What does it take to keep vehicle care running smoothly across more than 30 locations? For Eric Kilgore of ACERTUS, it takes adaptability, strong partnerships, a focus on people, and maybe a little bit of an... octopus mindset.

In this edition of Fleet Meets, Kilgore shares how an operations background led to a career in fleet, what goes into creating consistency at scale, why the strongest vendor relationships go beyond transactions, and why the future of fleet can be summed up in one word: connected.

How did you first find your way into the fleet industry?

Kilgore: My path into fleet was not necessarily a straight line. My background has been primarily in operations and service delivery, and I have spent much of my career working in environments where the challenge was figuring out how to take something complicated and make it work better at scale.

That eventually led me into fleet, where I found a really interesting combination of operations, technology, logistics, customer experience, and vendor management. There are a lot of moving pieces, and small improvements can have a very significant impact when you are operating at scale.

At ACERTUS, I have had the opportunity to bring that operational background into Vehicle Care Services and help grow it from a service function into a more structured, scalable part of the business. That has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career because I have been able to build something while also continuing to learn the industry.

What is your typical workday like?

Kilgore: There really is not a typical day, which is probably one of the things I enjoy most about the job.

I am usually balancing the immediate needs of the operation with the bigger picture. That can mean looking at what is happening today, where we are seeing challenges, what our teams and vendors need, and how we make sure the customer gets the right outcome. At the same time, I am thinking about how we make Vehicle Care Services more efficient, where we can use technology or data differently, how we can improve our processes, and how we can make something that works in one location scalable across the network.

A big part of that is my team. Developing people and helping them grow is an important part of my role. I enjoy mentoring my team, helping them work through challenges, giving them opportunities to take ownership, and helping them think beyond the task in front of them. I believe that building a strong operation starts with building the people who are going to help lead it.

That allows me to spend more time working on the operation rather than just working in it. I am constantly looking for ways to turn individual solutions into repeatable processes and ultimately make Vehicle Care Services a differentiator for ACERTUS.

And, of course, there are always a few unexpected things that show up during the day. That is part of fleet.

You oversee Vehicle Care Services across more than 30 hub locations across the U.S. What is the biggest challenge in creating consistency across an operation of that scale?

Kilgore: Consistency is probably the biggest challenge, but it is also one of the biggest opportunities.

When you are operating across multiple locations, you have different markets, vendors, customers, teams, and local dynamics. You cannot simply create one process and assume it will work exactly the same way everywhere.

One of the things we have focused heavily on with Vehicle Care Services is creating the infrastructure around the operation, including clear processes, expectations, reporting, vendor accountability, and feedback loops. The goal is to give people a consistent framework while still allowing the operation to adapt to the realities of each market.

That approach is a big part of what makes VCS an industry differentiator for ACERTUS. We are not just trying to complete individual services. We are building a scalable operating model that can deliver a consistent experience across a large network.

And that is really the challenge at scale: taking something that can be very local and making it repeatable without losing the flexibility that the operation needs.

You have worked with tons of vendors. What is the secret to a good working relationship with them?

Kilgore: I think it comes down to treating vendors like partners while still holding everyone accountable.

The best vendor relationships I have had are not transactional. Both sides understand what success looks like, communicate when something is not working, and are willing to have difficult conversations when necessary.

I also think you have to understand your vendor's business. We are asking our partners to operate in a very dynamic environment, and understanding their challenges helps us find solutions that actually work.

But partnership does not mean lowering the bar. In my experience, the strongest relationships are the ones where expectations are very clear and both sides know they are accountable for delivering.

Eventually, the relationship becomes less about calling each other when there is a problem and more about working together to improve the operation.

What is one misconception about today's fleet industry?

Kilgore: I think one misconception is that fleet is primarily about moving vehicles from one place to another.

Transportation is obviously a huge part of the industry, but there is an entire ecosystem that supports a vehicle throughout its lifecycle. At ACERTUS, that includes title and registration, upfitting, storage, maintenance and vehicle care, logistics, technology, and last-mile delivery.

One of the things I appreciate about working at ACERTUS is that we have teams supporting these different parts of the vehicle lifecycle. There is a real opportunity when those capabilities work together rather than operating independently, because we can address more of the customer needs through one connected operation.

From my perspective, the future of fleet is going to be increasingly about connecting those pieces and making the overall experience more seamless for the customer.

What is the best career advice you have ever received?

Kilgore: Do not wait for someone to give you permission to solve a problem.

Some of the biggest opportunities in my career have come from seeing something that was not working as well as it could and taking ownership of it. Sometimes that means building a process, sometimes it means bringing people together, and sometimes it means being willing to challenge the way something has always been done.

I have also learned that you do not have to be the smartest person in the room. Surround yourself with people who know things you do not, listen to them, and give them the opportunity to contribute. I have been fortunate to have a strong team around me in Vehicle Care Services, and one of the things I enjoy most about leadership is seeing people develop, take ownership, and make the operation better.

What is something people would be surprised to learn about you outside of work?

Kilgore: Outside of work, I have been developing an idea called Beachside Belonging, which grew out of a simple belief that people need opportunities to connect with others and feel like they belong.

It is very different from what I do professionally, but there is actually a connection between the two. In operations, you are constantly thinking about how people, processes, and resources come together to create an experience. With Beachside Belonging, I have been exploring that same idea in a more personal way, thinking about how we create meaningful connections.

It is still something I am developing, but it is meaningful to me and something I would like to continue building over time.

If you were an animal, what type of animal would you be?

Kilgore: Probably an octopus.

They are incredibly adaptable, intelligent problem-solvers, and able to manage a lot of different things happening at the same time. That feels pretty relevant to what I do.

In my world, there are always multiple things moving at once, including people, vendors, customers, processes, technology, and the unexpected issues that come with operating at scale. You have to be able to adjust quickly without losing sight of the bigger objective.

Plus, an octopus has eight arms, so I feel like there is probably some operational advantage there.

Finish this sentence: “The future of fleet is __________.”

Kilgore: The future of fleet is connected.

We are going to see vehicles, technology, service providers, data, and customers become increasingly connected. The real opportunity is figuring out how to bring all of that information together and turn it into better decisions, more efficient operations, and a better customer experience.

The Vehicle Care Services team is already looking at how we can connect the different pieces of the service experience to create a more predictable, consistent, and scalable operation.

I think the companies that do that well will be able to respond faster, operate more efficiently, and ultimately deliver more value to their customers.