Fortunately, there are a number of things that a fleet manager can do to organise their fleet which potentially saves large sums of money, without costing the organisation anything.
One of the most important ways of achieving these savings which, sadly, is seldom fully achieved in many fleets, is that of standardising vehicle specifications. Unfortunately, human nature often works against this concept, as every driver and every manager tend to want something slightly different.
A key objective for managing your fleet should therefore be to operate with the fewest number of vehicle configurations that will meet the requirements of the widest range of the various sections, divisions and branches within your organisation.
The aim must be to develop a core specification for each specific role, such as a small distribution van, a 7 ½ tonne panel vans, an 8 wheeled tipper and so on. The trick here is for the core specification to cover the maximum number roles, whilst allowing slight variations for a particular need, such as a change in drive axle ratio for really hilly terrain or off-road use.
Also, a small distribution van may have the same base specification, but two or three layouts for the internal racking or equipment carried to cater for different parts of the organisation. It is vitally important to keep these variations to a minimum by delineating what is truly essential, and what is just nice to have, in the specification.
Many organisations do not believe that standardisation of specifications will have much of an effect on the finances, but be assured, it truly does. It does this in a wide variety of ways, such as:
- Increased Buying Power – bringing together more orders to one manufacturer, with rationalised specifications, increases buying power and reduce prices.
- More Efficient Ordering – a wide variety of specifications increases the time for order processing and increases the risk of errors occurring. It also increases the communications time and effort between managers, suppliers and administration staff during the whole procedure.
- Reduced Stock Holding – standardised vehicle specifications directly impact parts costs by increasing volumes of individual parts, thus reducing prices, reducing stockholding and the stores area, complexity and stock count, plus lowering reordering time & effort.
- Reduced Technician Training – workshops save time and money by more focused training from fewer manufacturers and less vehicle configurations
- Increased Technician Efficiency – technician times decrease in almost direct proportion to the familiarity of the operation; by reducing the number of specifications, technicians become more familiar with the same work routines, therefore their efficiency is improved, also increasing vehicle availability
- Reduced Special Tools – most vehicles have their own special tool requirement, reducing specification complexity naturally reduces this count.
- Improved Contractual Maintenance Costs – the same benefits that accrue to internal workshops will be passed on, to some degree, to your maintenance supplier, allowing scope for better rates at contract renewal time.
- Increased Fleet Flexibility – standardised vehicle specifications makes it easier to move vehicles between depots or locations to suit changes in the business. A good fleet manager will always try to balance mileage, age and usage across the fleet – standardisation greatly aids this process
- Improved Staff & Diver Satisfaction – standardisation reduces the levels of dissatisfaction and complaints from staff and drivers due to an increased perception that they are all being treated fairly. Training becomes easier, faster and more likely to be remembered when vehicles are standardised.
Once you understand the principles behind standard specifications, and see the cost benefits for yourself, it will hopefully become almost an obsession to achieve the most efficient fleet specification listing.
David Wilson
7 May 2021
