Recently, fleet management articles extolling the benefits of standardization have been in the media. The principle of standardization in fleet management means that all vehicles are of a standard make and model: All contents of the vehicles are standardized, the location of equipment inside of each vehicle is standardized and all the branding is consistently applied to vehicle exteriors.
Fleet standardization benefits
All this standardization has fleet management and cost-savings benefits to a businesses' workflow. Companies that provide standard fleet services can:
- Monitor their technician’s driving habits.
- Analyze the efficiency of each technician, measuring the length of time it takes to complete each service call, then use this information to allow for efficiencies of scale that can lead to lowered cost to consumers.
- Improve maintenance efficiencies by limiting the availability of new systems, which in turn means fewer tools needed for diagnostics and specialty features.
- Maintain closer relationships with vendors throughout the auto industry.
- Allow your technicians to become familiar with the fleet, which provides fleet managers with more flexibility to change driver assignments or vehicles when necessary.
- More quickly bid, evaluate, purchase, and upfit fleet vehicles as most factors are already known.
- Benefit by processing less paperwork, including contracts and invoices.
Fleet management without standardization
Standardization is a fleet management technique that can be an option for many businesses. But while standardization of the actual vehicles might be ideal, some businesses don't allow for a large capital expenditure. That’s when a different set of fleet management techniques needs to bring the picture into focus to benefit your individual business.
Factors to consider for a non-standard fleet
Companies need to understand that the best fleet management solutions for their unique challenges may not be the standard ones. Take into consideration:
- Whether the workflow for your fleet requires services for upfitting and equipment recommendations, as well as retrofitting.
- If you have an aging fleet that desperately needs to implement maintenance, cycling and other fleet management policies.
- If your company has a need for instant cash wherein purchase leaseback is the best solution, as selling the vehicles and then leasing them back provides a cash influx and using that cash to strengthen the business may be an extremely effective fleet management technique.
- Additional purchase options, including closed-end leasing, open-end leasing or single-payment leasing, in which a company makes a single lease payment each year when the cash is available, and uses cash for other business objectives at other times of the year.
All of these options can be completely customized to the equipment, cash flow and business needs of each company.
Fleet management is not a one-size-fits all proposition. To be most effective, your fleet management workflow needs to be as unique as the business it serves. Mike Albert Fleet Solutions can help you standardize your fleet workflow or manage your custom fleet.
Contact us today to find out more about our fleet management programs.
