Fuel Management Solutions in Transportation

Are volatile fuel prices and national average reimbursement methods making it impossible to manage your transportation budget? Relying on a one-time weekly index across the country for fuel surcharges can expose your transportation network to unnecessary costs and risk, hurting your bottom line. Market-based fuel management solutions offer a path forward by providing the data, technology, and market insights needed to achieve transparency and control over the second largest and most volatile transportation cost.

Key Takeaways

• Achieve True Cost Transparency: Modern fuel management solutions replace outdated national averages with real-time, lane-level data, ensuring you reimburse carriers based on the actual cost of fuel for every shipment.

• Drive Significant Cost Savings: By leveraging precise data on price, time, tax, and geography, shippers can eliminate overpayments common in traditional fuel surcharge programs and achieve substantial reductions in fuel spend.

• Enhance Operational Efficiency: Integrating fuel management systems with your existing processes automates data collection and reconciliation, freeing up your team to focus on strategic initiatives rather than manual audits.

• Support Sustainability Goals: Effective solutions provide scope 3 transportation emissions for every load, offering the load-level, actual or modeled fuel consumption data needed to track and reduce your carbon footprint and make progress toward decarbonization targets.

What are fuel management solutions?

In the transportation industry, fuel management solutions are comprehensive systems that go far beyond simple fuel tracking or telematics tools. They are strategic platforms that combine fuel management software, real-time data integration, and market expertise to manage and optimize transportation spend, fuel consumption, and scope 3 emissions.

Unlike tools that only monitor fuel levels or driver behavior, a true fuel management solution provides a framework for accurate fuel reimbursement. It moves shippers away from the distortions of a single national or regional average price and toward a more fair and accurate model based on the specific details of each freight movement. This makes a fuel management solution the cornerstone of a modern, data-driven transportation network strategy.

Core features of effective fuel management solutions

A robust fuel management solution is defined by its ability to process multiple data sources and deliver actionable insights. Here are the core features that differentiate a modern platform.

1. Real‑time & lane‑level pricing

The most critical feature of a modern fuel management solution is the ability to calculate fuel costs based on daily diesel fuel prices specific to the lane a shipment travels. Traditional weekly averages can’t keep up with market volatility, leading to inaccurate payments. A market-based approach, like Fuel Recovery, is always aligned with current conditions.

2. Zero‑base rate strategy

Effective fuel management solutions enable a zero-base rate strategy, where the linehaul rate is decoupled from the fuel cost. This enables shippers to operate within their current fuel management program and gain greater visibility to each component. While it may sound complex, it simplifies the true cost of fuel and ensures carriers are paid fairly based on their service.

3. Integration & data connectivity

A modern fuel management system must seamlessly integrate with your existing technology stack, including transportation management systems (TMSs) and enterprise resource planning (ERPs). This connectivity automates the flow of data, eliminates manual entry, and creates a single source of truth for all fuel-related transactions.

4. Emissions metrics

With increasing pressure to decarbonize, the ability to accurately track transportation emissions is essential. Leading solutions use primary data to calculate scope 3 emissions at the individual load level, providing the granular insights needed for credible reporting and reduction strategies.

5. Predictive analytics & forecasting

Advanced fuel management solutions leverage historical data and market intelligence to provide predictive transportation analytics. These analytics, often enhanced by AI, help shippers create precise fuel forecasts and model future fuel spend, enabling more accurate budgeting and proactive decision-making.

6. Risk management & hedging tools

To protect against extreme fuel price volatility, some fuel management solutions offer tools for risk management. Strategies like fuel hedging can help organizations lock in fuel costs and bring greater certainty to their transportation budgets.

Benefits for shippers & transportation operations

Implementing a data-driven fuel management solution creates value across the organization by improving efficiency, reducing costs, and providing actionable insights. With real-time data and analytics, businesses can monitor fuel consumption, identify inefficiencies, and make more informed decisions to optimize operations. This not only increases transparency and decreases transportation expenses but also supports sustainability goals by promoting more efficient fuel management practices. Ultimately, a strategic fuel management solution ensures smoother operations and long-term cost savings across the board.

1. Cost control & reimbursement accuracy

Fuel management solutions help shippers pay only for the fuel actually consumed by calculating reimbursements using real-time, lane-level data rather than broad averages. This reduces overpayments, eliminates underpayments that can strain carrier relationships, and improves overall financial transparency.

2. Operational efficiency & process simplification

By automating data collection from fuel cards, routing systems, and carrier reports, fuel management solutions reduce manual work, speed up payment reconciliation, and free up teams to focus on strategic tasks instead of tedious line-item audits.

