Car sharing has long ceased to be a novelty and has become an affordable service commonly used by companies. Transitioning to a car sharing model of fleet utilisation helps companies control employees’ business trips, ensuring their safety and the integrity of the vehicles. Corporate car sharing software provides an opportunity to efficiently and economically manage the fleet. Despite the advantages of the car sharing model, launching the software requires specialised knowledge and investments.
What is corporate car sharing software?
Corporate car sharing is the joint use of cars among employees of the same company. This model helps reduce the number of personal vehicles owned by employees without compromising their work efficiency. However, in order to optimise and control the entire process, a specialised system is required — corporate car sharing software. It is an innovative solution that brings significant advantages to the company in fleet management and operation. When there are only 1-2 cars, it is still possible to independently monitor their usage. However, when the fleet expands to 10-30 vehicles, it becomes unrealistic to keep track of each one.
All software can be divided into several types, each of which differs from traditional fleet management methods:
— Each of them can see the status and condition of the vehicle, as well as the completion date of the previous colleague’s trip. It is possible to reserve a spot for using the car, and when it becomes available, the employee will receive a notification. There is no longer a need to manually write down the desired car reservation date or make entries on a local computer.
— Fleet management systems also include reservation, vehicle tracking, and report generation features. Such software provides companies with centralised functionality for management.
— Car-sharing platforms create a shared internal network among all company employees. With their help, it is easy to book a car, optimise fleet utilisation, and reduce company expenses.
— Expense management systems are a more suitable type of program for company managers. The tools of the system allow for expense tracking for vehicle maintenance, including fuel, parking, maintenance, and miscellaneous expenses.
Why is corporate car sharing software useful?
Benefit 1: Increased efficiency.
The owner of the company needs to eventually understand whether all vehicles in the fleet are being utilised effectively, whether there are any idle times, and whether it is necessary to purchase new cars. Using corporate car sharing software allows tracking the efficiency of each vehicle’s usage. This will enable making decisions regarding the reduction or expansion of the company’s fleet.
Benefit 2: Reduced costs.
Usually, the budget in a company is planned one year in advance. Therefore, it is necessary to organise the accounting of all expenses correctly and include them in the plan. The peculiarities of the accounting for the corporate fleet program lie in simplifying your tracking with telematics solutions (like these) that integrate your daily operations. The system automatically calculates possible costs for each vehicle, which significantly saves the company’s budget.
Benefit 3: Care for the environment.
Thanks to car-sharing software, companies can determine the optimal number of vehicles and reduce their fleet. This leads to a decrease in the number of cars on the roads and a reduction in harmful emissions. Additionally, businesses can choose to transition part of their fleet to electric transportation if certain work trips are planned within the city. This contributes to lower CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, allowing the company to pursue sustainable ecological development.
Apart from the inefficient use of vehicles and its significant impact on the environment, companies may face administrative challenges. Even a small fleet requires monitoring vehicle usage, their condition, insurance and maintenance deadlines, fuel control, and other consumables. With software, this process becomes automatic and is calculated by the system based on the initial input data, significantly simplifying and speeding up fleet management.
How convenient is corporate car sharing software?
The car sharing system is designed in such a way that it is convenient to use for both company managers and employees. The business owner gains the ability to control the entire system’s operation using a smartphone or laptop. They can view not only information about the cars but also about their colleagues’ accounts. The same applies to the ability to generate reports and analyse the workflow. A special reporting feature allows tracking the current situation with the car fleet and making adjustments. For example, an administrator can set time intervals for reserving each vehicle or additional conditions that must be met to use the transportation.
By using the software, company employees receive detailed information about the cars, see their availability, and the history of previous reservations. The user-friendly interface is the foundation of the program, saving time on searching for the desired function. Another advantage for employees of the corporate car sharing software is the installation of the system on their smartphones.
What is the cost of corporate car sharing software?
The specific cost of corporate car sharing software cannot be specified as it depends on several factors: company size and fleet, the number of features, the need for IT infrastructure, and the availability of additional services. Compared to traditional fleet management systems, such a program enhances the efficiency of vehicle utilisation, helps reduce the need for owning a large number of cars, and consequently, the company’s operational expenses. The system always provides information about the date of the last maintenance, thus enabling it to calculate the recommended date for the next vehicle inspection.
To calculate the return on investment when implementing car sharing software, the following steps can help:
Step 1. Determine the initial parameters: the cost of the software, the cost of system implementation and configuration, operational expenses before and after implementation, cost reduction for the vehicle fleet, and other expenses.
Step 2. Evaluate the current expenses for fleet management. This includes vehicle acquisition, maintenance, fuel, and insurance. This calculation serves as a baseline for comparison with expenses after the software installation.
Step 3. Identify potential economic benefits of implementing the program. For example, by implementing corporate car sharing software, you can reduce the number of vehicles in the fleet, improve the efficiency of available cars’ utilisation, or lower fuel costs.
Step 4. Calculate the return on investment, which represents the time required for the company to recover the invested capital in the software implementation.
Step 5. Account for additional factors that indirectly impact the profitability of the program installation: environmental sustainability, increased employee and customer satisfaction, and reduction in administrative complexities.
Conclusion
Corporate car sharing software is an excellent solution for companies that want to optimise their employees’ business trips. With the help of such a program, it is possible to control each vehicle in the fleet, assess its efficiency, reduce costs, and even embrace an environmentally friendly approach. We recommend businesses interested in using this system to conduct extensive research to choose a truly suitable system that aligns with their professional needs.
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