Your Complete Guide to Being a Fleet Manager

What does a fleet manager do?

To begin, let’s define the term “fleet manager.” A fleet manager is a person responsible for anything and everything related to an organization’s vehicles. Over the course of a single day, a fleet manager might interview potential drivers, purchase a new truck, schedule maintenance work and review recent fuel spending. Serving as leaders to an organization’s drivers and mechanics, fleet managers do everything they can to ensure vehicle-involved operations are safe, productive, cost-effective and in compliance with federal, state and local regulations.

Qualities of a good fleet manager

There are good and bad examples of work in any profession, and in fleet management, the best fleet managers are:

• Detail-focused
• Accountable and data-driven
• Capable of multitasking
• Strong communicators
• Efficient in time management
• Strong decision makers
• Flexible and long-term oriented

Managing a fleet of vehicles can be personally challenging, as there are constant variables to consider with both the machines and the people you work with as a fleet manager. There are definitely fleet management best practices that you can follow to guide you to success, but making sure that your temperament is geared toward the role is just as important as any methods you use to track your fleet performance.

Essential skills for fleet management

Data-driven decision making

Having a fancy program that can calculate total cost of ownership and cost per mile for you doesn’t negate your need to understand those concepts. You should still be able to look at fleet management reports with a sense of expertise to discern the story the numbers might be telling you.

Seek out resources that can help you break down the basics of fleet management – like our Masters of Fleet series, or our library of white papers and videos – so that you can develop a strong foundation of fleet management knowledge that technology can then supplement, not replace.

Leadership and process implementation

It can be tempting to allow your software to do all your heavy lifting without having to understand what it’s doing. But failing to know your data can mean messy output from whatever software you put it into.

At the end of the day, nobody knows more about your fleet than you do, so use that to your advantage. Be confident and talk about your fleet with confidence. Bob Polka, Treeways

Know where your data comes from and how it’s being created – things like inspection reports, telematics data and GPSs, work orders, fuel logs – so that you can verify its quality and accuracy. You’ll also want to audit the processes you use to get that data to make sure it’s being collected in the most effective way possible. For example, if your inspections are too bulky and take too long for your drivers to complete, you may be getting hasty data from your inspections to save time.

Additionally, the more you delve into automation, the more it can serve to streamline your workload. Lean on it in your fleet management software as much as you can to save significant time and effort in your day-to-day job.

Ability to adapt to latest technology and trends

If you have a fleet management software in place, it’s reasonable to expect that it will not be the only iteration of software you will experience, and certainly not the only one you’ll need. Many companies utilize multiple pieces of software to encompass all of their operations, so staying abreast of what’s out there is vital to making the right decisions about implementation.

Even outside of the technology itself, it’s important to stay relevant by paying attention to other trends in fleet management, like electrification and predictive analytics, so you can bring the best to your fleet. Follow fleet publications, sign up for fleet industry newsletters, and go to conferences so you can keep up with everything that’s happening in the field.

Fleet manager responsibilities

Managing fleet operations

As the head of fleet operations, fleet managers oversee every stage of a vehicle's lifecycle. They handle procurement, aim to maximize a vehicle's utilization for as long as it remains cost-effective and decide when to dispose of a vehicle.

Really, utilization is the starting point. Utilization equals capex. Utilization equals, really, cash. So we're looking to make sure that we're getting the best bang out of our buck for our assets. Andy Ranson, United Site Services

During that middle phase, fleet managers are tasked with ensuring vehicle needs are addressed proactively through preventive maintenance. They decide what tasks are performed, when they're performed and who performs them. Most fleet managers base their preventive maintenance schedules on the manufacturer recommendations, but depending on how demanding their operations are, they may bring in vehicles to their shops more regularly.

To stay on top of all that maintenance work, fleet managers are expected to keep track of their vehicles in virtually every sense. The best fleet managers can pull up accurate location, mileage and status information for any of their vehicles at a moment's notice. Telematics devices allow organizations to view those details in real-time, but fleets without GPS tracking capabilities can still maintain high visibility over their fleets through diligent record keeping.