3. Risk mitigation & budget certainty

With precise fuel forecasting and available hedging capabilities, organizations can better guard against fuel price swings. This allows for more stable cost projections across the transportation network, leading to greater budget certainty and more confident financial planning.

4. Emissions reporting

Modern fuel management solutions integrate emissions tracking down to the load level. This helps shippers accurately measure their Scope 3 transportation carbon footprint, monitor carbon intensity, and align operational practices with corporate decarbonization goals.

Implementation & best practices

Implementing a market-based fuel management solution demands a clear process, effective change management, and awareness of potential challenges to ensure success. Below are the key considerations for a successful organization-wide rollout.

1. Steps & approach

Adopting a structured implementation plan maximizes value and minimizes disruption. Essential steps for a successful rollout include securing internal alignment, seamless data integration, comprehensive process mapping, and clear carrier communications. Each stage should be grounded in proven best practices to drive measurable, network-wide results.

2. Change management strategies

Transitioning to a data-driven fuel management model impacts carriers, 3PLs, and internal teams. Well-executed change management conversations foster buy-in and smooth adoption. Engage key stakeholders early, provide transparent communication on the benefits, address concerns directly, and leverage established frameworks for onboarding.

3. Common pitfalls & how to avoid them

A frequent misstep for shippers is piloting the fuel management solution in a limited region or with select carriers, expecting a controlled test to validate the initiative. However, this approach often distorts the data, delays network-wide insights, and creates administrative complexity. Experience shows it is far more effective to implement Fuel Recovery across your entire network during your annual bid. This unified rollout streamlines communication, aligns all stakeholders, and accelerates the realization of operational and financial benefits.

How Breakthrough’s fuel management solution (Fuel Recovery) works

Breakthrough’s Fuel Recovery solution moves shippers beyond traditional fuel surcharge programs—time lags, unaccounted tax exposure, and excluded carrier fuel consumption. Our fuel management solution establishes fair and accurate reimbursements by calculating the true cost of fuel based on four key components for every shipment:

1. Price: We use wholesale diesel prices, which reflect what well-managed carriers pay at the pump, rather than the retail prices included in national averages.

2. Time: Fuel prices change daily. Our calculations use the price of fuel on the day a shipment moves, ensuring reimbursements are always synced with real-time market conditions.

3. Tax: Fuel taxes vary significantly by state. Fuel Recovery accounts for the specific state and federal taxes incurred along each route, a detail completely missed by national average fuel management solutions.

4. Geography: The cost of diesel differs from one location to the next. Our lane-level calculations account for these price differences, moving far beyond the inaccuracies of a single PADD or national average.

By bringing this level of transparency to fuel reimbursements, Breakthrough's Fuel Recovery solution empowers shippers to build fair and accurate carrier partnerships, reduce costs, and gain the data needed to manage their network more strategically.

Looking for fuel management solutions for your transportation network?

Choosing the right fuel management solution is a critical strategic decision that can deliver substantial cost savings, operational efficiencies, and sustainability gains. By prioritizing features like real-time data, comprehensive integrations, and robust analytics, you can equip your organization with the tools needed to navigate the complexities of today's transportation market.

If you’re ready to move beyond outdated averages and gain true control over your fuel spend, connect with us to see how Breakthrough can transform your transportation network.

Frequently asked questions about fuel management solutions

What are the benefits of fuel management?

The primary benefits of implementing a comprehensive fuel management solution include significant cost savings through accurate reimbursements, greater budget certainty by mitigating price volatility, and enhanced operational efficiency by automating manual processes. Additionally, these solutions provide the granular data needed for credible sustainability reporting and help foster transparent, fair relationships with carrier partners.

How do fuel management solutions reduce transportation fuel costs?

Fuel management solutions reduce costs by replacing inaccurate, average-based fuel surcharge programs with real-time, lane-level reimbursement calculations. By using the wholesale price of fuel on the day and in the location of a shipment, they eliminate the built-in overpayments common with weekly retail price averages. This ensures shippers pay only for the fuel their carriers actually consume, often leading to a 20% reduction in fuel spend.

What features should I look for in a fuel management solution?

Look for a solution that provides calculations based on real-time, lane-level data rather than national averages. Key features include seamless integration with your TMS and other systems, the ability to support a zero-base rate strategy, and robust reporting on both costs and emissions. Predictive analytics for forecasting and risk management tools are also valuable features of an advanced solution.

Can fuel management solutions help with sustainability and emissions tracking?

Yes! Modern fuel management solutions are essential tools for sustainability. They use primary data from each shipment to calculate Scope 3 emissions, offering precise measurements of a transportation network's carbon footprint. This allows shippers to move beyond industry averages for their emissions reporting and identify specific opportunities for reduction within their network.