strategicinsight
fleet management
market gets a lift
As they struggle with costs in a down
economy, lift truck fleet managers are
turning to outside specialists for help.
that a surprising number of DC managers are unable to provide a detailed accounting of
their fleet costs and usage patterns. Yet knowing the answers to those questions is especially important these days, and for a very simple reason: Managers are under intense
pressure to control their industrial truck fleet expenses. But in order to manage these
costs, they first have to know what they’re spending.
It comes as no surprise, then, that customers are turning to providers of fleet management services to help them make the most of their assets. Sales of new trucks may be
down, but vendors say they’re seeing an upswing in demand for systems and services that
collect and analyze lift truck data.
“We know that buyers are not buying, but that doesn’t mean purchasing [executives]
and CFOs aren’t looking at what they’re spending,” observes Michael McKean, manager
of fleet marketing and sales for lift truck maker Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A.
This pressure from the top has led companies that previously resisted investing in fleet
management tools to reconsider, says Scot Aitcheson, director of fleet management for
Yale Materials Handling, which manufactures a broad line of industrial trucks. “I can tell
you that consistently, customers … want to be engaged, and they want visibility. They
need to have data. They are really making what they do more scientific.”
These days, more and more DC and fleet managers are feeling the heat, vendors say.
“With the economy the way it is, a lot of warehouses and DCs, especially in the home
improvement and retail sectors, have felt a lot of pressure to cut down on overhead,
reduce maintenance costs, and reduce fleet costs overall,” says Joe LaFergola, manager of
business and information solutions for lift truck manufacturer Raymond Corp.
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS: EXACTLY
how much do you spend on your lift truck fleet each
year? How much do you spend on each truck? In an
eight-hour shift, how much time does each truck actually spend moving product? Are trucks sitting idle in
your facilities “just in case”?
If you can’t come up with the answers, you’re not
alone. Specialists in lift truck fleet management report
Shock and audit
The first step in any cost-cutting initiative is to gather detailed data across all facets of the
operation. There are two ways to approach this task. One option is to bring in fleet management specialists, either independent consultants or experts affiliated with industrial
