Time is Money to the Modern Mobile Worker

By Matthew Betz, Vice President Business Development, Fleet at Motus, LLC

“Time is Money” – Benjamin Franklin

“Productivity – The amount of output delivered per hour of work in the economy – is often viewed as the engine of progress in modern capitalist economies. Output is everything. Time is money. The quest for increased productivity occupies reams of academic literature and haunts the waking hours of CEOs and Finance Ministers.” – Tim Jackson

It’s not often that you can improve on a Benjamin Franklin quote, but for purposes of our conversation today, I really think Tim Jackson’s quote is much more useful. The question you may be asking yourself, as a fleet professional, is “Why should I be thinking about driver productivity? After all, isn’t that the job of sales management, or operations management, or an efficiency consultant?” My answer is simple – If the quest for increased productivity is what haunts your CEO, doesn’t it benefit you to find opportunities to help the Modern Mobile Worker increase efficiency and productivity?

Of course, there’s another reason. Finding ways to increase efficiency and productivity can also help cut fleet costs, which is a top priority for many fleets today. Let’s take a look at the contribution that you, as a fleet professional, can make.

Route Optimization – Fleets don’t need full time GPS to gain the advantages of GPS efficiency. With the right technology solution, drivers can use their current mobile device to optimize their daily trips by simply loading in the addresses that they plan to visit in a given day. Mapping software determines the most efficient route , saving drivers time and reducing miles on your fleet vehicle, as well as cutting fuel costs.

Route Planning – If Route Optimization allows drivers to eliminate inefficiencies between business stops, Route Planning gives the CEO the peace of mind of knowing that corporate goals are being taken into account with the planning of each day. With a Route Planning solution, management can set priorities, like frequency of visits for individual clients, and the solution will automatically combine addresses with those priorities to create an optimal itinerary. This ensures that all accounts are seen on a prescribed basis, and in the most efficient manner.

Why your CEO will worry less –

Increased Productivity – The Vice President of Sales of a very large pharmaceutical company told me that their sales people were expected to make 10 calls every day. Each sales call was valued at $300. If route optimization could allow his drivers to make just 2 additional calls per week, a 1,000 vehicle fleet would add $30,000,000 million in value annually. While each fleet measures the time-value of their drivers differently, you should easily be able to predict the value of your drivers’ increased productivity to your organization.

Sustainability – Not all fleets would push for additional calls based on increased productivity, but all fleets can benefit from driving fewer miles. That can be measured in reduced depreciation, lower maintenance or a lower carbon footprint.

Cost Savings – A recent study for a large North American fleet reviewed account wages, fuel savings and taxes to determine potential cost savings associated with increased employee productivity. A productivity improvement of just 5% was shown to result in $692 annual savings per driver. A 1,000 vehicle fleet would save $692,000 every year.

Work/Life Balance – While most companies would agree that they would prefer that drivers spend less time behind the wheel and more time in front of customers, some are equally concerned about the pressure building on the Modern Mobile Worker. While some of the benefits listed above should automatically accrue to your organization, allowing the driver to be more efficient with their time may add to their work/life balance. If your driver can make all of the required calls, and still get home to enjoy their child’s ball game, we all win.

If you are interested in contributing to the well-being of your organization and your associates, it may be time to look for alternative options outside of traditional fleet manager responsibilities. As always, I welcome your comments, questions, or concerns. I can be reached at mbetz@motus.com.

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