The peak delivery season is a challenging time for both drivers and fleet managers. While drivers face the stress of high-volume deliveries, fleet managers are often required to step in and help maintain smooth operations. Effective planning for peak starts well in advance and ensures that both drivers and fleet managers are equipped to handle the increased workload. This guide outlines crucial steps fleet managers can take to prepare for the holiday rush and keep operations running smoothly.
Five Helpful Tips for Fleet Managers During Peak Season:
-
- Forecast Demand: Meet delivery demand with the right amount of resources to minimize unecessary costs.
- Streamline Onboarding: Minimize downtime by steamlining the onboarding process for seasonal hires.
- Maximize Efficiency: Centralize management tasks to reduce ineffeciencies and boost productivity.
- Prioritize Driver Safety: Make sure safety remains a top priority, even during periods of increased package volume.
- Plan Ahead for Vehicle Needs: Ensure your vehicles are ready to go before the rush begins.
Forecast Demand
Peak season is a tiring time for delivery drivers but is also a busy time for fleet managers. Often times fleet managers are forced to put their tasks on hold and hop in a delivery truck in order to keep up. To avoid this, optimizing routes and fleet operations is crucial for managing delivery demand without unnecessary stress. Leveraging historical data helps forecast demand, allowing for efficient route planning and effective resource allocation. This prevents both over- and under-scheduling while minimizing excess costs. Accurate demand forecasting ensures you can plan the right number of daily routes, schedule drivers effectively, and determine the need for temporary hires or additional vehicles. Pairing drivers with the most suitable routes boosts efficiency, helping you determine which drivers excel and which routes require additional attention to meet delivery deadlines. Ultimately, forecasting the optimal number of routes is key—too few will strain your drivers, while too many will hurt profitability.
Streamline Onboarding
Many contractors turn to seasonal hires to keep up with increased delivery volumes, but finding qualified drivers is only the first challenge. Onboarding these drivers can be time-consuming, and the longer it takes for them to get acclimated, the slower they are at hitting the road to start deliveries. Streamlining and simplifying this process is crucial for maximizing efficiency during peak season. Equipping drivers with the tools they need to succeed—such as an intuitive routing solution—can significantly reduce onboarding time. The faster drivers get comfortable with the system, the quicker they can begin delivering packages confidently.
Maximize Efficiency
While drivers deal with increased workloads and stress from the influx of deliveries, fleet managers are often stretched thin managing operations. Tools that allow fleet managers to centralize and automate daily tasks make it easier to stay organized and focus on meeting the increased demands of peak season that can quickly become overwhelming.
Prioritize Driver Safety
With delivery volumes spiking during peak season, safety becomes even more critical. High-stress environments can lead to accidents, and while the pressure to maintain delivery schedules is important, compromising safety can result in costly delays. Proactively prioritizing safety fosters a team culture that stays strong even under pressure. Consider implementing an automated proactive safety training program that seamlessly integrates into drivers’ daily routines, making compliance easy for both full-time and temporary drivers. By reinforcing best safety practices, you help prevent accidents and ensure drivers are well-prepared for increased workloads. Investing in a safety solution that goes beyond basic compliance requirements not only protects your drivers but also ensures the business continues to thrive during the busiest times of the year.
Plan Ahead for Vehicle Needs
Many service providers turn to rental vehicles or the Alternative Vehicle Program (AVP) to meet demand and expand capacity. To maintain efficiency and minimize costs, it’s essential to determine whether additional vehicles are needed and how many will be required to handle the increased volume. Planning ahead is key to securing the necessary vehicles and avoiding availability issues.
These vehicles also require Portable VEDR units installed in them before hitting the road, so don’t wait until the last minute to order the necessary equipment. Be proactive to ensure everything is ready in advance to prevent disruptions. Consider a VEDR solution that offers permanent and portable options to make setup and daily operations easier and avoid the challenge of learning a new system during the height of the busy season.
Conclusion
Preparation is the key to surviving and thriving during peak delivery season. By starting early, equipping drivers with the right tools, optimizing fleet operations, and maintaining a strong focus on safety, fleet managers can ensure smooth operations even during the busiest time of the year. With these tips in hand, you’ll be better prepared to handle the challenges of peak season, ensuring that your deliveries are timely, efficient, and safe.
Descartes GroundCloud offers comprehensive solutions that support your logistics operations during peak delivery season and beyond, helping to streamline processes and maintain efficiency. Want to learn more? Contact us today to see how we can help you prepare for a successful peak season.