The market was growing before the pandemic. How’s it now?
COVID-19 has impacted industries and markets across the globe. But unlike many sectors that are expected to see a downturn, the fleet management market could see a rise in demand. According to Fortune Business Insights, the fleet management software market is expected to grow at a robust CAGR and generate the highest revenue by 2026. Industry experts agree.
Terrence Wang, Head of Marketing at FreightPath, explained that in the past few years, the demand has been growing fast, and COVID-19 has only sent it skyrocketing.
“All of a sudden, people realize it’s really important to know where my freight is,” Wang said. “It is now mission-critical that things get there on time, and there is no margin for error anymore. So, I think COVID-19 has acted as an accelerator for a trend that already existed.
How the solutions help
Fleet management companies offer several insights into how their solutions can benefit customers during a pandemic situation. According to a blogpost by Fleetio, any downtime can provide an opportunity for fleet managers to undertake preventive maintenance work, and the solutions help in scheduling them.
“By managing maintenance in cloud-based management software, fleet managers can create service reminders based on hour intervals or mileage to ensure preventive maintenance tasks aren’t overlooked,” Fleetio said. “While preventive maintenance scheduling maximizes fleet uptime, it also helps you avoid unnecessary repair costs in the long run.”
Other benefits include ensuring that the fleet maintains top-notch hygiene practices. Adding custom templates to mobile inspection forms allows managers to create checklists of all activities done to sanitize vehicles. Inventory monitoring of parts is also something that can be taken care of.
“Tracking your fleet’s inventory is essential during this time,” Fleetio noted. “By keeping track of inventory levels, you can avoid stockouts during critical times and make the best decisions regarding usage and reordering before necessary items are sold out for weeks or months.”
More stress on digital
COVID-19 has
forced companies to keep their employees away from the office as much as possible, and this is possible only through more digitization of processes. Although the whole concept of fleet management solution revolves around digital technology, the current pandemic has heightened its necessity at an unprecedented level.
“There’s no doubt that 2020 has given a new mean to the term ‘curveball,’ and no one industry has been impervious to this,” said Ric Bedard, CEO of
Cetaris. “With the onset of COVID-19, the transportation space has been compelled to pivot towards digitization on a brand-new scale. We are seeing organizations continue to invest in technologies that help them become more data-backed, more automated, and more mobile – in a time where these descriptors are no longer a luxury reserved for larger sized fleets.”
Many transportation
companies are learning how to make it possible for certain teams to work with remote connectivity – and this helps to flatten the curve when it comes to COVID-19. Access to dataflows between facilities and their remote workers is contingent on having access to fleet management solutions, so companies believe this market will continue to grow in the coming months. All critical data can be arriving at the location of access without proprietary technology requirements
Strive for efficiency
Although the demand remains high, the number of companies entering the market is high as well. This makes the competition stiff. Especially in the COVID-19 situation, there is a heightened need for better performance.
“Demand continues to pressure companies to improve efficiency, maximize reliability, reduce waste, and streamline costs across the board using fleet management solutions,” Bedard said. “As work becomes more digital in this space, automation will support new workflows that can revolutionize responsiveness to future crises.”