How to reduce transport costs with fireTMS?

Transport costs include a range of expenses spent on the fleet, consisting of service charges, licences, certificates, insurance, leasing, but most importantly fuel consumption. It is estimated to account for the largest part of company costs.

Transport monitoring – fleet reports in fireTMS

fireTMS automatically generates a Fleet Costs and Fleet Profitability report to keep track of your transport expenses. The first one presents information on individual costs assigned to each of your vehicles. It also makes it possible to check which of them generates the highest costs and is unprofitable in maintenance. In turn, the second report is based on data from transport orders in the system and presents detailed information on the profitability of your fleet. It makes it possible to compare the results for individual objects (vehicles, drivers, trailers) and the estimated costs with the actual costs. The program also enables the generation of reports on daily turnover, turnover and commissions by company branch, forwarders, carriers and customers. Automatic fireTMS reports make it possible to control transport costs, especially financial expenses incurred on the fleet. They make it possible to estimate its profitability, which directly influences the optimisation of expenses.

How to eliminate empty runs? Integration with GPS telematics

fireTMS can be integrated with 56 GPS telematics providers to enable efficient information flow between the forwarder and the driver via onboard terminals. In combination with a GPS signal, the system informs when the vehicle is approaching the end of the route, and when the driver completes the order – e.g. via the fireTMS Driver mobile application – it automatically gives him the status with full information about the time and place of loading and unloading. In addition, the driver can report on the progress of the transport and the current activities, such as refuelling or traffic jam. He can also send documents related to the order to the program, which allows for its ongoing tracking. Thanks to the information about the current location of the vehicle and the estimation of whether the cargo will be picked up and delivered on time, it is possible to control the transport on an ongoing basis and empty runs can be reduced to a minimum.

Route control and transport costs

Another feature of fireTMS that enables route monitoring is the detection of a driver leaving a passageway. When a transport order is created, the system determines the route on the map, while the forwarder can edit it and designate his route. In addition, he can specify the number of kilometres the driver is allowed to travel away from it. Thanks to the connection to the GPS signal via the telematics system or the fireTMS Driver application, you can see the current location of the vehicle and check in real time whether it is driving along the correct route. Importantly, the software has the option to generate alerts when a driver leaves the passageway, so the forwarder receives real-time notification of any detected incident. Ongoing control of drivers and routes makes it possible to eliminate the problem of empty kilometres and high fuel expenses. Ultimately, it has a significant impact on reducing transport costs.

Optimal routing with fireTMS maps

The system has accurate and precise fireTMS maps, which make planning lorry routes quick and efficient. It allows you to plan a route with a detailed calculation taking into account:

• road tolls
• fuel prices
• driver costs
• load parameters
• length of order
• vehicle operating costs

All you need to do is specify the route points and the program will suggest the most cost-effective solution. And thanks to GPS integration, the program monitors whether the driver follows the planned route. With fireTMS maps you can determine the shortest, fastest and cheapest route and save transport costs related to tolls.

Important: the calculation of the route between the loading and unloading points can be done before accepting the transport order. With this option, you can quickly check whether it is profitable and also estimate the price for your customer and send them an offer.

Contractor payment control by means of automatic debt collection

Controlling timely payments from customers and maintaining financial liquidity is a challenge that every transport company faces. Overdue payments lead to financial losses as they do not compensate for the costs of running the business and the expenses incurred on the fleet. fireTMS has a solution to this problem in the form of an automatic debt collection system that makes it possible to select overdue invoices and generate payment reminders for them. The content of such a default notice complies with legal requirements and the data is loaded automatically from invoices, so you don’t have to waste time filling it in manually. fireTMS enables ongoing monitoring of costs, sending notifications for overdue payments, which supports the financial security of the company and prevents considerable financial losses.

Vehicle operating costs – automatic notification of deadlines

The system allows you to register your fleet and control its expenses. Thanks to internal fleet registration and advanced filters, you can quickly find vehicle description and detailed information related to the amount of costs it generates. Another very useful feature are automatic reminders sent by fireTMS to the user’s e-mail inbox, concerning formalities related to the vehicle, such as expiry of the insurance, the deadline for the vehicle technical inspection or the expiry date of the fire extinguisher. It can be selected for the system to send a reminder e-mail to selected persons, which greatly facilitates team work organisation and the division of responsibilities. Additionally, in the Calendar section, there is an option to create individual reminders; you just need to write their content and select the date of sending. With fireTMS you can keep track of the charges incurred for each vehicle in your fleet.

The fireTMS tools enable you to monitor and optimise your freight expenditure. If you want to see how to use them in practice and reduce costs in your transport company, please contact us.