The increase of costs across all supply chains means there is little room for error. Mistakes cost money in any area of business and ensuring that your fleet is run optimally will save your company money. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you have it all under control.
The deceptive part about fleet management is that many people have the outlook of ‘how difficult can it be to manage some vehicles?’ It’s not really a question of difficulty—anything is easy if you don’t worry about doing it right. It’s when you want to start improving your fleet and saving proper money that you need the experts.
In the case of fleet management, your savings come in terms of data and access to information: if you’re not plugged into all the developments in the fleet industry you won’t know where you’re losing out. This means that many companies don’t even realise how much money they’re bleeding.
This is the foremost reason why internal fleet management only works in very rare cases: because the fleet managers are part of each specific company and are not part of the fleet industry as a whole. It’s not their fault, it’s just a fact.
Outdated processes
A big stumbling block with internal fleet management is that corporate processes always take a long time to change. Once problems are identified a series of steps and approvals must be followed to fix the situation. With fleet management being such a fast-moving industry, it’s likely that these processes will already be outdated by the time they are approved.
Consider the last few years: many fleets had to change everything from operating hours to storage locations to delivery times to border documentation. Things changed on a weekly basis and the successful fleets were able to make changes within hours (sometimes minutes!) to accommodate changes in lockdown hours or border crossings.
That is an extreme example. On a regular basis, fleets must be able to adapt to road conditions, alternate routes, customer changes, driver changes, vehicle downtime etc. This can only be done if you have experts managing all of these details who can facilitate changes on a regular basis.
Fluctuating conditions aside, you want your fleet manager to constantly follow best practices as that is how you keep costs down. In order to keep ahead of fleet industry developments, fleet managers must have constant access to information from all across the fleet industry. When fleets are managed internally they are isolated from the ‘bigger picture’ and it's much easier to fall behind.
Focusing on incorrect data
Data is a beautiful thing and with modern telematics systems your fleet data is easy to collect. The trick is to know what fleet data you need to collect in order to keep optimising your fleet.
A basic example: in order to identify high fuel usage, many people might be monitoring driver speeds and vehicle loads. This may help you identify some areas where improvements can be made. A fleet expert, however, might immediately spot that the type of vehicles you’re using are known for using increasingly more fuel after X amount of years. This is the type of fleet intelligence that you can only get from a professional fleet management partner.
A good fleet company will be able to assess your fleet, identify what data you need to collect, and be able to translate that data into workable fleet improvements. This can only be done by specific fleet data experts.
Limited access to deals and partners
Reputable fleet management companies have spent years building relationships with partners ranging from banks and insurance firms to fuel depots and vehicle manufacturers. They are often able to get better deals on vehicles, servicing, tyres and all other fleet aspects that aren’t possible to negotiate internally.
This access to deals, improved service and reduced downtime reflects massive savings and affects every part of your fleet operations. From acquiring the correct vehicles to ensuring fuel cost is kept to a minimum, having a full-time fleet partner will always reduce your operating costs.
Increased risk to your business
Companies that operate their own fleets take on all of the risk. Poor maintenance, breakdowns, accidents and tyre wear all land right back within your business.
By outsourcing this risk you are turning your fleet into a service to your company without any of the risks that come with managing so many moving parts. In today’s economic climate the best advice is to reduce risk wherever possible, and partnering with fleet experts should be your first step.
Focus on your core business and let the right people manage your fleet.
The ‘small’ things save money
Choosing to manage a fleet internally means you also commit to spending more money. Fines management, route scheduling, driver training, maintenance bookings, and invoicing are just some examples of extremely time-consuming fleet activities.
With internal fleet management the odds are good that some admin processes are being neglected due to limited staff and time. By outsourcing all of this you not only save time and money, but you can rest assured that all admin will be taken care of on time. This is (almost) something you can’t put a price on as it’s an enormous part of the fleet management process.
There are many more reasons why internal fleet management is no longer the most cost-effective option. Do your business a favour and get an expert fleet assessment. This will, at the very least, highlight any red flags that might be flying under the radar.
Effectively running a fleet is an incredibly intricate process. If fleet management is not your expertise or core business, there is a very good chance that you are bleeding money without realising it. Contact us for fleet management solutions for your business, or to arrange a demonstration of our services.