Fleet management is the management of:
Commercial motor vehicles such as cars, vans, trucks, specialist vehicles (such as mobile construction machinery), forklifts, and trailers
Private vehicles used for work purposes (the 'grey fleet')
Aviation machinery such as aircraft (planes and helicopters)
Ships
Rail cars
Non-powered assets such as generators, tanks, gear boxes, dumpsters, shipping containers, trailers, excavators, and other equipment that can't run on its own power.
Fleet (vehicle) management can include a range of functions, such as vehicle leasing and financing, vehicle maintenance, licensing and compliance, supply chain management, accident management and subrogation, vehicle telematics (tracking and diagnostics), driver management, speed management, fuel management, health and safety management, and vehicle re-marketing. Fleet Management is a function which allows companies which rely on transportation in business to remove or minimize the risks associated with vehicle investment, improving efficiency, productivity and reducing their overall transportation and staff costs, providing 100% compliance with government legislation (duty of care) and many more. These functions can be dealt with by either an in-house fleet-management department or an outsourced fleet-management provider. The number of light duty vehicles registered in commercial fleets in Europe as of 2016 was 15 million, and 19.5 million in North America Even with these record numbers of registration, light duty vehicles represent only 62% of all fleet sales.
The range of functions involved in fleet management are highly interrelated and generally integrated. While some services and products can be engaged separately, an overall system that integrates the data from various functions is required for optimal performance. Vehicle tracking systems provide a number of data points regarding engine diagnostics, driving behaviors, and geo-location. But there are a multitude of other data points outside of vehicle tracking systems that significantly impact fleet performance.