RoadFlex announced the launch of its AI-powered Proactive Fuel Risk Management Platform during the Fleet Management Association (NAFA) 2024 Institute & Expo (I&E).  The company said it delivers comprehensive fuel risk management and fuel tracking capabilities and saves fleet operators an average of 11% in fuel spend annually, according to the company.

The Cost and Scope of Fuel Theft & Fraud

Fuel theft, fuel fraud, and fuel card misuse are common in the transportation industry. According to Shell Fraud Matters report, more than 86% of fleet managers believe there is fraud in their fleets.

This often accounts for between 10 to 15% of a fleet’s fuel costs, according to RoadFlex, which can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. This challenge is often exacerbated by outdated technology solutions, poor spending controls, and lack of visibility into real-time fleet expenses, the company said.

RoadFlex said it offers a comprehensive platform to meet the modern needs of fleets around fuel risk, fuel tracking, and expense management. It combines real-time vehicle telematics data with transaction data to eliminate fuel fraud and fuel theft.

The software platform grants fleet managers full visibility into every purchase and customizable spending controls for different employees and job needs. It authorizes purchases by verifying that the card is used by the correct employee and for the correct vehicle. It blocks suspicious transactions and flags them for review, all in real-time.

Example of Preventing Fraudulent Fuel Transaction

For example, the fleet director of a commercial utility services company could receive an alert if a driver is trying to purchase $100 more of fuel than he’s allowed to in a day, automatically decline a transaction if the purchase is too far away from the vehicle location, or automatically decline a purchase if the driver added non-fuel items to a transaction at Shell or Exxon gas station.

Led by veterans from the fleet telematics industry, RoadFlex works with thousands of businesses that operate fleets and field personnel such as:

• Trucking companies

• Utilities

• Pest control

• HVAC

• Construction

• Last-mile delivery

“With the RoadFlex platform, our customers get a real-time 360-view of their fuel spend per vehicle and driver. We enable fleets to become more data-connected through seamless integrations with fleet management software, accounting tools, and telematics solutions. This facilitates the streamlining of financial operations through comprehensive fuel risk management, savings automation, and real-time fleet analytics,” stated Rush Akin, chief revenue officer at RoadFlex.

Capabilities for Streamlining Fuel Risk Management

The new suite of features offers additional capabilities to help fleets streamline fuel risk management which, according to RoadFlex, are:

• Fuel level tracking: automatically detects fuel level in a vehicle and flags and declines a fuel purchase if it exceeds a vehicle's fuel tank capacity. This prevents drivers from filling portable gas containers for personal use or from fueling non-employee vehicles while stopped at a gas station.

• Fuel type purchase verification: automatically flag and decline fuel purchases if the fuel type doesn't match the fuel type of the specific vehicle.

• Retroactive fuel analysis: RoadFlex ties back the gallons consumed to the number of miles driven for each vehicle. This identifies potential fuel fraud or vehicle performance issues to pinpoint exactly where the inefficiencies are and recommend improvements.

• Insights into blocked transactions: leverage unique analytics insights into why RoadFlex’s fuel prevention features blocked transactions. These insights offer context to help fleet operators understand suspicious trends, identify risky employees, and investigate where necessary.

“RoadFlex has built modern tools to help fleets make more intelligent decisions. These tools grant fleet operators real-time visibility into vehicle performance, vehicle location, and the financial health of the fleet. This saves controllers, CFOs, owners, and fleet managers upwards of six hours per week on administrative tasks,” said Dennis Chang, chief executive officer of RoadFlex.

Additionally, RoadFlex partners with Visa, a leader in digital payments, to offer a fleet card accepted at all gas stations, truck stops, and electric vehicle charging stations nationwide.