Why Create a Fueling Network For Your Business
With gas prices on the rise, moving and shipping goods via ground fleet is turning into a pricey proposition that many small and mid-sized business owners and managers can’t afford. Yet the real Catch 22 comes from the fact that other modes of shipping regionally and nationally – via train, air, or barge – are even pricier. The solution savvy business people are turning to in the fight to keep fleet costs down is to create or join a fueling network. Networks can help save you time and prevent wasted or unnecessary costs by utilizing fleet gas cards. Learn what a fueling network can do for you by reading on.
A fueling network is essentially a set of pre-designated locations along a fleet’s typical route that offers a place for trucks and drivers to refuel quickly and get back on the road. It goes without saying that fueling networks, while they are meant to increase efficiency, are not meant to be substitutes for longer rest stops where drivers can get real rest. Road fatigue is a serious safety hazard for your drivers, your trucks, and other drivers that share the road with your fleet.
Fueling networks allow you to cut down on time and money lost at the non-essential refueling stops your fleet may require during their typical routes. Think about it: when your driver normally stops at a gas station, you have no idea how long they are spending there or what they are really spending. Some company gas cards allow drivers to put a variety of non-fuel items under the same total with the gas so it is challenging or impossible to decipher the exact total spent on sanctioned items.
Now, if you think about just one truck driver on one route over the course of one day, you might say that the cost of the extra fifteen or twenty minutes hanging around or the extra five dollars in road snacks isn’t really that big a deal. But when you multiply those twenty minutes and extra dollars by all your drivers on the road each day, which can add up to a mountain of wasted time and money by the end of the year – and as every savvy business person knows, time, especially when it comes to your fleet, is money.
So how do fueling networks help you solve this problem? They utilize special fleet fuel cards that are only usable at specific, predetermined fueling stations in the network on your driver’s route. The real support comes from the fuel card itself: you have complete control over gallon and per fill limits and can create unique pins for each driver so you know who is linked to what purchases. With your card, you can even control what days of the week and what times of the day the card is active. Many fuel cards will now alert you via text message or email when the card is being used, where, for what purchase, for how many gallons, and what time.
There are many fuel networks already set up; you can join by visiting their websites and signing up. Many of them allow you to keep your current fleet fuel card provider and simply issue you updated cards. Or, you can create your own fuel network. There are several fuel card programs available that allow you to designate your own route, fuel providers, and requirement options. Remember, the number one way to improve your bottom line is to be vigilant and involved in the way your fleet is handling your business. You can’t literally go on the road with them, but with a fuel card you virtually can.
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