Flexible Businesses Run on Flexible Fleets
Flexible Businesses Run on Flexible Fleets
From supply chain struggles to fluctuating costs, shifts in demand to unexpected repairs, companies operating fleets face a variety of challenges that can affect their ability to efficiently and reliably serve their customers. Now more than ever, businesses need to be ready to adapt quickly to changing market conditions, and flexible fleet management strategies are critical to success.
“It’s all about putting the right vehicle in service at the right time, for the right amount of time,” says Dain Giesie, Assistant Vice President of Business Development at Enterprise Fleet Management. “It’s a simple objective. Executing it has become pretty complex.”
For businesses willing to embrace a flexible approach in managing their fleets, taking steps to optimize their existing resources while diversifying how they source vehicles, there are attractive opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce costs, especially for midsize organizations lwithout mature logistics capabilities.
And what works for one company may not be the right move for another. With expert support and a customized strategy to address your business’s unique circumstances and objectives — core elements of the transportation solutions Enterprise provides — you can land on the optimal mix of ownership, lease, and long- and short-term rentals that allows your organization to smoothly adapt as needs change.
“Fleet flexibility becomes especially important for customer service-oriented companies like HVAC and plumbing contractors, construction companies, and local governments,” Giesie says. “These types of organizations generally require travel to and from job sites and are increasingly under pressure to do more with fewer resources,” Giesie says.
Think long term to adapt near term
The shift to a more agile approach starts with proactive planning toward a long-term fleet strategy: reevaluating your vehicle needs based on usage patterns; striking the right balance of ownership and flexible options like leasing and short-term rental to meet changing demand; optimizing your existing fleet to improve fuel efficiency, routes, and maintenance schedules; and determining whether a transition to electric or other alternative-fuel vehicles makes sense for your business.
“I think it’s more important than ever to have a long-term strategy in place that you’re executing toward with the appropriate review cadence, so that you can model things out over the next five, eight or even 10 years,” Giesie says. “That can give you the structure you need to adapt.”
Understanding the data
Data and more importantly, the insights gained from that data, are key to understanding your company’s vehicle usage and any adjustments you may need to make to operate more efficiently and sustainably.
“Capturing telematics data alone isn’t enough,” warns Lars Dahlby, Assistant VP of Business Management North America at Enterprise Truck Rental. “It’s the insights gained through careful analysis that can provide you with the actionable information you need to guide your decision-making and help you better manage your fleet.”
Collaborating with a company like Enterprise, a global transportation leader with decades of experience in fleet management and optimization, to implement telematics and data analytics technology can give you increased visibility into your fleet’s performance, help you head off maintenance problems before they become financial liabilities, and allow you to see how changes you make will affect your day-to-day operations.
“Integrating telematics pays off with real-time data and feedback,” says Dahlby. “You can keep tabs on driving habits like speeding or hard braking, vehicle location and what routes your drivers are taking, and get a heads up if something is wrong with the vehicle. It’s information you can use to improve safety, efficiency and productivity.”
A foundation of trust
This kind of close working relationship with a mobility partner remains a fleet manager’s best asset in keeping pace with change, according to Giesie. The process of evaluating and implementing new technology, for example, can be overwhelming with many enticing options that may or may not be the right fit for your business.
“Our core mission is to be a trusted advisor to our customers,” Giesie says. “So we do a lot of separating fact from fiction to make sure they don’t get distracted by noise and can stay focused on their objectives. And we don’t put new things in front of customers that we don’t first understand ourselves,” he says.
“Customer service, customer focus: the fundamentals don’t change.”