Implementing fleet automation saves resources over time, but gaining buy-in for the initial cost can take a little work.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re excited about the positive transformation that automation makes possible \u2014 and you\u2019d like to present the idea to your organization\u2019s leaders for consideration \u2014 follow these five steps for success.<\/p>\n
Help your leadership evaluate the value of fleet automation by providing an overview of the projected savings and additional revenue that the tools will provide.<\/p>\n
Because fleet automation technology has a high upfront cost, it\u2019s important to demonstrate and quantify how a digital solution will reduce operating costs and bolster the bottom line. Without any commitment, your fleet automation vendor should be able to give you an idea of how much operational time can be saved with their solution, as well as revenue opportunities in the form of extras.<\/p>\n
To establish a baseline comparison to running routes manually, remember to include direct costs (paper, time spent record-keeping) and indirect (operational) costs, which are often taken for granted. These can include hours spent on go-backs, customer service calls, and planning helper routes. Think about missed extra charges, too. Calculate the amount of time spent weekly on such tasks and multiply by an average wage to show the difference in dollars and cents.<\/p>\n
Project for your leaders when the investment will be recouped for the business.<\/p>\n
First find the total investment cost: Add the costs associated with the technology, from the direct costs (software licenses, onboarding fees) to indirect (consultants to assist with implementation, data export fees, team training).<\/p>\n
Next, use the vendor-provided ROI model to compare operational savings with the investment cost.<\/p>\n
With these pieces of information, you can forecast the break-even point.<\/p>\n
While you may already have a fleet automation vendor in mind, it\u2019s wise to request references.<\/p>\n
A good rule of thumb is to gather three references for your recommended vendor. Also plan to speak with someone who didn\u2019t select your vendor of choice. If you can, find someone who converted from your chosen provider to a different one, as well. (Often, negative references paint a more complete picture than positive ones.)<\/p>\n
Insist that any vendor you plan to work with provides an implementation timeline, and find out how they handle contingency planning if it becomes difficult to adhere to the timeline.<\/p>\n
One concern leaders often have is whether new technologies will be adopted and used, and proper training and reinforcement are key here.<\/p>\n
Ensure you choose a fleet automation vendor that provides a developed training and adoption strategy. Be prepared to share it when you pitch your idea.<\/p>\n
Fleet automation technology touches many departments, from information technology and operations to finance. Often the managers of these departments are the most influential in fleet automation purchases.<\/p>\n
Once you have completed steps one through four above, you can take the information you\u2019ve gleaned to these individuals first. If you\u2019re able to demonstrate strong value for your chosen solution, colleagues and other managers are likely to help present it to leadership.<\/p>\n
Finally, understand that changing mindsets can take time. A polished presentation showing a clear ROI, break-even point, vendor training program, and proposed timeline can help make the case, but it sometimes takes a village \u2014 and more than one inroad \u2014 to spur the meaningful discussions that can lead to lasting transformation.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Implementing fleet automation saves resources over time, but gaining buy-in for the initial cost can take a little work. If you\u2019re excited about the positive transformation that automation makes possible \u2014 and you\u2019d like to present the idea to your organization\u2019s leaders for consideration \u2014 follow these five steps for success. 1. Do the math […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resourcetype-blog","aud-government","aud-hauler","loc-north-america","sol-collection-operations"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/routeware.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/routeware.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/routeware.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routeware.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routeware.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/routeware.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routeware.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/routeware.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}