How to Help Reduce Heavy Truck Fleet Operating Costs

Dealers should approach interactions with commercial customers as a partnership that could last years rather than a one-and-done kind of sale. Operating as a partner positions the dealer as the expert who has the fleet’s best interest in mind and wants a relationship that’s more than transactional. A key way to do this? Reduce fleet costs. 

Start With Spec’ing

A good first step to reduce operating costs is to help fleet customers spec their trucks properly.

• Conduct a Spec Review: Some fleets have a habit of ordering trucks with the same specs as their previous models. However, OEMs continually tweak their products to improve efficiency and safety. Have salespeople review existing specs with Fleet Managers and explain OEM updates.
• Spec for Duty Cycle: Dealers should ensure they thoroughly understand a fleet’s various duty cycles. There’s no one-size-fits-all truck spec. If a truck is over-spec’d for its duty cycle, the fleet ends up paying too much in up-front costs. However, an under-spec’d truck will likely be in the shop more frequently because components aren’t robust enough to handle a more rugged duty cycle. Dealers can suggest vehicle specs that are best suited for each one. 

Focus on Timely Maintenance

No matter how well a truck is spec’d, it’ll cost fleets if it’s not maintained properly.

• Review the Maintenance Contract: Discuss maintenance contracts with fleets during the sales process. Contracts can be incorporated into financing and help ensure vehicles are properly maintained. They also put the burden of the truck's maintenance on the dealer and offer the chance to demonstrate commitment to the fleet’s success.
• Help Fleets Set Proper Maintenance Intervals: Proper maintenance intervals will be influenced by various factors, including the truck's age, the duty cycle, the terrain, the climate it operates in, and more. There isn’t any correct maintenance interval for an entire fleet. Dealers can help  fleets set the proper maintenance intervals for an asset class or asset-by-asset basis.
• Ensure Maintenance Compliance: Even the best maintenance schedule won’t work if maintenance is deferred. Dealers must work with fleets to ensure every vehicle comes into the shop for its scheduled maintenance service. Send regular updates on trucks that have missed their service appointments, and work with fleets to get those vehicles in as soon as possible.

Leverage Repair Data

Service events can yield a wealth of data. Dealers should capture extensive Service histories on every vehicle, analyze that data, and share the analysis with fleet management.

• Spot Wear Trends: Dealers can leverage Service history from planned and unplanned repairs to spot wear trends and then determine if the issues result from improper vehicle use, driver behavior or incorrect vehicle spec. Dealers can suggest new maintenance intervals, work with fleets to revise specs for the next order, or help fleets identify drive abuse issues.
• Spot Breakdown Trends: As with wear trends, dealers can use breakdown data to suggest changes in maintenance Service intervals or improve vehicle specs in the future. 

Go a Step Beyond

If a dealer really wants to be a partner with their fleet customers, they’ll need to go beyond the basics. They must understand the fleet’s operation, customers and needs. Changes in customer operations could mean that the fleet doesn’t have the right mix of vehicle sizes and types. 

• Analyze Assets: Help fleet customers right-size their fleets by performing an asset analysis. Dealers need to determine whether the fleet has the right number and types of trucks in operation. They also need to explore asset utilization with the fleet manager to determine if some vehicles are over-utilized while others aren’t being used enough.

When dealers approach their relationships with fleets as partnerships, they can help fleets operate efficiently and retain customers for life.