Opinion: Unused Software Is Found Money

By Charles Arsenault

resident

rsenault Associates

If ever there was a time to hone productivity, it is now. With fuel costs through the roof and cash in short supply, fleet managers strain to wring the last ounce of productivity from every asset in the fleet.

ell, maybe not every asset.

Now more than ever, I am amazed at how many fleets overlook the potential productivity of software they already own. Many fleets have a virtual fortune in dollar savings sitting unused or underused on hard drives, CD ROMs and floppy disks residing in computers, storage shelves and desk drawers. I’m talking about software paid for but underused, or not used at all. We call this “shelfware.”

Fleets would never leave trucks and drivers idle when they could be producing revenue. The same fleets often do exactly that with software. Fleet operators who pride themselves on detailed knowledge of every truck, every trailer, every driver and every customer many times have no idea how many computers they own, never mind individual licensed software applications.

I’m not just talking about dedicated applications like the fleet maintenance management software my company supplies, but much, much more. There are also comprehensive software packages bought at great expense from major suppliers that are never fully implemented.

Yes, it even happens in companies with busy information technology departments. These folks usually have their hands full keeping networks, operating systems, communication systems and freestanding computers up and running. They may not even be aware of all the software the company owns.

How does it happen? Let’s say you buy an application and send, say, Joe, to the training sessions. Joe absorbs 50% of the material and goes on to train others, imparting perhaps 50% of that.

Then Joe finds greener pastures, takes another job and leaves behind the marginally applied solution. Confused fellow workers find it easier to revert to earlier, perhaps manual systems, and for the sake of that week’s operation, you let them.

That’s only one scenario; there are others. As a result, you have three basic groups of fleet software owners:

One third have the most current software version and keep it in support because they actively use the product.

The next third use the software only for the single, narrow job they bought it for and do not keep it current or in support.

The final third doesn’t even know they own the software.

If you’re in the latter two-thirds, here’s what you should do: Start by making a list of the computer hardware you own. Most larger carriers already have such a technology asset list because their insurance company requires it. Begin with your network minicomputer or server, if you have one, and include all the terminals. Then list your freestanding computers and related hardware.

Next, list all the licensed software on these computers or stored elsewhere. Find out what the software applications are supposed to do and who is supposed to be using them. Then you will begin to see the possibilities for your own operations.

Yet even there, you many find hidden possibilities. Of course, you are far more likely to unearth potential productivity in those programs written specifically for motor carriers and fleets.

Then it’s up to you. Contact the software company that sold or developed the application. Find out what program updates, training or support are available, then implement the module or the application and reap the benefits.

You may have to spend few, if any, dollars to increase productivity this way. And the dollars you save will go straight to the bottom line.

Arsenault Associates, Atco, N.J., has developed and provided fleet maintenance management software to the trucking industry since 1979.