strategicinsight LIFT TRUCK FLEET MANAGEMENT
program, they contend, users have immediate access to
detailed data on all of the vehicles they oversee. Not only
can that information help streamline daily operations, they
say, but it’s also useful for strategic decision-making. For
example, data on a vehicle’s operating history could prove
invaluable to a manager who’s trying to determine whether
a vehicle has reached the end of its useful life.
All over the map
The spotty use of fleet management programs in North
American DCs was just one of the key findings of DC
VELOCITY’S lift truck survey, which was conducted earlier
this summer. In all, 362 readers representing a broad cross
section of industries completed the online questionnaire,
which looked at how companies manage the trucks in their
warehouses and DCs. The largest share of respondents— 41
percent—worked in wholesale or industrial distribution,
followed by 17 percent from consumer goods manufacturing and 14 percent from the retail sector.
The fleets run by the survey respondents range from the
very small— 10 or fewer trucks—to the very large (more
than 100 vehicles). However, most fell somewhere in
between. The majority ( 57 percent) of the respondents
operate fleets with fewer than 25 units, and another 31 percent oversee fleets of between 26 and 100 trucks. Only 12
percent had a fleet of more than 100 trucks.
As for the type of trucks these operations use, electric
vehicles topped the list. A full 88 percent of the respondents
said their fleet included electric models. Other vehicles
mentioned included internal combustion units (used by 26
percent of the respondents) and liquid petroleum-powered
vehicles ( 25 percent). In a sign of the times, 2 percent
reported using trucks powered by fuel cells.
Roughly three-fifths of the survey respondents ( 59 percent) own the trucks they operate, while another 11 percent
lease or rent their vehicles. Thirty percent reported using
some combination of buying and leasing.
When it comes to maintaining and repairing their trucks,
most of the survey respondents have chosen the outsourc-
EXHIBIT 1
what fleet managers monitor
Metric
Repair costs for individual trucks
Hours of equipment utilization (by individual truck)
Equipment repairs for individual trucks
Standard maintenance
Equipment utilization by driver
Fuel or power usage for individual trucks
of users
81
80
78
64
25
12
WHEN IT COMES TO THE TYPE OF RECORDS FLEET MANAGERS KEEP, REPAIR
COSTS TOPPED THE LIST.
EXHIBIT 2
who’s using fleet management
programs (by size of fleet)
13%
87%
One to 10 trucks
22%
78%
11 to 25 trucks
23%
77%
26 to 50 trucks
46%
54%
51 to 100 trucks
67%
; Has program
; Does not have program
More than 100 trucks
33%
OPERATORS OF LARGE FORKLIF T FLEETS ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE FORMAL FLEET
MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS IN PLACE THAN THEIR SMALLER COUNTERPARTS.
ing route. Nearly half the respondents ( 44 percent) have
their vehicles serviced by dealers, while 27 percent use third
parties. Another 27 percent reported that they used some
combination of dealers, in-house operations, and third parties. Only 9 percent—typically those with the largest
fleets—said they handled all of their maintenance and
repairs in house.
Tracking the trucks
While their approaches to data collection may vary, the
majority of respondents do keep some kind of records on
their vehicles. Eighty-one percent track repair costs for each
truck, 80 percent keep tabs on the hours each vehicle is
used, and 78 percent maintain logs on the repairs made to
each truck. In addition, 64 percent keep records on routine
maintenance work, like tire and battery replacements. Only
25 percent track equipment utilization by specific drivers.
(See Exhibit 1.)
Notably, while four out of five respondents keep some
type of records, they don’t necessarily pull out these records
when they go to make vehicle replacement decisions. Just 59
percent of the survey respondents said they used the data
they collected to determine when to replace a truck.
As for how respondents go about collecting vehicle performance data, methods range from the strictly manual to
the highly automated. Predictably, the research found a
strong correlation between fleet size and the use of electronic recorders, with the large fleets far more likely to use
