Think about where your business started and where it is now. Initially an idea, your business likely evolved into a brick-and-mortar store. From there, you started shopping for fleet trucks for sale and added your first vehicle to improve your services and customer outreach. Now, your fleet has grown from one to five or maybe more, fostering ongoing growth as you provide services to customers across the city, perhaps even the state.
While you only dreamed of this level of growth, the reality is sometimes a bit overwhelming. As a business owner, you wear many hats––managing products, services, and your team. Now, with expanding services and more vehicles, you’re also tasked with managing your fleet. So, what does this level of fleet management entail? What do you need to know before adding another fleet truck to your growing lineup?
What Is a Fleet?
While most people immediately think of Fed-Ex and UPS trucks as fleet vehicles, many other businesses operate with fleet trucks, vans, and commercial vehicles. But what is considered a fleet? A company has a fleet if it has five or more vehicles, with small-business fleets ranging between five and 50 vehicles. So, what types of businesses rely on fleet cars, trucks, and vans? Florists with flower delivery services, maintenance providers, furniture and appliance technicians, and grocers with food delivery services typically use fleet vehicles to reach their customers.
Why Are Fleet Trucks Essential to Business Growth?
While building your fleet of work trucks can be intimidating and financially overwhelming at times, the investment often outweighs the risk. How so? Fleet trucks mobilize your business and give you more opportunities to reach customers efficiently and provide services. For example, a fleet truck is necessary for an electrician, but it can also improve a florist’s reputation by offering delivery services with every order.
Businesses, like those that rely on deliveries, often consider outsourcing this work to another party. However, this can quickly increase overhead and cut into your profits. For example, you may pay up to 22% more for someone else to deliver your product. Is that additional cost worth it when you have the team available and can add a fleet truck to your business? In most cases, it’s not, leading many companies to turn to fleet vehicles.
The Essentials of Fleet Management
Think about anytime you add an employee to your team. First, you start the process by vetting and interviewing potential candidates before making an offer. Then, you oversee the new employee’s onboarding, ensuring the required paperwork, like tax documents, payroll information, and non-disclosure agreements, are complete. From there, you train the employee and actively ensure they have opportunities to succeed with your company.
The same is true for your fleet. Managing your fleet means overseeing everything your work trucks need to serve your business mile after mile. At the very minimum, this includes vetting potential work trucks, finalizing the purchase, obtaining the title, and securing the appropriate licensing and insurance. However, your fleet responsibilities don’t stop there.
Upfits
Managing your fleet starts with finding the right work truck and upfitting it to your business needs. For example, you may need something as simple as toolboxes and cargo-hauling solutions for the bed or something more complex like a delivery van upfit. Deciding on the right upfits requires looking at your business’s current needs and plans for future growth.
Compliance and Insurance
An integral part of managing your fleet is ensuring it’s compliant with local, state, and federal regulations. For example, every fleet vehicle must be insured, which means you’ll need to find affordable coverage before putting your work truck on the road. There are also many other federal regulations, some of which depend on the vehicle’s type or size. For example, many fleet vehicles must have hours-of-service logs and driver-vehicle inspection reports. You’ll also have to adequately pre-screen employees and conduct random and post-incident substance and alcohol abuse testing.
Maintenance
Protecting your investment is integral to managing your fleet because, as a business owner, it’s essential to get the most out of your vehicle. For example, routine oil changes are critical to extending the life of your engine, just as regular tire rotations can promote even tread wear and longer-lasting tires. This maintenance becomes a balancing act as your fleet grows because you don’t want your entire fleet out of service at once. Instead, it helps to stagger these maintenance needs so that your business never sees a down day where it can’t meet customer demands.
Safety and Accident Management
You likely know what to do if you’re involved in an accident in your personal vehicle. However, this changes when someone else is behind the wheel. So what should your team do when a fleet truck is involved in a collision or accident? What federal laws regulate how you respond in these situations?
Safety and accident management is your responsibility and begins by educating your team on safety protocols. For example, seatbelts are non-negotiable. Many businesses prohibit phone use while the vehicle is moving. Likewise, your team needs to know what to do if they’re involved in a collision. Who do they call first, and what can they expect after the incident?
Route Planning and Fuel Management
Route planning and fuel management go hand-in-hand. Fuel is typically the highest cost of running a fleet, especially when numerous vehicles are constantly in use. While reducing fuel costs is out of your hands, you can take a few proactive steps to safeguard your business from excessive fuel use and theft. For example, planning routes with multiple stops or deliveries is an excellent way to increase efficiency. Likewise, you can issue fuel cards to the team or require after-delivery reports that list mileage and fuel level so that you can closely monitor fuel consumption.
Team Management
The number of fleet trucks you have typically matches the growth of your business, and with that comes a growing team. As you add more trucks, you need more drivers to handle the ever-increasing demands. Suddenly, you’re not only managing your regular staff, but you’re also managing a growing workforce of drivers that are standing on the front lines of your business.
Managing your team of drivers can be hectic. It is essential to coordinate their routes, so their deliveries or appointments align with customer needs. At the same time, it’s critical to thoroughly vet your drivers, ensuring they are responsible and can handle the demands of the road.
Why Investing in a Fleet Truck Means Investing in Your Future
Investing in a fleet truck is an investment in the future of your business. The idea you had years, or even decades ago, to provide a service or unique product is now a reality. However, you know you can offer more and that your growth doesn’t end here.
Mobilizing your business with a fleet truck allows you to reach more customers and expand your suite of services. You’re no longer relegated to your corner of the world but can foster growth by taking your business on the road. In doing so, you’re bringing your vision to life and positively impacting the company by providing services and building your reputation as a reputable employer.
As you add more fleet trucks to your lineup, consider the importance of managing your fleet with the same keen attention to detail as you set out to bring your vision to life day after day. Your fleet is an integral part of your business, requiring vetting before every purchase and maintenance every few thousand miles on the road. With proper management and an appreciation for what your fleet can do for your business, you’ll find your fleet trucks are part of the well-oiled machine bringing your professional dreams to life.
