Paschall Truck Lines: Optimizing Fleet Fuel Management with Trimble’s Expert Fuel Solution

The Challenge: Improving fleet fuel management

In business for more than 70 years, Kentucky-based Paschall Truck Lines (PTL) relied on local intelligence combined with negotiated discounts to create a static map of approved fuel stops within each lane. The approach did not account for the significant daily local variances in wholesale and retail fuel costs. The company management needed a way to access local prices to confirm that they were really saving money on a daily basis. With nearly 1,700 power units, even a few cents per gallon could make all the difference in fuel management even when prices are low. This static approach was a major challenge to effective fleet fuel management.

The Solution: A robust fuel management system

Enter Expert Fuel from Trimble; a solution designed to optimize fuel purchasing decisions for fleets. It helps in reducing fuel costs by providing insights and recommendations on where and when to purchase fuel, taking into account factors like fuel prices, route planning, and vehicle fuel efficiency. This tool aims to enhance overall fleet efficiency and cost-effectiveness by leveraging data-driven strategies.

With Expert Fuel PTL can easily download local pricing every day to make sure their drivers are purchasing fuel at the lowest available price. PTL, a leading irregular-route carrier, has realized significant annual savings with detailed daily wholesale and retail pricing feeds to identify and implement best-cost fueling plans for each vehicle. This is a key benefit of a modern fuel management solution.

Expert Fuel has also given the carrier additional negotiating leverage with regional and national fuel vendors. Rather than base PTL’s discount solely on purchase commitments, some retailers now bid on the business with a focus on providing best-cost options within each lane. This proactive approach to fuel management is a game-changer for fuel efficiency.

The Result: Enhanced fuel optimization and savings

Expert Fuel blends current, accurate fuel pricing and routing data with PTL’s dispatch and mobile communications systems. It automatically generates fuel purchase and route plans for drivers, providing an unmatched level of fuel optimization. The resulting plans encompass highway-by-highway directions and monitor driver compliance with fuel-buying instructions, which include the number of gallons to purchase at each stop. This shows the power behind the fuel management software capabilities.

In addition to current fuel prices, this sophisticated fuel management system assesses vehicle fuel level and consumption; network, IFTA and state tax implications; route and tank-fill policies; OOR miles and more. This detailed analysis is key for maximizing fuel efficiency.

“I had no specific expectation of benefits when we launched Expert Fuel and was actually rather skeptical—but I was wrong. This has been a very positive step for us.”

– Mike Alexander, Driver Service Director