Soft Dollar Savings of Fleet GPS

By Brian Boguhn
Updated: September 01, 2011

If a company is going to invest in a Fleet GPS system, there will be interest in the soft dollars saved as a result of the investment. If the figures make sense, the investment is a good one. If the numbers don’t add up, then the investment should be avoided. So, what kind of soft dollar savings can a company expect as a result of installing a Fleet GPS system?

Before that question is answered, it’s helpful to know exactly what is meant by soft dollar savings. This is money that is saved as the result of either not spending at all, or by saving time. With that definition in mind, let’s talk about how a Fleet GPS system can affect a company’s soft dollar savings. While it will be impossible in this article to give an exact dollar figure, it is possible to examine the areas where savings will be realized and then for a company to extrapolate a dollar figure from there.

First Area: Fuel Costs

Any company that runs a fleet of vehicles spends quite a bit of money on fuel to keep the vehicles moving. So, how can a Fleet GPS benefit a company in this case? Well, think about it. If drivers are getting lost while reaching a destination and spending extra fuel trying to locate where they’re going, or if they’re using company vehicles for personal use without the company being aware of it, the company is going to be spending more money on fuel, right? Enter a Fleet GPS. In the case of not being able to locate a destination, the GPS system will guide drivers from their current location to where they need to go with the best route possible. That’s door-to-door, spending as little fuel as possible. In regards to vehicles being used for personal use, the Fleet GPS system will alert dispatchers when this happens, and they’ll be able to put an end to it immediately. In the end, the soft dollars saved in this case are two-fold. First, less fuel is being purchased. Secondly, in the case of going directly to a destination, there is also a savings in time.

Second Area: Maintenance Costs

Maintenance costs on vehicles probably cost companies with fleets almost as much as fuel. If a vehicle can be driven less, though, maintenance costs can be reduced. A Fleet GPS system can help a company reduce the mileage on its vehicles by eliminating unnecessary trips and dispatching the closest driver to a call that comes in. The less money spent on maintenance means more saved in soft dollars.

Third Area: Drivers Knowingly Wasting Time

Any company running a fleet of vehicles probably has at least one driver who likes to get done as quickly as possible and then go and park some place to take a nap. His work is done for the day, his boss is happy, and he can take it easy. The problem here is that the driver could have spent the rest of the day doing more work and been more productive for the company. A Fleet GPS system will let a dispatcher know where any vehicle is at any time. If someone is parked for half a day, it’s going to show up. Eliminating this wasting of time will actually save time, as more work will be able to be done. The time saved represents the soft dollars saved.

Other Areas to Consider

These are a few areas to consider, but there are others. Does the company deliver fuel? Are drivers siphoning the fuel off and pocketing extra money for themselves? Are vehicles being used off-hours? A Fleet GPS system can answer these questions and more.

The Soft Dollar Savings Add Up

Looking at the areas discussed, it can be seen that the soft dollar savings accumulated from eliminating waste and fraud can add up pretty quickly. It should be fairly clear that a Fleet GPS system is a sound investment and can help any business realize a saving on soft dollars in a fairly short period of time.