Are you a mobility innovator in your business?

Smart fleet and/or mobility management is integral to the success of any organisation that relies on trucks, plant and machinery, passenger cars and commercials to carry out its core responsibilities. And the drive for innovation doesn’t discriminate when it comes to industry or sector – logistics and distribution, sales, utilities and vans for tradies, essential services like waste collection and emergency services vehicles, you name it. 

The collision of workplace digitalisation, 5G communications, safety and new vehicle technology, as well as the ever-increasing influence of ESG considerations, has provided unprecedented opportunities for organisations and their vehicle management.

Today, how you move your people, goods and services, and all kinds of freight from point A to point B can change and improve quickly if you capitalise on the opportunities available.

What does great leadership in mobility look like today?

Radical changes in the way we work (e.g. freelancing, remote and flexible working, cloud technology, and so on), as well as some seismic demographic workforce shifts, have ushered in a rethink of what effective leadership looks like across the board – not just in the mobility or transport space.

The attributes today’s great fleet and mobility leaders are expected to have in their kit bag are staggering compared to those in the (not-so-distant) past. The four fundamentals of fleet management (fit-for-purpose, utilisation, maintenance management, and driver management) still apply – as do other business essentials such as sound financial judgement and business acumen.  

But today’s shareholders, employees and stakeholders require fleet leaders to be more responsible for the people in their fleet, as well as the ‘bent metal’.

Taking the whole person into account

Being more accommodating of the mental and emotional needs of your people behind the wheel is a hallmark of great leadership in modern mobility. Innovators show adaptability, resilience and empathy, and they’re more sympathetic to the needs of an increasingly diverse and inclusive workforce. 

The old ways of micro-management, and the entrenched ‘boys club’ culture, with an uncompromising focus on productivity to the exclusion of all else, are as dead as the payphone. And mobility leaders need to get on board and not leave the human elements of their mobility and fleet responsibilities just to the HR department. 

Keeping a finger on the pulse of technology

Everyone’s well aware of the extraordinary speed of change in this digital era. The pace at which technology has, and will, continue to change society means it’s almost impossible to stay ahead of the knowledge curve. It demands a change of mindset – transformation is no longer a ‘set-and-forget’ measure; it’s continual, and it needs to be tackled as a constant process of updates and improvements. 

The explosion of AI is a prime example of the challenges innovators face in understanding the implications of new technology. In the fleet space, AI is contributing to real-time fleet optimisation, powering predictive maintenance, monitoring driver behaviour and helping with fuel management. The impact of introducing any of these AI enhancements into an organisation’s fleet is monumental and can change the way mobility is approached in your business. 

Looking at mobility with fresh eyes

What was once known as ‘fleet management’ has now expanded into a big new world of mobility.

As a fleet or mobility leader, you may no longer be deploying big fleets of trucks or other commercial vehicles and sending them from here to there. In your role as an innovator, you’re likely looking at different approaches to moving your people and goods, including Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and micro-mobility options, such as scooters and bikes (electric or otherwise), to handle last-mile delivery requirements.   

Redefining mobility in a new light can help with innovation, and ensure you capitalise on the sustainability and economic efficiencies to take your mobility and fleet leadership to the next level.

It’s not one thing at the expense of another

At the heart of all great leadership is the right balance between strategic vision, people management and an awareness of what the future holds (and tackling it without fear). The same goes for innovation in the fleet and mobility space. 

Here’s what some other mobility innovators are doing across the world. 

EXAMPLES OF INNOVATION 

Microsoft

Microsoft’s fleet of over 500 trucks, buses and passenger vans services its 540-acre Redmond campus in Washington state for transit, mail, catering, security and facility management. In 2020, the company decided to move away from using a third party for its fleet management to back in-house.  

Using its Azure Mobility platform, Microsoft partnered with Accenture to digitalise the management of its transport fleet. By using real-time data to reduce emissions by improving fuel efficiency and reducing maintenance costs and vehicle downtime through predictive analytics, the project has enabled Microsoft to use data-driven decision-making to support a major sustainability goal to be carbon neutral by 2030. 

BluSmart

Based in India, BluSmart is a ride-hailing company with a 100 percent electric vehicle fleet of over 6,000 cars and 4,000 charging stations.  

BluSmart’s proprietary tech platform manages ride scheduling and booking, route management, passenger trip payments and driver salaries. Their platform also manages driver ‘on duty’ reporting and vehicle handovers, as well as servicing and maintenance issues in partnership with the manufacturer’s software programs.  

Additionally, the platform uses a series of “algorithms, real-time data analysis based on state of charge (SOC) in the EV, and smart decision-making to streamline the process of matching passengers with available vehicles and riders (p23).”

As of December 2023, the company estimated that it had saved over 28 million tons of CO2 emissions and covered more than 360 million clean kilometres across 11 million all-electric trips.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative (BEPC)

BEPC is a wholesale power cooperative in the US with a fleet of over 1,230 vehicles. After switching from manual to digital fleet management, the data they were able to collect enabled BEPC to reduce the size of its fleet by almost 30 percent, and streamline vehicle management and use and maintenance, which saved the co-op almost US$100,000 in procurement costs alone.   

With increased visibility and implementing metric-based decision-making, BEPC was able to drastically improve service levels and customer satisfaction. 

Embrace innovation in your mobility 

Innovation in fleet management and mobility will continue to be shaped by milestones in technology and the influence of sustainability goals. From understanding your people and drivers better to embracing the possibilities of AI and looking at your mobility in a new light, being an innovator means never resting on your laurels and never thinking your innovation job has been done.   

Great leaders are those who anticipate and navigate opportunities as they arise – and continue to arise – to produce sustainable, adaptable, and efficient fleets. Are you playing a role in ensuring your organisation is ready to take advantage of the possibility? 

Talk to SG Fleet about improving the way your business moves today.

Driving Insights