Fleet Manager Duties and Responsibilities Explained

Fleet managers: Is there anything they can’t do? 

Well…yes. For example, these workers aren’t responsible for:

• Maintaining the roads your trucks drive on. Street managers take care of that.
• Cooling your shop. That duty is handled by heat managers.
• Keeping insects at bay. You’ll need to hire a DEET manager for this job.
• Baking cakes. This, of course, is the work of sweet treat managers.

On the other hand, fleet managers need to be capable of doing just about anything related to, well, actual fleet management. If you’re not a fleet manager, you might be curious about what that entails. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at various fleet manager duties and responsibilities and explain how fleet management software helps these people keep up with their workload.

What Does a Fleet Manager Do? Key Duties and Daily Responsibilities 

A fleet manager’s main goal is simply optimizing fleets to keep costs low and fuel efficiency/driver well-being high. Of course, “simply” is easier said than done. Fleet managers have to juggle a ton of job duties on an average day.

“But, Fullbay,” you ask, “could you take some time to explain these job duties, preferably in a bulleted list format?” 

Since we aim to please our valued readers, some crucial fleet manager duties and responsibilities include:

• Scheduling vehicle maintenance and repairs. By keeping crucial appointments on the schedule and building overarching maintenance programs, fleet managers can make sure their fleet’s vehicles stay in good shape for the long run.
• Managing driver schedules and compliance. In addition to handling driver scheduling, fleet managers must ensure these workers have the training they need to comply with legal/safety standards.
• Overseeing vehicle inspections and documentation. Fleet managers need to perform fleet inspections on a regular basis to ensure these trucks are in compliance with all necessary standards. Additionally, they should document the results of their inspections for future reference.
• Handling fuel efficiency initiatives and cost reporting. When they track fuel usage and other expenses, fleet managers are able to help their fleets operate as efficiently and inexpensively as possible.
• Communicating with other departments. Fleet managers need to be a part of your business’ “bigger picture.” With that in mind, they should work closely with other departments to optimize budgeting and compliance.

The Top Challenges Fleet Managers Face—and How to Solve Them

As you may have gathered from how complicated it is, managing a fleet is far from simple. On an average workday, fleet managers must be ready to overcome challenges such as:

Handling Massive Amounts of Data

To truly understand their fleet’s performance and fuel consumption, fleet managers rely on data from telematics systems. However, these systems collect a great deal of data—potentially making it tough to determine what information is truly important. Fortunately, fleet management systems can make this considerably easier by presenting data in the form of easy-to-understand reports.

Reducing Operational Costs While Maintaining Uptime

Fleet managers are responsible for keeping their fleet’s operational expenses under control, but that should never translate to skipping maintenance appointments. If they neglect their vehicles’ preventive maintenance needs, fleet managers could end up dealing with downtime as a direct result. 

Instead, people working in this role need to make maintenance a high priority. By doing that, they’ll keep long-term operational costs to a minimum while maximizing their fleet’s uptime.

Keeping Up With Schedules and Compliance

Without regular vehicle maintenance, fleets will be unable to meet their full potential—and individual trucks will eventually run into serious problems. However, manually tracking PMs for multiple vehicles is all but impossible. Because of that, fleet managers need assistance from fleet management software that can deliver automated maintenance reminders.

Along with that, fleet managers should ensure their fleets comply with applicable environmental, legal, and safety regulations. To do that, they’ll have to perform regular audits and checks of their fleet’s vehicles and drivers—and implement processes to monitor, track, and report fleet compliance.

Managing Large Teams and Supply Chains

The larger a fleet is, the harder it will be to manage—assuming your fleet manager doesn’t have help, that is. When they’re able to use fleet management software that scales alongside your business, your fleet manager should have no trouble keeping up with PMs and inspections for fleets of any size.

In addition to their fleets, fleet managers must be capable of maintaining inventory levels. Building strong relationships with suppliers can make this easier, though they’ll also need to track component levels so they can reorder parts on time.

