The Demand for Delivery Drivers Is Higher Than Ever.
As the delivery revolution continues to surge, keeping your drivers on the road is paramount. Whether you manage a single delivery driver or a bustling fleet, access to 24/7 fueling stations becomes crucial. This ensures uninterrupted service for your customers while offering you the ability to control fuel expenses and safeguard against potential fraud – all vital aspects of running a successful delivery operation in today’s fast-paced world.
What Is the Best Way to Fuel Your Delivery Drivers While Protecting Your Costs?
The delivery business is booming, but managing a growing fleet of drivers comes with its own challenges. High driver turnover rates and controlling fuel spending can quickly become full-time jobs, taking away time and resources from core business functions.
Pacific Pride and CFN fuel cards offer a solution for busy delivery businesses by providing:
- Enhanced Control & Reduced Risks:
- Limit unnecessary spending: Set restrictions on purchases based on location, fuel type, and time of day. This prevents unauthorized spending and misuse of company funds.
- Onboard new drivers with confidence: Eliminate the risk associated with credit cards. Fuel cards allow you to manage spending from the start.
- Streamlined Operations & Cost Savings:
- Real-time transaction tracking: Get instant email notifications for all fuel purchases, allowing you to monitor spending in real-time.
- Reduce downtime and fuel costs: Skip expensive retail gas stations and offer drivers 24/7 self-service fueling at Pacific Pride and CFN locations. This translates into faster turnaround times and significant cost savings.
- Control expenses during slow seasons: Implement spending controls without adding an extra workload. Fuel cards help you tighten your belt during off-peak periods.
Additional Benefits for Growing Businesses:
- Reduced Administrative Burden: Free up valuable time by setting up systems that automatically control fuel waste and unnecessary expenses.
- 24/7 Driver Access: Keep your drivers on the road with convenient access to Pacific Pride and CFN fueling stations, ensuring uninterrupted service for your customers.
- Easy Qualification: Qualiifying for a fleet card program is simple. All you need is proof of business operation and exceeding 900 gallons of annual fuel usage.
Combine Fuel Cards with On-Site Fueling
On-site fueling may also be an option if you have a fleet of vehicles parked at a yard every night. This service, also called wet hose fueling, can help cut costs associated with drivers by reducing the amount of time they are fueling and not delivering product. Large fleets can save significant time and increase distribution capacity. We can combine both to offer a more comprehensive solution.
Here Are the Top 5 Strategies to Stay Away from Fuel Theft
Worried about gas card misuse or theft in your fleet? Here are five key strategies to keep your fuel costs under control:
1. Maintain a Clear Card Policy and Conduct Audits:
- Track Card Distribution: Regularly review who has access to gas cards and ensure they are assigned to specific vehicles or drivers. Implement a clear card policy outlining usage guidelines and responsibilities.
- Annual Card Audit: Conduct an annual audit, similar to a fire marshal inspection, to reconcile all cards with your employee list and identify any missing or unused cards.
2. Monitor Transactions for Red Flags:
- Review for Unusual Activity: Train your accounts payable staff to identify suspicious transactions, such as multiple purchases on one card, fuel type changes, or fueling outside of business hours.
3. Physically Secure Cards with Vehicles:
- Assign Cards to Vehicles: Assign a separate gas card to each vehicle and attach it directly to the key ring. This ensures clear accountability for each card and the vehicle it fuels.
- Limit Individual Card Ownership: Restrict individual gas card ownership to management and maintenance personnel to minimize theft risk. A missing card becomes immediately obvious when tied to a specific vehicle.
4. Set Spending Limits and Restrictions:
- Program Limits by Vehicle: Set spending limits on each card based on the vehicle’s fuel tank size. This prevents accidental overfilling and reduces potential theft losses.
- Restrict Fuel Type and Usage: Program cards to prevent unauthorized purchases of premium fuel or the wrong fuel type. Set daily limits to deter theft attempts.
- Consider Geographic Restrictions: Limit card usage by zip code, state, or time of day to further restrict potential misuse. These measures minimize theft exposure if a card is stolen.
5. Leverage Real-Time E-Receipts:
- Enable Instant Notifications: Opt for e-receipts that deliver real-time notifications to fleet managers or designated personnel upon each purchase. This allows for immediate response to potential theft or misuse.
- Improve Efficiency and Communication: E-receipts not only aid in theft detection but also help identify inefficient fueling practices.
- Verify Driver Location: Real-time data can be used to verify driver location during refueling, allowing for immediate communication and correction of any minor mistakes.
By implementing these strategies, you can significantly reduce the risk of gas card theft and gain better control over your fleet’s fuel spending. Remember, clear communication and addressing minor mistakes can prevent them from becoming bigger issues in the future.
Choose to partner with a company that wants your business to succeed and has the right tools to protect your business, and ultimately your bottom line.
Whether you’re an owner/operator or you are managing a large fleet of corporate vehicles needing fueling commercial cardlocks can help you save time and money and improve your bottom line in operational costs. Commercial-only Pacific Pride and CFN sites in the northwest are a real resource for small businesses. Fuel cards reduce the opportunity for fraud or theft on your fuel card and speed up the fueling process which can reduce labor costs. Stand-alone sites limit access to convenience store items, so employees won’t be tempted to spend time browsing and make purchases on the company credit card. There are fewer people at the site, so there is less chance of coming into contact with a sick person as well.
- Save Time & Money: Reduce operational costs with commercial cardlocks.
- Reduced Fraud Risk: Fuel cards minimize theft and expedite fueling.
- Boost Efficiency: Stand-alone sites limit distractions and improve fueling speed.
- Enhanced Safety: Fewer people at the site reduce potential illness exposure.
What If You Need to Lock Down a Card from Fuel Theft?
We can help you field all of these best practices. Our motto is “Keep it Simple” and we are here to make this process as easy as possible. Feel free to reach out and see what we can do for your fleet to upgrade its fleet fueling security. If you’re fueling just one vehicle or you’re managing corporate fueling for hundreds of vehicles, we can help you set up an account.
Download our Best Practices on Avoiding Fuel Theft here.
Ready to begin your application today and get started? Start your application below.
