Total Motion has been a pioneering force in the fleet management sector for many years, we have developed innovative fleet solutions which have been widely adopted throughout the industry, such as Hybrid Leasing, Actual Whole Life Cost, Multi-Bid Funding and our Communications Hub. These have helped our clients stay ahead in extremely competitive business environments and have reflected our belief that progressive thinking and developing new ideas is the only way to successfully manage a fleet of vehicles. So it should come as no surprise to learn that artificial intelligence (AI) is very much on our radar.
The technology required to manage a fleet of vehicles and the supply chain more generally, is becoming ever-more advanced as organisations manage the pressure involved in meeting tight deadlines and even tighter profit margins. And with so much data generated by the supply chain process, and fleet management in particular, it is inevitable that AI will start to play a greater part and help businesses fulfil their true potential.
What does AI do to help fleet management functions?
Although there are some software programmes already in existence which use AI, it is still too early to say how AI will fully impact on fleet management, but essentially, programmes will be developed to:
- Identify hidden patterns in data and behaviours
- Make more accurate projections and predictions
- Reduce manual processes
- Personalise processes and provide more bespoke solutions
In essence, AI will take the fleet management function one step further in terms of providing better data, with better visibility, in order to make better decisions.
How AI can help the fleet manager
How does this relate to the common, everyday fleet management functions? It is hard to say what the limitations of AI are, by its very nature this is a technology with limitless potential, and which is developing all the time to open up new and more advanced opportunities. But certainly we can be confident that the initial use of AI in fleet management will involve:
- Holistic data – The capability to grab and manipulate data in a more rounded fashion to make it more meaningful and impactful.
- Predictive maintenance – Being able to monitor data to more accurately predict when service and maintenance is required, and thus to reduce costs and unnecessary downtime.
- Real-time route optimisation – Rather than pre-planned routes which can’t take into account real-time events, AI can change and adapt routes to take account of travel and weather disruption. This will improve fuel management and efficiency and also vehicle utilisation.
- Personalised driver coaching – AI can monitor individual driver behaviour more closely and advise where tailored training is required.
- Automated workflows – With better data and more accurate projections, processes can be automated to make decisions more accurate, more reactive and less manual, thus reducing time and cost resources.
An exciting fleet management future with AI and Total Motion
Needless to say, Total Motion is already looking at how it can adapt AI into its existing programmes and how we can develop new solutions to revolutionise fleet management and deliver the dynamic innovations that people expect of us. Certainly it is true that the first AI programmes that are in circulation within fleet management today can and will be improved upon. This is a fast-developing technology and Total Motion has never been known to stand still, so we are excited about the future but also mindful that our solutions have to be adaptable to both today and tomorrow.
Without doubt, AI will enable fleet managers to make better cost savings and better decisions, and as more data is generated and technologies improve, these abilities will only become more accurate and more adaptable and enable seamless collaboration between entities within the supply chain. So keep an eye on Total Motion and AI technologies as we introduce further solutions to revolutionise fleet management.
