• How do fleet managers actually make vendor decisions, and how could they be made better?

• What steps can fleet managers and vendors take to form more productive and efficient partnerships?

• Where are the gaps between what vendors promise and what fleet managers experience day to day?

These questions get at the heart of the fleet manager/vendor relationship and formed the basis of a panel seminar at the 2025 Fleet Forward Conference in San Diego on Oct. 21. 

The discussion included Jim Petrillo, fleet and treasury services manager for Fujifilm, Kimberly Fisher, director of global fleet & travel at NOV Inc., and Mark Booker, safety engineer & transportation manager at Nashville Electric Service. 

Their perspectives revealed what fleets expect from vendors (and vice versa), where relationships break down, and what long-term partnerships really look like, with the goal of collaboration to enact positive change. 

What Keeps a Vendor, and What Gets One Fired?

Across fleet operations, baseline performance is assumed, as vendors are expected to deliver what they promised. What determines longevity, however, goes well beyond contractual obligations.

Jim Petrillo said reliability is only the starting point. What matters just as much is responsiveness and access.

“I need to see that the vendor is putting in the effort to service us the way we need to be serviced,” Petrillo said. “And I need to have a relationship with someone I can get on the phone.”

He explained that being treated like a “small fish in a big pond” is a fast way to erode confidence, particularly when service is routed exclusively through call centers. Petrillo cited a recent decision to terminate a vendor relationship after repeated failures to reach a live contact.

For him, a clear deal-breaker occurs when vendors shift operational burden back onto the fleet team or drivers.

“When I’m spending too much time, or worse, when our drivers or their managers are spending too much time trying to manage the vendor’s process, that’s when it’s over,” he said.

Collaboration Over Transaction

Kimberly Fisher said collaboration means engaging in problem-solving conversations, not simply approving or rejecting a fleet manager’s proposed solution.

“If you say you’re consultative, be consultative,” Fisher said. “I’m okay with you telling me my solution won’t work. But then work with me to solve the problem.”

She added that price alone will never compensate for a lack of engagement, particularly when senior fleet managers are personally involved in escalating an issue. “If I’m calling you myself, that means there’s a bigger problem,” Fisher said. “I need help solving it.”

Customer Service Red Lines

All three panelists agreed that customer service failures are among the fastest ways to damage vendor relationships, especially when communication breaks down.

Fisher said expectations must be clearly defined at the start of a relationship, including what the vendor expects from the customer in return. She also drew a hard line on call-center-only models:

“I don’t want a relationship with a call center,” she said. “I want to be able to pick up the phone.” 

Petrillo added that silence is often worse than bad news. “If there’s an issue, especially billing or system-related, and you knew about it but didn’t tell me, that’s major,” he said. “I don’t expect perfection, but I do expect communication.”

He added that responsiveness does not require immediate resolution, but it does require acknowledgment. “Even if the response is, ‘I have your request and I’m looking into it,’ that’s fine,” Petrillo said. “As long as they follow through.”

Fisher also stressed the importance of accountability through formal mechanisms, saying she will no longer sign vendor contracts without service-level agreements or key performance indicators that include financial consequences.

“If you penalize me for paying late, then I’m going to penalize you for not meeting your service levels,” she said, noting that the intent is not punitive but corrective.

Turnover, Succession, and Institutional Knowledge

Vendor turnover — particularly among account managers and OEM representatives — has become a growing pain point.

Mark Booker said continuity matters because fleet relationships are built over years, not sales cycles. When those relationships are deeply integrated, teams can often absorb personnel changes, but only up to a point.

Fisher distinguished between healthy turnover, such as internal promotions, and disruptive turnover that places inexperienced staff on complex accounts. “If I have to teach your employee how to do their job, you’re just raising my frustration level,” she said.

She urged vendors to understand their clients’ operational complexity and even personality dynamics when assigning account teams, adding that mismatched temperaments can undermine otherwise capable relationships.

