Fleet maintenance accounts for the highest vehicle expense that fleet managers handle. Fleet management companies have stepped in to help fleet managers closely monitor their fleet's maintenance processes in a bid to generate savings.
Throughout the years, there have been recurring questions that fleet professionals ask as to how they can manage their fleet maintenance costs and related issues. Below we offer expert advice for the frequently asked questions.
Should I set lifecycle parameters for my fleet?
Lifecycle parameters in your fleet enable you to get the best value out of your vehicles. While parameters may vary depending on the vehicle mix, goals and utilization, setting and adhering to lifecycle parameters allows you to save costs across fleet expenses including maintenance and fuel.
Being proactively engaged helps you to stay updated with the prevailing market conditions, which remain highly volatile to affect the resale value of your vehicle.
Due to the nature of work that fleet managers handle on a daily basis, they should work with a fleet management company and remain flexible to shorten or extend lifecycles based on prevailing market conditions.
How can I plan ahead to decrease fleet maintenance costs?
Forecasting your fleet's needs requires a proactive strategy. Such a strategy will help any fleet manager manage road-ready vehicles by preventing unexpected costs arising from late maintenance and repairs.
Your fleet management company should be able to provide an optimal preventive maintenance schedule based on your fleet needs. By planning ahead and setting reminders for PM services, you can avoid unforeseen repairs.
Wilmar Inc. PM Program helps you stick to maintenance schedules by sending drivers timely notifications requiring them to bring in their vehicles for maintenance. This helps you to reduce downtime, extend the vehicle's lifespan, manage fuel consumption, and increase the vehicle's resale value.
How can I utilize National Account Vendors?
Utilizing national account vendors for fleet maintenance and repairs has proven to be a cost-effective strategy. National account vendors provide maintenance services at a reduced cost as compared to independent vendors.
Wilmar provides fleet maintenance and repair services in North Carolina, thus helping fleet managers effectively manage maintenance and repairs within the region.
How can I stop drivers from purchasing unnecessary maintenance equipment?
Oftentimes, drivers will request for supplementary equipment such as snow tires and all-wheel drives that they believe are necessary for their vehicles. However, this supplementary equipment may not be necessary for the vehicle in-essentially increasing your fleet maintenance costs.
To be certain that your drivers adhere to laws and standards regarding purchases, set preapprovals for the purchases so that are aware of purchases before they are effected.
When purchasing parts or any maintenance repairs, the team at Wilmar's Call Centre, most of whom are ASE certified provide advice and recommendations for drivers to have approved purchase orders.
How can I increase savings on maintenance within my fleet?
Review exception reports to identify excess spend in your fleet. Work with your fleet management consultants to help you identify areas of unnecessary and excess spending to help generate savings. A key area in your fleet that can generate savings is depreciation.
Managing depreciation through scheduled maintenance helps to prevent deterioration of vehicle components including brakes, drivetrain, and tires. Adhering to a fleet maintenance schedule and keeping comprehensive maintenance reports for each vehicle helps to reserve your fleet's condition, hence increasing the disposal value for better returns.
While these are just some of the most frequently asked questions, there are more things to learn about vehicle maintenance. Contact us to learn more about how you can manage maintenance expenditure from Wilmar Inc. Fleet Maintenance services like an expert.
