Editor's Letter- Pain at the Pump

Since the start of 2008, the price of gasoline has increased nearly 33 percent, while diesel fuel prices have increased by more than 41 percent, according to figures from the Energy Information Administration.

We are all feeling the effects of the increasing price of fuel in our daily lives. Some people have turned to car pooling to keep the cost of their commutes down, while others have explored public transportation options. Those people for whom neither of these options is realistic are looking at trading in their SUVs for hybrid models or smaller vehicles that get better gas mileage.

While we may have a number of options to decrease the amount of fuel we consume in our personal lives, business owners with fleets of vehicles on the road are faced with fewer options that yield immediate and remarkable results.

Companies such as UPS and FedEx that rely on fleets of trucks around the world may be able to pass higher fuel costs on to their customers, but other service providers may not be so lucky.

When it comes to increasing fuel economy, the first consideration for many fleet operators is likely the efficiency of their routes. Routing software and GPS systems can help information management companies fine-tune their routing and ensure that their drivers are sticking to the routing plan they were given.

Even restricting the number of left turns drivers make can have a noticeable benefit to a company’s bottom line. According to Cyndi Brandt, marketing manager for UPS Logistics Technologies, Baltimore, not only does this reduce the amount of time drivers spend idling, but right turns also are safer than left turns in general. (For more information on routing, see the sidebar "Routing with a Purpose" on p. 16 of the cover story "Running on Empty," which begins on p. 14.)

What kind of benefit can a company see as a result? Office Depot was able to increase the number of deliveries in an 80-to-100-mile route from 135 to 200 by implementing this restriction.

Routing software can help companies improve the efficiency of a route, but sometimes a client’s cooperation is required. To make fewer trips in the same area, an information management firm may have to work with a client to change its service day. When clients realize the potential benefits, they are often willing to change, Brandt says. And if they aren’t, a fuel surcharge could perhaps provide the incentive they require.

These days, even small changes, such as ensuring tires are properly inflated and using synthetic oils, can add up to big savings for companies with trucks on the road.

If you’d like to share how rising fuel costs are affecting your business and how your company is combating them, please e-mail me at dtoto@gie.net.