Successful fleet management is only possible when you can effectively gather, organize, and analyze your data. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools empower unmatched data optimization within this industry. As AI advances beyond simple capabilities to optimize data orchestration, it’s becoming central to fleet management and business intelligence.
How AI Benefits Fleet Business Optimization
AI can optimize how you manage your fleets, performing tasks that once required focused energy from your teams or, in some cases, might not have been possible.
Data Analysis in Fleet Management
AI relies on your company data to learn about your operations, provide insights, and build predictions for your organization. Once integrated into a single orchestration platform, AI tools can analyze the data to provide actionable insights. These data points can include information from the vehicle and how the vehicle is being used:
- Engine diagnostics ODB2 and J1939 / CAN bus data
- Runtime data
- Maintenance data
- Fuel usage data
- Idle times and location data
- Driver hours data
- Dangerous driving event data
- Distracted driving event data
- Vehicle/asset utilization data
Unlike manual analysis, AI-driven fleet optimization tools can instantly analyze data, reducing the time, energy, and associated costs of today’s manual data analysis.
Direct Communication with Drivers
AI is more than machine-to-machine communication or data orchestration. Fleet performance tools can use AI to directly communicate with drivers, offering real-time driving guidance and correction.
Unsafe driving is a major concern and liability for any company working with fleet vehicles. Fleet performance tools can use AI to identify dangerous driving behaviors, including fatigue, distracted driving, tailgating, speeding, and other road and traffic violations.
While AI tools can alert managers of unsafe driving behaviors, they can also go one step further and provide coaching, helping create safer drivers. This AI utilization can reduce the time and money required for training or in-person, off-road coaching.
AI allows fleet management organizations to create a picture of driver and fleet safety, empowering their teams with the data they need to proactively train and coach drivers.
Smarter Traffic and Routing
Routing and traffic conditions play a significant role in fleet efficiency. AI uses real-time data analysis to alert drivers of the fastest, most fuel-efficient routes. Planning routes for a fleet is challenging, especially as your fleet and service obligations grow. Traffic patterns, weather conditions, and vehicle availability play into optimal route choices.
AI streamlines the route planning process by analyzing data, such as that from GPS trackers, weather alerts, and traffic notifications, to make real-time decisions that optimize delivery routes. Fewer delays and less time on the road mean a better customer experience, happier drivers, and increased profits.
Effectively Managing Fleet Size
AI analyzes historical data to predict demand more accurately, allowing fleet management teams to plan for better resource allocation, reducing waste and maximizing fleet size, use, and scheduling.
When you forecast service needs accurately, you can add to a fleet (or downsize) without resource waste or service disruptions.
Cost-Saving Preventative Maintenance
Vehicle maintenance is a core component of optimized fleet management. Instead of taking a reactive approach to vehicle care, preventative maintenance prevents issues (and time off the road) before they start. AI algorithms can analyze vehicle use patterns and real-time data to identify preventative maintenance needs.
For example, AI-powered fleet management tools can alert your teams of incoming maintenance needs, like brake pad wear or windshield wiper replacements, before they cause issues. Preventative maintenance prevents breakdowns and reduces the risk of accidents, increasing safety and reducing unexpected costs. AI enhances your maintenance operations so you can ensure every vehicle is operating at peak performance –– no manual tracking needed.
Challenges of Implementing AI In Fleet Management
AI tools are changing the game in fleet management. The tech allows companies to accomplish tasks faster with greater accuracy, freeing team members to focus on areas that require their full attention and expertise.
Even with all that AI has made possible and the continuing evolution in this industry, AI adoption has its obstacles. Below are the two primary challenges of implementing AI in fleet management.
Chip Shortages
Graphics processing units (GPUs) make AI possible. However, supply chain disruptions and GPU scarcity issues significantly hinder widespread AI adoption in fleet management. A GPU shortage can limit scalability and AI model capacity.
How is the industry responding? AI experts are developing chips with lower power requirements and exploring alternative chip architectures.
Data Security
Data security is a hot topic in every industry, and fleet management is no exception. Customers want to know their data is secure and kept confidential. Data privacy concerns aren’t going away, so organizations must implement standards and protocols that keep data safe and maintain consumer loyalty and trust.
Ensuring fairness, transparency, and ethical data use can be challenging. Fleet organizations must operate ethically and transparently, prioritizing cybersecurity for the sake of their business and their customers.
AI in fleet management, like in other industries, presents unique challenges. However, these can be overcome by empowering organizations with AI-driven tools and technology to streamline fleet management operations.
Transform Fleet Orchestration with Ridecell
Data management is vital to making the most of AI in your fleet management processes. The Ridecell fleet orchestration management and automation solutions allow you to normalize data for every area of your organization so you can manage your leasing business with greater accuracy, efficiency, profitability, and customer satisfaction. Our platform allows you to
- Blueprint processes to map your entire company’s process flows to discover corporate blind spots and bottlenecks.
- Break through information siloes and continuously surface insights across systems, geographies, and business models to run your business smarter.
- Orchestrate improvements and transform how your employees work by automating operations for operational efficiencies and a better client experience.
- Improve client offerings with a self-service front end and a single screen for universal visibility across their fleet.
Talk with our team to learn how Ridecell can modernize and optimize your fleet management organization and how you can start with us today.