What Skills and Backgrounds Do Fleet Managers Need?

Before you hire a fleet manager, you’ll need to consider the educational backgrounds of your candidates. In many cases, employers require prospective fleet managers to have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (for example, business administration or supply chain management). Many incoming fleet managers also have extra qualifications and at least two years of experience working in a similar role, either as a fleet manager apprentice/trainee or in other managerial/supervisory positions.

Though you’ll want to make sure your fleet manager meets these requirements, you’ll also want to consider other factors—including their skill set. Some of the hard and soft skills fleet managers need include:

• Logistical know-how. Without strong organizational skills, fleet managers won’t be able to keep up with their various duties.
• Leadership. Since they’re responsible for instructing and guiding an entire team of truckers, fleet managers must be ready to lead these employees.
• Data analysis. Fleet management involves vast amounts of data. People working in this role need to be able to assess this information and make decisions based on their findings.
• Communication. Interpersonal skills help fleet managers communicate with drivers and upper management alike.
• Technical knowledge. To make full use of industry hardware and software, successful fleet managers rely on a strong foundation of technical proficiency.

Continuing on from the last point, today’s fleet managers have to be comfortable working with fleet management software. Due to the sheer complexity involved with managing fleets in the 21st century, this isn’t a task even the most competent fleet manager can afford to handle on their own. Fortunately, assistance from the right program can help fleet managers do their jobs as efficiently and effectively as possible.

The Future of Fleet Management Roles

Believe it or not, technology and vehicles won’t arbitrarily plateau in 2025—instead, they’ll continue to develop and evolve for the foreseeable future. Of course, that means fleet manager duties and responsibilities will change in response to these shifts.

Tomorrow’s fleet managers will need to:

• Continue analyzing data. In the future, fleet managers’ ability to make data-based decisions will be even more critical than it is today.
• Keep track of industry developments. By looking closely at what’s going on in the heavy-duty industry, fleet managers will be able to find ways to make the most of any situation.
• Make essential upgrades. As new fleet management hardware and software become available, your fleet manager should be prepared to research these products and buy the right ones for your business.
• Take new legislation seriously. Future legislation may introduce taxes and penalties related to a fleet’s fuel consumption or carbon footprint. If that’s the case, your fleet manager should start looking for new vehicles that comply with changing standards.

How Fleet Management Software Supports Fleet Manager Duties 

Though fleet management software will play a major role in future fleet management, it isn’t the stuff of science fiction; instead, these systems are widely used by fleet managers today. To find the right fleet management system for your fleet manager, you’ll need to look at the capabilities different programs in this category bring to the table. 

Today’s best fleet management software can:

• Automate service schedules and inspection reminders. While manual scheduling for an entire fleet can be all but impossible, this won’t be an issue when your fleet manager gets automated reminders for important tasks.
• Track fuel usage and support fuel efficiency goals. The key to fuel optimization is knowing exactly how much fuel your fleet is using.  Monitoring fuel card data and using powerful fleet management software can help your fleet manager get insight into your fuel usage.
• Generate reports to reduce costs and streamline decisions. No matter how much data your fleet manager needs to analyze, a fleet management system can help. These programs can generate at-a-glance reports, giving fleet managers instant access to an easily understandable breakdown of fleet data.
• Keep teams aligned with real-time data. Fleet management software can also give your fleet manager constant updates on ongoing work orders in your shop. With that information, they’ll have no trouble maximizing worker efficiency.

Support Your Fleet Manager With Top-Notch Software

If you want to turn your fleet manager into an elite manager (sorry), you’ll need to invest in high-quality fleet management software. These programs are designed to support these hard-working employees, helping them juggle fleet manager duties and responsibilities without missing scheduled tasks along the way.

When you start using Fullbay in your heavy-duty shop, your fleet manager will benefit from automated PM reminders, in-depth reporting features, part ordering alerts, and a ton of other must-have features. If you’re interested in our software, take the first step by scheduling a demo today!