What are fleet services?
Fleet services include a wide range of repeatable tasks that must be done on an ongoing basis to ensure business owners get the most from the automotive vehicles they use for professional purposes. A fleet is a collection of vehicles used professionally for things like deliveries, installations, public works, and on-site security. Fleet management services entail anything necessary to preserve a fleet and maximize its usefulness. They’re a comprehensive set of services spanning the initial selection and purchase of vehicles to their eventual disposal at the end of their lifecycle.
Although almost any type of automotive vehicle can be part of a fleet, the type of job typically determines which ones are used. Large long distance deliveries commonly include heavy duty trucks, big rigs, and truck fleet management solutions, while cars and motorcycles are used for jobs that are more lightweight and involve shorter distances.
Fleet services are vital to successfully keeping a fleet in top working condition. Below, we explain the benefits of fleet services, which services are frequently used, and how shops can prepare for fleet services to keep equipment assets properly functioning.
What are the benefits of fleet services?
Fleet services are important because they’re necessary for keeping vehicles running at optimal levels, so fleets effectively accomplish the different jobs for which they’re employed. The reality is that when an owner has only one or two vehicles, it’s relatively easy to keep up with the maintenance and repairs necessary to ensure those vehicles are functioning properly. However, when the number of vehicles gets to be closer to 10 or more—which is usually the case for fleets—these same concerns become even more pronounced. Even relatively simple things like the timely registration and management of titles for vehicles becomes much more complex at this scale, which is one of the reasons why truck fleet management solutions are helpful.
Fleet management services are critical because they streamline these and other various aspects of managing a fleet. They make these processes into a series of distinct steps that are easy to prepare for and follow so vehicles stay on the road longer and perform better. The higher levels of efficiency fleet services enable help to optimize productivity while reducing costs, downtime, and replacements.
What are the different types of fleet services?
There are a number of different fleet services available for the long term sustainability and well being of automotive vehicles. Credible options in this space include fleet management service, fleet maintenance service, fleet repair service, and fleet tire service.
1. Fleet Management Service
Fleet management services may well be the most diverse of the types of services involved in managing a collection of automobiles used for professional purposes. It can include fleet acquisition, in which service agents work with companies to help them identify the most helpful vehicles for achieving their business goals. Fleet management services also pertain to logistical considerations like license and title management.
There are third parties that can manage this vital paperwork for shop owners so they’re compliant with laws for operating vehicles. Fleet management services pertain to GPS systems and intelligently routing fleets so owners can optimize their productivity on the road, see where vehicles are at all times, and ensure they’re performing as they’re supposed to. Heavy duty truck fleet management options can offer this sort of assistance, too.
2. Fleet Maintenance Service
Fleet maintenance services are vital for ensuring there’s minimal downtime for vehicles. This service requires an understanding of the common maintenance required to keep the various systems in an automobile working, like oil changes, topping off fluids, and checking the brakes. It’s invaluable to fleet owners because it allows third-parties to handle these concerns at scale for an entire fleet, which isn’t easy to do without this service. Timely maintenance can significantly reduce the amount of repairs—and their costs—that businesses encounter, which is why it’s always part of complete fleet services. This consideration is particularly relevant for heavy duty truck fleet management solutions.
3. Fleet Repair Service
Although fleet maintenance can reduce the amount of repairs fleets require, at some point fleet repair services will be needed. These services are ideal for accounting for unexpected accidents pertaining to collisions, inclement weather conditions, blowouts, and more. Repair services include aspects of mobile repairs (in which tow trucks and mobile operators come to assist vehicles on the road) and dedicated shops for repairing vehicles. It’s even possible to establish partnerships with such shops so that when vehicles are traveling on interstates, for example, they can be repaired at different shops in different locations.
4. Fleet Tire Service
There are several aspects of fleet tire services that make them pivotal to fleet owners. Tire services include purchasing tires, fixing them under warranty, replacing them, and even patching tires as necessary. Since tires are where the rubber meets the road, they’re invaluable for keeping vehicles operating optimally. The ability to streamline the for an entire fleet alleviates what otherwise would be a considerable headache for owners.
How can shops prepare for fleet services?
The best way for shops to prepare for fleet services is to adopt a modern software solution for managing all aspects of the shop. Shopmonkey has a solution that is tailored to the needs of and for managing other types of vehicles. With this software, shops can stay abreast of work orders for assisting fleets, payment concerns, and supply chain and logistics issues for keeping fleets in proper working order.