Additionally, fleet managers are also tasked with keeping costs under control, especially fuel as its one of the largest expenses for most fleet organizations. By directing their drivers to take fuel-efficient routes, ensuring vehicle idling is kept to a minimum and looking out for signs of fuel theft, the choices fleet managers make can have a significant impact on what an organization spends on fuel each year.

Managing drivers

Contrary to what folks outside of the fleet industry may think, fleet managers don't solely focus on vehicles from 9-to-5 each workday. At the end of the day, fleets are powered by people, which makes overseeing those people a core aspect of being a fleet manager.

Yeah, so when talking with the internal employees, you know, my big drive was to really just figure out some of the concerns and problems that they were facing on a daily basis. You know, many of the existing employees have been here for quite a long time, so you know, they're familiar with some of the issues the fleet has faced in the past, some of the things that they've tried to remedy those issues. Bill Spare, Town of Apex

The best fleet managers take an active role in hiring and onboarding drivers. Establishing good habits during training can have a beneficial effect over a drivers' entire career, so fleet managers should emphasize the importance of fleet safety protocols early and often.

Once drivers are settled in, it behooves fleet managers to regularly check in with their personnel to hear their suggestions and to gauge their job satisfaction levels. In today's labor market especially, qualified drivers are hard to come by, so it behooves fleet managers to be proactive about retaining effective employees.

On top of all of that, fleet managers also delegate assignments to their drivers. Evenly distributing work across even a small team of drivers isn't always easy, but to avoid burnout or overburdening, fleet managers are expected to balance what needs to get done among their personnel.

Reporting & compliance

Fleets have finite funds to work with, which makes budgeting a key responsibility of most fleet managers. To accurately predict how much they'll need in the future, fleet managers review their past financials and make projections based on recent industry developments, economic trends and the business objectives of their employers.

Fleet managers also keep a close eye on performance metrics to gauge what aspects of their operations are doing well and what could be improved. While different fleets prioritize different metrics, key performance indicators (KPIs) like time to repair, planned versus unplanned downtime and on-time work order completion rate are analyzed by many fleet managers to assess their productivity.

And, finally, fleet managers are also instrumental in ensuring that their operations comply with local, state and federal regulations. Staying up to date on the latest rules can be tricky (especially when new administrations take office), but fleet managers are duty-bound to minimize their employer's exposure to fines and other penalties.

Fleet management challenges and solutions

Fleet managers contend with industry-wide and organization-specific difficulties on a daily basis. If you’re set on becoming a fleet manager someday, you’ll have to develop countermeasures to some or all of these challenges faced by fleet managers today.

Industry Challenges

Rising operational expenses

While costs had been steadily rising for decades before, fleet expenses have exploded in the wake of the pandemic. According to Kelley Blue Book, cars cost north of $10,000 more today than they did pre-pandemic. On top of that, 2024 saw the biggest year-over-year spike in insurance costs since 1976. Throw in the volatility of fuel prices and it's readily apparent how tricky running a fleet with a tight budget can be.

Driver shortages

Trucking companies have long struggled to find qualified drivers, but, in recent years, fleets of all stripes have reported difficulties hiring and retaining personnel. And as many current drivers near retirement age, industry experts expect this challenge won't be going away anytime soon. To staff the number of people their operations demand, fleets will need to get creative to make themselves appealing in an increasingly constrained labor market.

We don't necessarily have a shortage of candidates, we have a shortage of qualified candidates. Dave Johnson, President, ASE

Adapting to new technology

Change is hard for many industries and the fleet industry is no exception, especially when it comes to technology. Case in point, when the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) began requiring commercial drivers to use electronic logging devices (ELDs), there was a significant pushback from fleets. And while some of the criticisms of the FMCSA's decision were well-reasoned, many refused to recognize any of the benefits ELDs provide over paper logs.

Regulatory compliance

Keeping up with local, state and federal fleet regulations can be a handful (especially when a new presidential administration takes office). But when the consequences for non-compliance include fines, increased insurance premiums and safety rating demotions, fleet managers owe it to their employers to always be up on the latest rules of the road.

Individual Challenges

Inefficient operations

When fleets have finite funds to work with, seemingly minor inefficiencies can quickly add up. From waste that occurs behind the wheel (like idling and suboptimal routing) to productivity losses in the shop, eliminating fleet inefficiencies can be tricky.

