare the data held within the system.”

Vimcar customer Phillip Thompson, Company Director, Active Traffic Management said: “A fleet management solution like the one Vimcar provides give me the option to have everything in one place, which streamlines processes and gives me one system that works for everything, rather than everything spread across various spreadsheets and bits of paper. It also allows me to keep track of fuel costs and I have generally been able to manage my fleet better, with all-round ease.”