If a fleet management platform serves just one company, permissions are simple. But the platform we built for Yong Fan serves around 200 fleet operators and 600 devices at once, and many of those operators come in through resellers. At that point, "who can see what, and who can create whom" becomes the core design question of the whole system. Here's the approach we actually use.
The problem: one platform, many fleet operators, plus resellers
Platforms like this usually face three needs at the same time:
- Operators' data must be separated: each fleet operator sees only its own vehicles, drivers and dispatches.
- Some people manage several operators: one owner may run multiple fleet businesses and needs to manage them together.
- Resellers must onboard customers themselves: if every new operator and every device assignment had to go through the vendor, sales would stall.
Our approach: five roles
Users are split into five roles, and each level can only manage the levels below it:
- System admin: the platform operator. Can add fleet operators, devices, resellers and fleet managers, and can use every interface.
- Reseller: can add fleet operators, devices and fleet managers. Uses only the back office — no need to see fleet operations screens.
- Fleet manager: can manage multiple fleet operators and add store managers and drivers.
- Store manager: manages a single fleet operator and can only add drivers.
- Driver: can only sign in to the driver app.
Different roles, different interfaces
Permissions decide not only what someone can do, but which interface they use. The system has several parts:
- System back office: manages fleet operators and GPS devices; used by system admins and resellers.
- Fleet management website: one-map/many-vehicle and multi-map views, dispatch, route planning, trajectory history, project reports and video monitoring; used by fleet and store managers.
- Management app (iOS/Android): lookups, maps, trip records and reports for managers on the go.
- Driver app: work orders, site lists and route maps.
- Data-receiving server: receives GPS and video data from devices. Users never see it, but every screen's data comes from here.
Giving resellers only the back office is deliberate: their job is onboarding customers and assigning devices, not running fleets. Fewer interfaces mean fewer mistakes and no access to operational data they shouldn't see.
How a reseller onboards a fleet operator
- The system admin creates a reseller account in the back office.
- The reseller signs in to the back office.
- The reseller adds the fleet operator.
- The reseller creates a fleet manager account for that operator.
- The fleet manager signs in to the website and builds the vehicle list.
- The reseller completes device management in the back office, assigning devices to that operator.
No vendor involvement is needed. The platform operator only manages resellers, and resellers grow the customer base themselves — one of the reasons the platform could grow to around 200 fleet operators.
Principles we follow when designing permissions
- You can only create downward. Each role can only create roles below it, so permissions never creep upward.
- Be explicit about "how many". A fleet manager who can manage several operators and a store manager limited to one are two separate roles — easier to understand and harder to misconfigure than a pile of checkboxes.
- Interfaces follow roles. Rather than hiding buttons on one shared screen, different roles use different interfaces altogether.
If you're planning a platform that resellers or franchisees will use — fleet management or not — we'd be glad to talk. See also our Fleet GPS & Video Management page.