Professional contractors growing their business and serving customers across multiple jurisdictions understand how critical company vehicle fleets are to success. When employees are dispatched for routine or emergency repair calls, they need access to a reliable, well-equipped company car, truck, or van.
Managing a fleet of company vehicles, no matter the size, can be time consuming and complex. Most contractors are inclined to take on this work themselves, particularly as they build their business from the ground up. But the stakes are high: an unexpected vehicle breakdown or poorly planned route can leave customers disgruntled and unlikely to rely on your business in the future. What’s more, failure to keep on top of routine maintenance, regulatory tasks, and vehicle replacements can end up eating into your bottom line in the long run.
When the to-dos on the company vehicle management list become too daunting, contractors should seek out third-party fleet management professionals, many of which can meet your business at its current size and support growth.
Know the Signs
For contractors juggling a high volume of business-critical tasks each day, it can be hard to catch the signs when help is needed. Common cracks that might start to show when fleet management is being handled in-house include increased instances of scheduling conflicts or service delays due to maintenance, poor route planning, and downtime.
Other times, the signs will come in the form of unexpected costs: a vehicle doesn’t go in for regular service and then requires emergency repairs, or your company receives fines or penalties due to missed compliance and regulatory deadlines. Difficulty keeping on top of fuel and repair costs and understanding when a vehicle should be replaced is another red flag.
Call in the Professionals
Customers trust your service technicians to take on the complex plumbing, HVAC, and home improvement repairs they aren’t qualified to perform themselves. In the same way, you should turn to fleet management professionals to solve challenges that fall outside your expertise.
The ideal partner will be able to support even a small or medium-sized fleet and help your business grow. Lifecycle management is a major part of this – fleet experts can help weigh important decisions based on your current capabilities, budget, and goals. This includes determining when it’s more lucrative to replace an older vehicle instead of repairing it and connecting you with the right mix of OEMs to source vehicles of various makes and models. Vehicles in your fleet also need to be appropriately upfitted to support your technicians in the field, fleet managers can connect you with the right providers to get this taken care of. Fleet managers also maintain strong networks of repair shops and mechanics and can help ensure your business is getting reliable service at competitive prices.
Turning to fleet management providers can also help your business better monitor and control costs associated with company vehicles. The right partner can monitor regulatory and compliance deadlines for all vehicles, helping avoid penalties and fees. By tracking vehicle health and safety metrics, fleet managers can ensure your company’s cars, trucks, and vans receive regular service and flag issues before they become costly repairs. It’s also possible to aggregate expenses and reimbursements into a single bill, removing the headaches and delays that can come from tracking these down individually.
Looking to the Future
Fleet management is an ever-evolving industry and, as you build a relationship with a partner, you can explore opportunities to integrate new technologies and offerings into your fleet. For instance, telematics platforms can be adopted to support more informed, real-time decision-making based on vehicle health, usage, spending, and other critical data. More comprehensive and actionable reporting can lead to smarter long-term investments into new vehicles, driver safety initiatives, and vehicle repairs.
The automotive landscape is also evolving and integrating EVs into your business fleet to combat volatile fuel prices could be an attractive long-term strategy. The relationships fleet managers have with OEMs will come in handy when assessing these opportunities.
In the contracting business, customer service is king and adequate fleet management can be the key to ensuring timely, reliable service that turns one-time repair visits into long-term customer relationships. When managing company vehicles on your own becomes too challenging, finding the right fleet management partner helps take the pressure off and paves the way for continued growth.
Laine Noren
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