How to Find the Right Fleet Management Company for Your Needs Rastrac Team | Feb 9, 2016 9:34:15 AM

There are many aspects to fleet management, from tracking vehicle performance and use statistics, to the actual leasing/purchasing of vehicles for your fleet. The ultimate goal of these tasks is often to make sure that your organization’s vehicle fleet is efficient and effective.

Balancing all of these fleet management tasks can be tough, which is why many organizations turn to specialized fleet management companies (or FMCs) for help.

A fleet management company can provide your organization with numerous resources to help make managing your vehicle fleet easier, but which fleet management company is right for you? How can you be sure that a fleet management services provider will help your organization improve efficiency and reduce costs rather than growing them?

While there’s no perfect formula for finding the right partner, here are a few tips that might help you:

1: Check the Fleet Manager’s Experience

One of the first things you’ll probably want to look for in a fleet management provider is their level of experience as a company. Is the fleet manager a proven company with a long track record of success, or a fly-by-night that only opened up earlier this quarter?

Odds are that a company that’s been in business for a while and has helped numerous other clients meet their fleet management goals is going to be better-equipped to help you than a less-experienced company.

However, beyond checking a company’s incorporation date, do some digging and interview their current clients to find out how the fleet manager has helped them. You can learn a lot about how well a company fulfills its obligations by interviewing their current customers and seeing how satisfied (or dissatisfied) they are with their fleet manager.

2: Review the Fleet Manager’s Services

Not all fleet management companies are created equally. Some fleet managers offer leasing/purchasing agreements directly, some through a third party. Likewise, other services/needs may vary between one company and the next.

Before signing on with a fleet management services provider, be sure to sit down with them and review every aspect of their service, such as:

• Leasing Agreements. Does the company offer open-ended or closed-ended leases? How long are their minimum lease terms? What are the mileage limits/service allowances, if any? If you lease through your fleet management company, it’s vital to know all of this information ahead of time, or else your organization could be hit with a nasty bill later on.
• Fuel Services. Are fuel costs included in your fleet manager’s bill? If so, how large a part of your bill is this cost? When fuel costs are on the rise, having fuel costs rolled into your fleet management bill as a fixed charge can make sense, but what about when fuel prices go down? Does your bill from the FMC go down as well, or remain the same?
• Maintenance Services. Maintenance is vital for the smooth operation of any vehicle fleet, large or small. Without sufficient maintenance, vehicles can break down, adding enormous emergency repair and towing costs to your organization’s expense account. Too much maintenance, on the other hand, can be wasteful of resources. So, when choosing a vehicle fleet services company, checking how they handle maintenance needs and optimize maintenance scheduling is a must.
• Insurance Coverage. Does the FMC offer insurance for your leased/purchased vehicles internally, through a third-party company, or leave you to purchase it yourself? There are benefits and drawbacks to each of these three options, but it’s important to know what system the management company uses beforehand, as well as the specific coverage that is provided (liability, injury, uninsured motorist, etc.).

There are many other important services that you could check to verify if a fleet management company is the right one for you, but these ones can make a huge impact on your operations.

For example, some organizations might have a higher risk of on-the-road collisions, which would mean that they need more collision and liability insurance.

By checking what services a fleet management company has and comparing them to your organization’s needs, you can increase your chances of finding the right partner to help you with your fleet management needs.

3: Check the FMC’s Technology Assets

Sometimes referred to as Fleet Telematics, the GPS fleet tracking software and solutions that an FMC uses can have an enormous impact on the efficiency of your vehicle fleet. With the right fleet tracking software, you can get important data such as:

• The current location of your fleet vehicles
• Engine performance statistics
• Driver behaviors (speeding, braking, and idling habits)

GPS tracking for vehicles is a critical aspect of modern fleet management, one that can mean the difference between high-efficiency fleet management and wasting money every month.

For example, say that your organization enters into a lease agreement for its vehicle fleet that has tight mileage restrictions on individual vehicles. With GPS, you can track how many miles each vehicle travels, and make sure that vehicles aren’t being used for non-business errands by drivers. Without GPS, it’s difficult to catch whether or not a specific vehicle is being overused compared to others.

So, when looking at the top fleet management companies for help with your vehicle fleet needs, be sure to check what their GPS fleet tracking software solution looks like. With the right, user-friendly software, you can easily track and manage your fleet for maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

These are just a handful of tips for finding the best fleet management company to help your organization grow. For more information about fleet management issues, check out some of our other blogs.