5 Signs Your Business Needs a Fleet Maintenance System

While businesses sometimes tighten their belts to adjust to market realities, sometimes they have to spend money to save money. The return on investment can make strategic buys worthwhile.

If your business needs a fleet of vehicles and wants to maximize availability, it’s a good idea to invest in a fleet maintenance solution. You should be more deliberate about the upkeep of your vehicles since doing otherwise might result in the cars being out for repairs too often.

Even if you have the resources to employ someone who can maintain and repair company vehicles, an in-house mechanic can be more efficient using a fleet maintenance application.

If you’re unconvinced about the need to go that route, consider these five telltale signs a fleet maintenance system is a must for your business.

1. Poor Record-Keeping

A good fleet maintenance platform is a must if your in-house team isn’t on the ball when it comes to record-keeping. Record-keeping isn’t just essential for ensuring your fleet vehicles are properly maintained. It can also factor into compliance issues. Fleet maintenance applications will store maintenance logs so your business won’t have to worry about compliance issues with FMCSA, DOT, and other regulations.

2. Downtime Is a Problem

Even the occasional instance of unplanned downtime can hurt your business. But if it happens too often, it can create issues and jeopardize operations. There’s only so much your customers will endure before deciding that enough is enough. The internet makes it easy to find products, and that’s the path some consumers will take if unplanned downtime gets between them and the products they want to buy.

According to Fobes, bad customer service can cost businesses globally north of $3.7 trillion each year. The reality is that consumer loyalty only goes so far — and many consumers are more loyal to their monthly budgeting and will patronize based on price points. But avoiding unplanned downtime will increase the odds of customers staying put.

3. Lack of Preventive Maintenance Scheduling

If you want your vehicles on the road when they should be, preventative maintenance is a must. You can’t simply leave it up to someone to remember since people often forget. A fleet maintenance application will ensure you don’t fall behind on inspections, oil changes, brake service, tire rotations, and other essential items.

Failing to stay on top of proper maintenance can cause premature wear and tear that forces you to take cars off the road. Remember that unplanned downtime is a major problem that’s best avoided. While you can’t eliminate all the chances of it happening, you can reduce risks.

4. Difficulty Tracking Multiple Vehicles & Locations

It can be hard to keep track of the maintenance and repair schedules if your fleet of vehicles spans multiple locations. Without the centralized system that a fleet maintenance application affords, you may be unable to ensure the proper upkeep of your cars, trucks, and vans.

Without a fleet maintenance platform, you’ll have a hard time managing an inventory spread out across various buildings. That could cause more problems than it’s worth.

5. Inconsistent Driver Reports

Another reason to invest in the right fleet maintenance software is to prevent inconsistent driver reports. If your drivers don’t report issues in a timely manner, fleet vehicles might not get the work they need on time.

That can, over time, cause worse problems. A fleet maintenance system will provide automated alerts so nothing slips between the cracks.

While you can technically get by without fleet maintenance software, doing so will make things harder than they need to be. Your best bet is to test-drive some fleet maintenance platforms to see what’s out there and find the right solution for your business.