Problem

This client in the construction materials industry has, over the course of its acquisitions, built a private fleet of more than 100 vehicles in both Canada and the United States. After an analysis of the escalating maintenance costs and requests for replacement vehicles, it became evident to the company’s transport team that they did not have the resources or the skills to manage this private fleet. Several scenarios were considered, such as:

• The dismantling of the fleet and outsourcing to external carriers

• The creation of a fleet management group, the hiring of staff and the acquisition of a vehicle maintenance management system

• Outsourcing of fleet management to a partner

Solution

We supported this client in analyzing the costs and issues related to their fleet. Comparative studies for each of the scenarios were made. The solution of outsourcing the fleet to a partner was chosen. We developed a partner selection grid and participated in its selection based on the following criteria:

• Provide coverage in both Canada and the United States

• Provide a maintenance and fuel card accepted in a majority of service points

• Provide a center of mechanical expertise to assess the relevance of the repairs suggested by the various garages.

• Provide expertise and facilitate the acquisition of new trucks

  Propose a maintenance plan for all the company’s trucks

• Allow the renewal of vehicle registrations

• Manage the sale of used trucks

Results

Fleet management outsourcing saved nearly $2,000 per truck for a truck management cost of less than $170 per year. In addition, purchasing vehicles directly from manufacturers resulted in savings of over 20% per vehicle compared to vehicles purchased from dealers. Finally, the vehicle maintenance program, the management of registrations and the resale of used trucks have enabled this client to be proactive with its fleet of vehicles and to refocus on its main activities, namely sales and distribution of hardware products.