A fleet refers to the drivers and vehicles involved in the delivery process. Fleet management is the process of ensuring that the operations of the fleet are productive. It involves all the actions and processes that are meant to keep the fleet operations well functioning. It enables the fleet to be functioning on time, efficiently, and according to the budget. It is an essential part of delivery management operations.

Why is fleet management extra important in Ramadan?

Appropriate fleet management is important in Ramadan even though this is not a very popular topic and not all fleet or delivery managers understand why. Research data reveals that the chances of accidents on roads increase by at least 35% during the month of Ramadan. These are not just claims, but there are many reasons to believe why this is in fact true and highly possible. Fasting has a direct impact on people’s behavior in traffic and their driving capabilities. One of the main reasons for this is the impact that fasting has on the blood sugar level and blood pressure of the individual who is fasting. A decrease in these levels can result in decreased concentration span and an increase in symptoms of weakness such as dizziness, fatigue, and sleepiness. If not considered to be a serious factor by drivers, this can lead to road accidents. Apart from drivers, this also applies to pedestrians who might even experience blurred vision from weakness, and thus drivers must be extra careful about this during the month of fasting.

Other than this, a spike in the blood pressure levels can also result in some extreme responses while driving, such as an increased rate of irritation from traffic or a flight or fight response which is more prominent than the natural response that is not usually triggered by the increased blood pressure. While most practicing Muslims try to be as patient as possible during the time of fasting, some instances in traffic might temporarily cause increased signs of road rage. Hunger can also result in a higher rate of mood swings or increased irritability. 

In such times, if the fleet is overburdened or the drivers are not well aware of the possible impacts of driving while fasting during Ramadan, it can result in potential damage to the goods or the orders that the driver is transporting. Fleet management is essential for this purpose, as it will help keep the delivery process and also the safety and performance of the drivers to an optimum level. 

How to ensure the most suitable fleet management during Ramadan?

 

Fleet management must be given special attention during Ramadan and there must be a whole protocol dedicated to it. Some of the main considerations that must be made for fleet management during Ramadan must include the following:

1. Ensure to create awareness among drivers about being considerate of others to avoid any instances of accidents or any road rage.
2. Make sure to manage order allocation smartly so that all drivers get an equal load of orders over appropriate distances to carry out the delivery journey safely.
3. Create awareness regarding signs of low blood sugar, hypertension, or any other health symptoms that may affect driving skills. 
4. You must also equip them to understand and properly deal with the health-related symptoms caused by fasting.  
5. In case the delivery time is clashing with the time for the drivers’ suhoor or iftar, provide them with the appropriate meals to manage these times.

Shipox is a data-driven Fleet Management Platform that enables its users across a multitude of diverse industries to avail market competitive features and customer support in order to automate and perfect their delivery process. Shipox users are able to increase the efficiency of their delivery process, optimize their costs effectively, and enhance their customer experiences. To learn more, you can sign up for a quick demo here.

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What Does Fleet Management Comprise?

Fleet Management comprises a multitude of different features that ensure that the food delivery process is carried out flawlessly. These are the key elements of fleet management:

• Vehicle Management
• Cost Optimization
• Workforce Management
• Cross-departmental Collaboration
• Communication and Feedback Management
• Legal Administration

What are the Benefits of In-Sourcing of Your Fleet?

In-Sourcing your restaurant fleet or managing it in-house, in other words, has a lot of potential benefits for your food delivery business. Here are some potential advantages:

• Ability to Follow Brand Guidelines

In today’s competitive nature of the food business industry, it is highly important for brands to have a strong identity in the market. By in-sourcing the fleet, they will be able to carry out operations based on the principles that their brand believes in and create a great market image. 

• Stay Directly Connected with Customers

In-sourcing increases the chance to connect and communicate with customers. Not only would you be able to communicate with them easily but you will also be able to take and incorporate their feedback into the delivery process more efficiently.

• Work at Your Own Terms

One of the biggest and generally known disadvantages of outsourcing deliveries is that you have to compromise on operations and goals in order to work under the conditions and terms of the second company handling the delivery services. By in-sourcing, you can handle delivery operations at the time and way you want. 

What are the Disadvantages of In-Sourcing of Your Fleet?

In-Sourcing of the delivery fleet can have many disadvantages as well. Here are some of the most common of them:

• Increased Costs

If not managed with perfection, fleet management can become a burden on the procket. This is because there may be additional costs of hiring more fleet staff, managing and maintaining vehicles and fuel, there may be costs added due to mismanagement of the fleet and this can also cause loss in terms of customers that would occur due to poor delivery of the food.

• Complete Responsibility of Delivery Operations

Another disadvantage can be that if you are not completely experienced or professional in carrying out successful and market competitive delivery operations, insourcing of the fleet can become a burden for you in terms of responsibility. Your own management will be responsible for ensuring that all processes go smoothly. 

• Difficulty in Managing Staff

In-house sourcing is problematic in the sense that it causes difficulties and issues in managing the staff and other aspects of the delivery journey. Unless there is fleet management or delivery management software installed, managers can find it very difficult to look over the reporting and management of the entire staff. This can be a burden on resources and can also hinder other activities, such as growth.

The Final Verdict

It can be concluded that there is no correct or wrong answer to whether your restaurant should have in-sourcing of fleet or not. Many factors can play an important role in the decision making process for this, such as the size of your restaurant, your budget, plans for scaling, the size of your fleet, etc. If you have a competent fleet and a Delivery Management Software with complete capabilities of Route Optimization Software and Fleet Management Software, then you can manage an in-house fleet professionally and there will be no need to out-source the food delivery process. 

Shipox is a data-driven Fleet Management Software that enables its users across a multitude of diverse industries to avail market competitive features and customer support in order to automate and perfect their delivery process. Shipox users are able to increase the efficiency of their delivery process, optimize their costs effectively, and enhance their customer experiences.It can help to increase the rate of first day delivery success. To learn more, you can sign up for a quick demo here.

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