Fleet management is a commonly known term for managing vehicles of every type, including commercial cars, buses, trailers, but also private vehicles that are used for work, then the aircraft, ships, and other machines that are based on the same principle of working. So, practically, fleet management is vehicle management, which includes many actions and functions, like leasing, maintenance, supplies, accident management, and every possible aspect that comes to your mind when you think about the cars and other vehicles used every day.
You can find a lot of useful explanations on transervice.com and you will learn every possible aspect, and decide if you can do that all by yourself, or you will have to take care using an outsource company.
If an engine is nicely managed, you will save a lot on fuel, and also prevent breakdowns. It may be an expensive action, but the fleet maintenance costs will prevent dangerous situations due to irregularities in the long term. Even when you have a bigger issue with the car, if there was regular fleet maintenance, the repairs won’t cost a lot. Also, you are improving the safety, knowing that the risks are lower when the car is regularly diagnosed and even the tiniest damage is fixed on time.
Many users are asking themselves if they can do that in-house, or should hire a specialist for this purpose. It depends on a lot of factors, like the type of business, the workforce available, the costs, the number of fleet vehicles, and so on.
In this article, we will try to cover all the aspects of both approaches, including the benefits and disadvantages of in-house and outsourcing fleet management:
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Pros of in-house fleet management
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- You can have control over the costs and monitor the whole process by yourself. This is a case only if you know and you and your team are skilled enough to handle such a problem, no matter how big it is.
- You won’t have transport expenses if you decide to stick to this option, especially if there is no company around you that can help you with this one. If they need to come from another city, their prices can be much higher than doing it all by yourself.
- It’s easier to stay within the budget frames. Also, you can have a deeper inspection of what’s happening, and you can control all the needed data, without having to provide sensitive information to third parties.
Pros of outsourcing fleet management
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- They can provide new ideas on how to maintain the documents, licenses, and mechanic aspects. That means you can learn a lot from them, and see unique approaches to handling the whole thing.
- The risk of losing track of what you are doing is much lower when outsource skills are here to support you in what you do. If there are a lot of vehicles, you have to take care of every license, technical checks, cleaning and washing them, and so on, and it’s easy to skip some step, of course, not on purpose.
- They are focused only on the vehicles’ aspects and dedicated to everything related to them. When someone is focused on a particular task, the chances for mistakes due to distraction are lower.
Surely, there are some disadvantages that we must mention in this article, for both the aspects:
Cons of in-house fleet management
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- There can be too many vehicles and far fewer people who have the needed skills to figure these things out.
- The costs can be bigger than we plan, especially when there are plenty of cars and other commercial vehicles that need to be properly managed. The lack of proper equipment may also increase the overall cost.
- The lack of new technologies can make the whole process slower than it’s supposed to be, even though the costs are easier to manage. There is always space for improvement, but at some point, professionals will make much different than the people who already work at the company.
Cons of outsourcing fleet management
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- Contracts include a lot of hidden expenses, and that causes plenty of headaches to those who need to handle them. Also, it takes a lot of time until you find a company reliable enough.
- They may not fit your budget. And you don’t need to set for less, since this is a pretty sensitive thing to handle and run. So, the search for a good company can be exhausting enough like managing the whole thing by yourself.
- There may not be savings, but the only more professional approach in managing the fleet vehicle in your business.
Is there any practical solution that combines the two approaches?
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You can hire a company for some specific things, and run all the other aspects of the fleet management alone, or with your team at work. Every help is useful and will save a lot of time, money, and stress if you decide to take it. You can easily figure out which things you can handle by yourself, and which ones need professional action.
For example, you can take full advantage of the bp fuel card benefits without the need of a professional lead. This will enable you to track and save on fuel expenses. Although, it is advised to seek help if you are unsure.”
As you can see, there are plenty of benefits, but also disadvantages with every choice, and you will have to manage that the best you can, so you can optimize the time and money needed for the things to be done.
Buying proper software is also beneficial because you can optimize the whole thing with only one investment. But, as we said, it’s easier to determine which actions you can take and handle, and which ones require more dedication and a professional approach.
This one seems like an easy process, but it’s not, because every day, something happens, and you will have to deal with it immediately, like expired licenses, small accidents, washing and cleaning, and so on.
Probably, the best way is to find the right combination of skills, and use them properly, even if that means hiring an outsource company to help you. That’s the only way to be sure things are done properly.
