Vehicle fleet management with Doxis: digital, automated, scalable and traceable

A company's vehicle fleet encompasses all the transportation it relies on, from cars and e-bikes to trucks, tractors and even airplanes. For instance, agricultural businesses depend on tractors and harvesters, logistics firms use trucks to move goods and consulting companies provide cars for their teams. While a fleet can consist of just one vehicle, most businesses manage multiple vehicles to keep their operations running smoothly.

How the vehicles are used can vary in a vehicle fleet. For example, if a company has a fleet of cars, t they could be, for instance

• Company car: a vehicle is assigned to exactly one person.
• Pool vehicles: several people use a vehicle one after the other

Vehicle fleet management, also known as carpool management, fleet management or vehicle management, refers to all the processes related to a company’s vehicles – from vehicle procurement to maintenance to sale. When implemented correctly, fleet management ensures full transparency with regard to processes and costs. You’ll see at a glance which vehicles are in the carpool, what driver is currently using a vehicle and whether a vehicle is allocated for transporting people or goods.

From the macro level to the micro level

A broad, macro-level view makes it easier to track details at the micro-level. Vehicle management involves many small elements, which can quickly become confusing without processes that are transparent and designed strategically. When do you need to check the tire pressure? Which vehicle is currently not in the carpool and for how long? Which employees are actually drivers? Fleet managers ensure that the answers to these questions are available at all times.

At the corporate level, this supports decision-making by management. Based on fleet data, management can accurately assess how cost-efficient the fleet is and optimize minor elements to significantly improve the fleet in terms of creating value and increasing efficiency.

Overview of specific activities in vehicle fleet management:

• Manage scheduling: Who is using the vehicle and for what time period?
• Monitor deadlines: When does the leasing contract expire?
• Meet legal requirements: Have we correctly implemented the driver’s license checks?
• Process administrative offenses: Are all the speeding tickets paid?
• Manage repairs: What is the repair status of the current claim?
• Maintain and repair vehicles: When is a vehicle due for inspection?
• Create reports: How did the KPIs change from period 1 to period 2?
• Control costs: Are you meeting your cost objectives?

Vehicle managers also handle communication channels. For example, in the event of damage, they write to the body shops, negotiate contracts and conditions with leasing companies and manage the insurance channels. This centralized approach ensures you keep track of all your communications.

The more vehicles there are in a fleet, the more complex it is to manage. In particular, shipping companies, such as delivery services, have several hundred vehicles in their fleet. The number of documents they have to manage is even higher. Entering this data manually is an error-prone and time-consuming undertaking.

It can be even more error-prone when processes are not connected with each other, i.e. when service dates are in an Excel spreadsheet, employees still fill out booking plans in writing and systems do not automatically record claims.  In this case, interruptions in data flow lead to a lack of information transparency and can result in missed details or inconsistencies.

If an accident occurs, for example, it might be unclear who caused the damage because driver X is not on the list. This means that your company incurs costs that, in the worst case, you cannot even allocate and therefore cannot optimize.

The solution for bringing transparency to vehicle management is fleet management software.

Digital fleet management solutions gather data related to processes, and the available solutions vary in their functionality. Best-of-breed software specializes in specific functions like claims or deadline management. Meanwhile, all-in-one software provides comprehensive coverage of all fleet management processes for every user.

When employees book a vehicle from the fleet, they can view all the relevant data digitally:

• which vehicles are available
• details for the selected vehicle
• return dates and assignment plans

Software solutions streamline the way vehicle fleets are managed. Drivers can maintain a digital logbook directly within the software, which automatically tracks mileage, and even allows them to upload their driving licenses. These tools significantly ease the burden on vehicle managers by digitizing the entire workflow and task management system. This includes managing deadlines, processing claims, tracking vehicles via GPS and more, all contributing to a smoother, more efficient fleet management experience.

Our SER Gold Partner HK Consulting, for example, offers this kind of software. They bring together a variety of processes in an end-to-end, digital solution based on Doxis.

In Doxis, you can seamlessly handle every document-related task for your vehicle fleet—from creation and editing to management and archiving, throughout the entire document lifecycle. But Doxis is more than just a document management system (DMS). It features robust integration capabilities, connecting effortlessly with third-party systems through a user-friendly interface.

And it goes beyond simplifying process steps; it automates them, offering a comprehensive 360-degree view of all your vehicle management activities. This complete oversight streamlines operations, making fleet management more efficient and less time-consuming.

Check out the benefits for yourself:

• Collect all vehicle data in one place.
• Ensure maximum road safety with the stored car policy.
• View dates and deadlines in Doxis.
• Let Doxis automatically remind you of upcoming dates and deadlines.
• Start fleet management workflows directly from Doxis.
• Handle every vehicle-related task digitally.
• File documents automatically in the correct digital file.
• Automate routine tasks such as document acquisition.
• Manage the kilometers directly on the platform.

As a result, Doxis provides a clear overview of your documents and promotes process transparency.

Hey Doxi, what would a workflow for vehicle fleet management look like in Doxis?

Every company with a vehicle fleet needs effective fleet management, which can be handled internally or outsourced. Digital solutions like Doxis support both approaches by enabling comprehensive digital administration of the fleet. For employees, this means managing everything from vehicle requests to returns. For fleet managers, it encompasses the entire lifecycle of each vehicle—from procurement through to sale. With Doxis, all fleet management processes are fully traceable and can be logged as data. This detailed tracking supports targeted improvements and ensures maximum cost efficiency for your company.

Ready to see Doxis in action? Get in touch. Our experts are happy to help.

FAQs about vehicle fleet management