Digitalising walkaround checks and defect reporting is the main reason why businesses want to adopt fleet management software (FMS), new research has found.
The top five purchase reasons, revealed in analysis carried out by FleetCheck, also include, in order, removing a reliance on spreadsheets, improving compliance, centralising fleet data and ensuring that key diary dates such as MOT tests are recorded.
Peter Golding, FleetCheck managing director, said the fact that walkaround checks topped the list showed continued high-level interest in moving towards the improvements that digitalisation can deliver.
He also noted that ‘improving compliance’ was mentioned prominently in the survey and said it was interesting that the desire to move away from spreadsheets remains a key factor in FMS buying.
“This has been an argument for the adoption of specialist fleet software for many years and, as fleet management becomes ever more sophisticated, the limitations of using a spreadsheet are becoming ever more apparent.”
Finally, the desire to centralise data is something that has very much been driven by post-pandemic conditions, Golding noted.
“More people are still working from home, including those involved in managing the fleet, and having remote access to information is essential to them.”
FleetCheck has also reported continued demand for fleet software; the business has seen 25% growth in client numbers since the start of the year.
“This is very much a growth phase for FleetCheck. We have just moved into new offices as a result of our ongoing expansion and the reason, we believe, is that our products are directly answering the needs of fleets – as shown in this survey.”
