When it comes to football, vehicle shortages and supply chain interruptions, “The best defense is a strong offense,” says a fleet manager for the Tennant Company.
The past year or two has been particularly challenging for fleet managers. Many are finding it necessary to employ a variety of tactics in order to stem losses, delays or added cost. Some of the “defensive” tactics include:
- Conducting preventive maintenance checks on a daily basis
- Extra diligence when it comes to warning lights or potential problems
- Operating with “spare” vehicles available
- Employ telematics to help to highlight habits that increase maintenance costs such as harsh driving
The “offensive” strategies include understanding and optimizing the vehicle lifecycle, preparing to weather the storm and operate vehicles slightly beyond their intended use, and communicate this strategy from top to bottom so that everyone understands the risks involved.
- Optimizing vehicle lifecycles and determining a tolerable range for extending their use during supply chain interruptions helps mitigate shortfalls. For example, consider stretching from 4 ½ years and/or 100,000 miles to 5 ½ years and 130,000 miles.
- Using Big Data to compare lifecycle costs to thousands of comparable vehicles can help with budgeting for additional maintenance costs associated with the extended use of fleet vehicles
- It is important to account for and manage outliers within a fleet (i.e., those with higher mileage, extreme climates etc.), and not expect them to have the same lifecycles as the rest of the fleet
Article Source: https://www.businessfleet.com/
Link to complete source story: https://www.businessfleet.com/10161450/managing-vehicle-lifecycles-in-high-mileage-scenarios
Photo Credit: The Tennant Company
Disclaimer: In the News blog posts are Doering's take on the best content and the latest news in the Fleet Management Industry. Doering did not write the original source article.
