Offering a range of online portals that allow drivers to undertake key aspects of fleet management is becoming an important factor in winning fleet software deals, reports Chevin Fleet Solutions.

Tools that enable employees to record business mileage, report that they have completed vehicle risk management checks and amend personal details, for example, are all now seen as increasing significant.

Ashley Sowerby, managing director, said: “There are a wide range of tasks involved in the day-to-day running of fleets that employers increasingly want to delegate to drivers, effectively empowering them to manage their own fleet needs.

“This is a general strategy that makes sense for everyone. It removes workaday tasks from the fleet manager and enables drivers to update and record information at a time and place convenient for themselves.

“Many of these tools have been offered in the fleet software sector for some time but we have noticed that they are now being viewed as an essential part of closing a deal. Their value is increasingly obvious to employers.”

Sowerby added that online services that allowed drivers to choose their own vehicle and arrange details such as collection and delivery were especially important.

He said: “Drivers often like to spend quite a lot of effort arriving at exactly the new vehicle configuration that they desire but this can be frustrating and time consuming for fleet managers. Being able to provide an online portal where they can ‘play’ with the vehicles and options available within their choice list is a definite advantage.”