Communication breakdowns

To work at their best, an organizations' fleet manager, drivers and technicians all need to be on the same page as each other. Unfortunately, achieving that alignment is much easier said than done, especially for organizations without a single source of truth that facilitates collaboration. Simple things like forgetting to update the status of a vehicle can lead to miscommunications that waste time and money.

Inadequate technology

In terms of technological sophistication, fleets vary wildly from one another. For every organization with a fleet management system (FMS) and telematics devices, there are probably dozens that rely on spreadsheets and paper forms. This inertia when it comes to rolling out new solutions inhibits many fleets from achieving levels of efficiency and productivity they could easily reach with better tools in place.

Fleet management career path

Curious how to become a fleet manager? There are two common career paths that we've observed—the technician path and the administrator/accountant path. Both trajectories equip folks with skills and experience that are indispensable as a fleet manager.

Previous experience and background

From Technician to Fleet Manager

Working as a technician teaches future fleet managers the value of preventive maintenance, how to handle work orders, what conditions improve and hamper shop productivity and more. From there, becoming a shop foreman helps fleet professionals learn how to manage mechanics, delegate work, and monitor costs. After some time leading shop operations, many shop foreman are well-positioned to make the leap to becoming a fleet manager.

From Admin to Fleet Manager

Conversely, administrator and accountant-type roles hone expense management and data analysis skills in their leadup to running a fleet. A huge part of being a fleet manager is reviewing records to ensure data accuracy and to glean insights that can be used to inform decisions, so developing those abilities can be a major benefit later down the road.

How to get a job in fleet management

When it comes to landing a job as a fleet manager, nothing is more valuable than prior experience working in fleet operations. Whether that experience comes from working in a shop or office, it shows prospective employers that you’re familiar with the day-to-day activities that keep fleets running. While different employers have different expectations, three years of working in fleet should qualify you for most applications.

As for educational requirements, once again, criteria will vary from employer to employer. That being said, a bachelor’s degree in logistics, business management or accounting does go a long way in conveying your qualifications.

If you have a background as a technician, certifications like those offered by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) can help your resume stand out from the crowd. And, if you’re really committed to bolstering your credentials, you can look into certification programs specifically developed for aspiring and current fleet managers. For example, NAFA offers a “Certified Automotive Fleet Manager” certification that’s applicable to all industries. If you’re interested in entering the public sector, check out the “Certified Public Fleet Professional” certification awarded by the American Public Works Association.

Tips for new fleet managers

If you’re still learning the ropes of being a fleet manager, consider these recommendations to start this new phase of your career on the right foot.

• Build strong relationships with drivers and technicians: The more comfortable your personnel feels around you, the more willing they’ll be to share concerns and suggestions that you can use to improve the safety and efficiency of your operations

• Prioritize preventive maintenance: Preventable breakdowns cost way more than consistent maintenance so, to get the most of your budget, ensure the needs of your vehicles are addressed in advance.

• Adopt fleet management software: Spreadsheets are time-consuming, prone to errors and difficult to share with your colleagues, so use software specifically designed for fleet management instead.

• Understand data and metrics: Metrics communicate the health and productivity of your fleet clear as day, so learn how to run reports that provide the KPIs most relevant to your operations.

Fleet manager job description and qualifications

If you look through fleet manager job listings, you're likely to find responsibilities and qualifications similar to the following:

Key responsibilities

• Procure (lease or purchase) vehicles based on fleet requirements
• Register and insure company vehicles
• Procure equipment and parts needed for fleet operations
• Hire and manage drivers and technicians
• Communicate with repair and maintenance shops
• Oversee vehicle inspection, maintenance, and servicing to minimize downtime
• Maintain vehicle information and inspection records
• Develop driver schedules and routes that maximize operational efficiency
• Ensure that drivers comply with working hours and safety regulations
• Analyze fleet performance data and implement improvements
• Report fleet performance and finances to upper management

Qualifications

• Degree in logistics, accounting, business management or a related field preferred
• 3+ years of experience working in fleet management, logistics or a similar field
• Effective leadership, decision-making and organizational skills
• Adept communication skills

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