THE CAR AND TRUCK FLEET AND LEASING MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE
Our long-time editor and fleet expert, Mike Antich, offers opinions and ideas on the overall commercial fleet industry and draws interesting comments from fleet managers and other industry professionals from across the country. Mike was inducted in the Fleet Hall of Fame in 2010.
Excessive engine idling doesn’t just consume fuel, it also creates engine hours, which depending on the OEM, are used to determine when the powertrain warranty expires. Also, high engine hours in low-mileage vehicles can create potential pitfalls that inadvertently voids warranty compliance.
Change is percolating in the management of multinational fleets, which is being driven by global market dynamics, evolving procurement trends, and technology platform upgrades that are facilitating cross-border management of individual country fleets.
While there never seems to be enough money to go around, one of the less talked about aspects of fleet management is the amount of budget dollars that are wasted every year.
In a six-month analysis, the FMCSA reported hours of service (HOS) violations have steadily decreased, which is good news and a testament to the efficacy of ELD technology. However, there continue to be negative unintended consequences caused by the constraints and inflexibility with HOS rules that hinder compliance.
Three challenges consistently high on the list for many fleet managers — improving driver safety, mitigating the high cost of fuel, and complying with corporate pressures to reduce fleet’s contribution to the company’s global carbon footprint.
Many times employees who have an “entitlement mentality” do not have a sense of responsibility to take care of the company asset as if it was their own. This impacts fleet costs. A company vehicle in poor condition because of driver abuse or neglect will result in lost resale value or incur unnecessary reconditioning expense at auction.
Not only is last-mile delivery the fastest growing vocational fleet segment, it is also demonstrating that it will be an early adopter exploiting the technologies and business practices that will become the new core fleet management tools to be employed in the next decade of the 2020s.
To get the pulse of the vocational truck and van market, I reached out to a wide cross-section of fleet managers around the country to find out what’s on their minds. Here’s a snapshot of what they told me.
While technology is making vehicles safer, last longer, and be more environmentally friendly, it is also making them increasingly complex. As vehicles become more complex, so do all aspects of vehicle repairs.
One challenge for fleet managers interacting with procurement professionals is understanding the nuances of procurement terminology. Many fleet managers believe the term “procurement” is synonymous with the term “sourcing,” but there are important distinctions between the two functions.
