May 2018 | VehicleServicePros.com 13
“What we’re seeing is customers are becoming
more and more focused on uptime on those
assets,” Mangione adds. “Th e bigger the truck,
the more expensive that asset, and the more
mission-critical those deliveries are.”
Types of contract
services available
Available contracted services
can be categorized into three
main options, with degrees
of customization. Those
options include: dedicated
carriage, full service and
maintenance-only.
Dedicated carriage means
the leasing company provides
the drivers, equipment and
full maintenance services. Full
service refers to the leasing
and maintenance of the equipment.
Maintenance-only is just
that – maintenance services
for the fl eet-owned assets.
Maintenance services
are included in any of the
contracted services above.
There are a variety of
contracted maintenance
services available, depending
on the needs of the fl eet. Some
factors to consider include
the current capabilities of the
maintenance facility. Does the
facility have the proper physical
location, personnel, tools
and equipment, and training
to keep up with demand, both
currently and in the future?
In addition, the fl eet should
determine the level of risk the
facility is willing to take on,
and how much control they’d
like to have in the maintenance
process.
When fl eets are considering
the outsourcing options available,
a key question to address
should be “How much control
do they want to have over the
fi nal outcome?” NationaLease’s
Gallick says. “You’re willing to
take on more risk, as a fl eet, in
exchange for more control over
the maintenance function.”
Diff erent contract service
providers have different
names for these types of
services, but in general they
can be categorized as fi xedcost
maintenance or variable
cost maintenance.
Fixed-cost maintenance
agreement. Oft en referred to
as a “guaranteed” maintenance
agreement, this is a full-service
maintenance product.
Most oft en, fl eets with newer
equipment, or leased equipment,
choose this option. Generally, it’s a fi xed
cost per month and/or fi xed cost per mile for the
life of the agreement. Average contracts are about
fi ve to seven years.
Fixed-cost maintenance agreements provide
a “true picture, looking forward, of budgetable
expenses around maintaining that fl eet,” Gallick
explains. “With the exception of accidents and
things caused by drivers, the costs in that contract
are guaranteed. Th ere is less risk for the customer
and the fl eet, but the fl eet is giving up control of
the maintenance function to a third party.”
On average, fl eets with vehicles three years old
or newer would benefi t from a fi xed-cost maintenance
agreement.
Variable-cost maintenance agreement. Th ere
are varying degrees of customization based on the
services a fl eet selects with variable-cost mainte-
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