Since managing your own fleet or fleet management company requires more than simple talent, seek out fleet management industry publications that provide you with information, advice and best practices that will help you succeed in a competitive environment. Gaining strength through knowledge will help you make even more sound business decisions, enter negotiations with the upper hand and improve the bottom line of your business.

Fleet management publications and fleet maintenance publications provide great resources for learning about breaking industry news, trends, technologies, best practices and much more. As you search for the publications that best suit your needs, consider the following types of publications:

1. Order fleet management books for in-depth information and background material.

2. Stay current on trends, news and events with fleet management magazines and fleet maintenance magazines.

3. Use other fleet manager publications to your advantage.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Include fleet management books in your search for the best fleet publications

Fleet management books make sound reference additions to your library.

I recommend: Purchase Fleet Management: Achieving Profit Potential, by Robert Currie, Michelle Currie and George Keen. The 2006 paperback covers all aspects of fleet management, from initial fleet analysis to managing the implementation, and it places special emphasis on process. Order Fleet Management and Logistics, a book published in 2004. The fleet publication includes 10 chapters that describe some of the most recent advances in the field of transportation and logistics.

Subscribe to or bookmark your favorite fleet maintenance or fleet manager magazines

A vehicle fleet management magazine can provide you with quick access to facts, figures, advice and tips to help you build and improve your business.

I recommend: With Fleet Maintenance, you can either bookmark the online magazine or order a subscription to the print version of the magazine. The magazine focuses on best practices for fleet maintenance management. Order Fleet Equipment, a fleet trucking magazine devoted to the management, specification, purchase and maintenance of truck equipment. Since 1974, the magazine has targeted the professionals who make the equipment and maintenance purchasing decisions for fleet companies. Bookmark and subscribe to Fleet Owner, a truck fleet management magazine aimed specifically at executives and managers of commercial-trucking fleets with five more vehicles. The magazine reports on operations, vehicle maintenance, industry regulations and information-management technology.

Consider other fleet trucking publications and management publications for specific information

To keep up with developments in a particular aspect of the fleet management industry, read other sources like online or print newsletters, reports and research articles.

I recommend: Subscribe to Fleet Management, a monthly newsletter geared toward managers of passenger car and light-duty truck fleets. Each month, you'll receive fleet management articles dealing with policy development, operating benchmarks, vehicle selection and acquisition, vehicle disposal strategies and residual value, latest safety and recall information, industry news summaries and interviews, alternative fuels reporting and more. Order Fleet Research Quarterly in E-mail or CD-ROM format for reports highlighting current fleet operting statistics and benchmarks. While you may not find any U.S. fleet management journals in your search, you should still search other journals for research articles on fleet management. For example, The Journal of the Operational Research Society published the theoretical paper titled, "Incorporating the pricing decisions into the dynamic fleet management problem" in 2006.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Besides researching topics and keeping up with trends, use fleet management publications for developing new networking opportunities and clients.