Petrillo said he views his FMC account team as an extension of his own staff. When replacements lack training or institutional knowledge, productivity suffers immediately.

“There needs to be a hierarchy in place to support new reps,” he said. “It’s not my job to spend a lot of extra time holding their hand.”

Fisher also pointed to a broader industry challenge: the loss of seasoned professionals at the OEM level.

“We’ve lost a lot of knowledgeable people,” she said. “Succession planning matters because when that knowledge walks out the door, it impacts everyone.”

Procurement Realities and RFP Fatigue

Procurement requirements vary widely between public- and private-sector fleets, but fatigue with formal RFP processes is widespread.

Booker explained that as a public utility, Nashville Electric Service is required to use RFQs or RFPs. However, extensive front-end research allows his team to define clear benchmarks before issuing them.

“You’re either in, above, or out,” Booker said, describing a disciplined vetting process that reduces inefficiency.

Fisher said private-sector fleets increasingly prefer ongoing market engagement over full-scale RFPs. “If I never have to do a full-blown RFP again, I’ll thank the good Lord,” she said.

Instead, she emphasized maintaining dialogue with capable vendors well before procurement cycles begin to ensure familiarity when formal pricing is required.

Petrillo added that conferences and peer networking play a critical role in that process, allowing fleet managers to establish relationships long before they’re signed as a client and a need becomes urgent.

Solving for Tech Failures and System Strains

Technology failures are inevitable, the panelists agreed. Silence is not.

Fisher said early notification, even without firm timelines, makes issues far easier to manage. “If you don’t know when it’s going to be fixed, be honest,” she said. “Don’t promise tomorrow and miss it.”

Booker noted that vendors are not always aware of system failures, particularly in areas like EV charging, billing, or reporting integration. He encouraged fleets to bring up problems early. “You can’t fix what you can’t see.” 

Petrillo said mergers and acquisitions introduce additional risk, particularly when increased volume strains systems that were not designed for scale.

“I need to know what’s happening, why it’s happening, and when it’s going to be resolved,” he said. “And then I need to see results.”

Making the Case for Value Over Price

When higher-cost vendors are the right choice, fleet managers must justify those decisions internally.

Booker said that this begins with research and understanding where value aligns with organizational goals, then articulating that connection clearly to leadership.

Fisher added that efficiency is often the most persuasive argument. “If it costs a little more but saves time, that matters,” she said. “Time is money.”

Petrillo noted that peer benchmarking strengthens those conversations, particularly when senior leaders also drive fleet vehicles.

“It really helps when it affects them personally,” he said.

Change Management and Adoption

Technology adoption success depends on execution, Fisher said. 

When NOV rolled out telematics, the company conducted multiple training sessions for drivers and managers that clearly explained what was being measured and why.

She also emphasized the need to engage end users early. “Talk to a subset of drivers and managers before rollout,” Fisher said. “What makes sense to us may not make sense to them.”

That engagement, she said, dramatically improves acceptance and long-term success.

The Long Game

When asked to share examples of successful vendor relationships, all three panelists returned to the same theme: trust built over time.

Booker described a relationship that developed over nearly a decade before any business was conducted. It was built on conversation, consistency, and credibility.

Petrillo pointed to annual in-person working sessions that strengthen alignment beyond transactional interactions.

Fisher shared a similar story of a vendor who applied no pressure after an initial meeting, only to be selected months later when a real need emerged.

“They didn’t push,” she said. “They stayed present. And when the time came, we were ready.”

Building Better Fleet Ecosystems

Fleet managers are clearly not anti-vendor. They are pro-accountability.

Strong partnerships are built on communication, transparency, and shared responsibility. Vendors who listen first, plan for continuity, and stay engaged through challenges earn long-term trust.

As these fleet managers made clear, the most successful relationships reflect a deep understanding of fleet realities and a willingness to evolve alongside them.