Preparing Your Fleet for the Holiday Season

Your fleet is most likely in full operation all year. Working year-round means that, based on your location, you'll probably have drivers moving through snow, slush, and ice. Planning for bad driving conditions before the holiday season will help you get ahead of the competition and stay on top of deliveries.

Here are some holiday season tips for fleets to ensure your business stays profitable and safe on the road:

1. Make sure your fleet is winter-ready

Vehicle maintenance should be a top priority for your company, especially during the winter season. Ideally, you'll change out worn brake pads and other components long before temperatures drop.

It's proactive to create a comprehensive maintenance checklist when preparing your fleet for the holidays. This should involve checking tire tread and pressure, the condition of headlights, battery strength, and antifreeze levels.

Train your employees to look out for black ice during the winter season. Also, ensure your drivers have tools like ice scrapers and brooms to clear snow off vehicles and maintain visibility of the road.

2. Carefully plan travel routes

The holiday season results in a surplus of vehicles on the road. While you should still expect traffic delays, it's beneficial to follow transit routes that dodge vacation hotspots, distribution centers, universities, and major cities. It's also worth investigating alternate travel routes your drivers can take if a collision occurs or a severe storm is ahead.

Learning how to prepare your fleet for the holidays involves looking at real-time traffic reports. Communicating with drivers as soon as possible can save individuals hours behind the wheel.

Rand McNally Fleet designs comprehensive fleet technology, and we offer award-winning truck navigation software for our devices. Your travel routes will update instantly, as our software communicates with drivers via a cloud-based platform. Cloud routing capabilities enable you to send more than one travel route to drivers. Your employees will get a notification and can accept the updated route to reach their destination more quickly.

3. Prevent theft with asset tracking

E-commerce sales are on the rise during the holidays. No matter your industry, it's vital to keep a close eye on your shipments to protect the vehicles and trailers from thieves. It's recommended for drivers to stay close to trucks and use overnight parking lots with 24/7 surveillance, but this is not always a possibility during the workday.

Asset tracking technology makes it easy to oversee your investments. You can rely on Rand McNally Fleet's asset monitoring solutions for peace of mind. Asset tracking devices provide you with maximum visibility over trailers, equipment, and anything you transport from point A to point B. Using asset trackers allows you to streamline travel objectives since you know where merchandise is at all times.

Preparing your fleet for the holiday season is straightforward since most of Rand McNally Fleet's technology takes less than 10 minutes to install. With our asset trackers, managers may set specific geofences across transit routes. This feature enables you to be the first to know when parts of your fleet are entering or exiting a location.

Request pricing information for Rand McNally Fleet technology today

If you are in charge of a fleet, Rand McNally Fleet designs navigation and telematics solutions for your industry. Our business has been operating in the commercial trucking field for more than 80 years. We help your team complete jobs by the deadline with user-friendly and affordable technology, along with 24/7 service. Our world-renowned products save decision-makers time and effort.

Want to learn more about our offerings? You can complete a contact form with Rand McNally Fleet for pricing information today.