How can you create a national fleet maintenance program? Whether your fleet is local, regional or nationwide, partnering with the right single source maintenance provider can bring your fleet unmatched quality, priority, accuracy, and reliability, while reducing costs.

As one of the largest providers of outsourced maintenance, Amerit Fleet Solutions has a unique perspective on this topic and we created a few pointers for you to consider.

1. Clearly Identify Your Objectives

Identifying any gaps, pain points or new areas is a great place to start. Establishing clear objectives will allow you to alleviate problem areas and focus on bringing the right benefits to your national fleet maintenance program. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Is there a gap in services or quality across my fleet footprint?
• If you have an outsourced provider, how is their performance and quality? Do they provide real-time accurate data or leave you with “data black holes”?
• Do you have any new areas of service or distribution?
• Are you adding alternative fuel vehicles to your fleet?
• Are there any challenges hiring technicians?

2. Think Regionally

Preventative maintenance schedules, tire programs, winterizing and summarizing fleet vehicles… operating processes all vary depending on where you are located. Before building a national program, try to start with regions that have similar weather conditions and fleet types. Once you have established a functional operation, you can then move on to other areas.

3. Start with a Pilot

Does the thought of turning over the reins to your entire fleet operation make you queasy? Its a big decision with long ranging implications, so before going all in you may want to try a pilot.

Piloting outsourced maintenance first can allow you to put the supplier to the test. There is no better way to see their solution, management and technicians in action while proving that it is best, most cost-effective option for your fleet. Starting small and going big is the best way to mitigate problems while ensuring the benefits you want to bring to your fleet are actually delivered.

4. Focus on Data & Metrics

Find a provider with the capability of data mining and benchmarking for you. Access to fleet data and metrics will greatly impact your ability to proactively forecast and make good fleet and financial decisions. And better yet, a partner that digests the data for you makes your life a whole lot easier in the long run. Amerit provides real-time access to KPI dashboards, giving our clients unprecedented visibility and control.

5. Track, Revise, Roll-out

Be sure to track the performance and any changes for the first 30-60-90 days. Examine closely and determine the immediate impact, mid-term progress, and 90 day effects. You can then determine how to sustain the performance by applying the success and all your learnings to other areas after 90 days.

At the end of the day, the right national maintenance service provider will bring improvements to your fleet, reductions in costs and the opportunity to refocus resources on other important initiatives and objectives. There are many benefits to a single-source national program, but perhaps the biggest takeaway is that the right provider can become a trusted ally for you, your fleet and your bottom-line for years to come.