Fleet managers reveal what's working with their SMR policies

When it comes to service, maintenance and repair (SMR) work, fleet managers have revealed that they prefer outsourcing vehicle maintenance, rather than through in-house workshops.

The following views were gathered at a recent Fleet200 Strategy Network meeting held at Kenwood Hall Hotel, Sheffield.

SMR policies: In-house workshops vs outsourced maintenance - what works?

• Outsource maintenance work for the benefit of passing the management on to someone else – having a third party who could challenge the supplier on part delays, vehicle downtime, service regime and costs associated.
• Third party provides a cost model to manage maintenance, which is more effective and saves the hassle of quantifying the costs of running a workshop.
• “No-brainer” to outsource it – as no control over parts or inventory management in-house. When a cost evaluation of rent rates, employment charges and pensions was conducted – it “made sense” to close workshops down and outsource, one fleet manager said.
• Managing in-house requires constant investments in workshop technology and training of technicians. Technological changes with vehicles (electric models) require training of technicians to work on the new vehicle technology which was difficult to keep up with – it’s “just easier” to outsource it. Not viable to keep the skills gap closed.
• When it concerns hybrid models, one fleet manager said they felt they were “being pushed” by manufacturers to get vehicles “maintained properly” due to new vehicle technology, which does not allow small issues with vehicles to be fixed in-house, such as changing a lightbulb on a vehicle, with ease.
• Fleet managers said that they use telematics to inform leasing companies of any vehicle faults and be proactive in scheduling SMR work – which has created a “domino effect of efficiency in everything we do”. Doing this avoids bottlenecks in supply and parts. One fleet manager recommended putting vehicles in for service four weeks earlier than needed to generate savings – as technology is readily available to provide the “full picture” of a vehicle, including mileage, parts, breakdowns etc.
• Fleet managers risk escalating servicing and maintenance costs by failing to get driver behaviour, utilisation, optimisation and decarbonisation right at the beginning.
• Debate on managing in-house or outsourcing depends on what you want to manage and at what cost, is your business to deliver a service or manage your own?
• However, the downside to outsourcing is the shortage within the workforce, which has put increased pressure on the outsource workshops of being overwhelmed by demand.
• When it comes to ‘with maintenance’ versus unbundling SMR from the lease company, it depends on the budget – do you want a consistent budget for your maintenance that you can review and look at a rebated element based on your level of spend or do you want to pay-as-you-go (PAYG)?
• Wouldn't want to go PAYG, "makes life a lot easier" when it comes to budgeting, to include in one package.
• Incentivise, not penalize drivers to look after vehicles by using league tables or rewarding them with shopping vouchers.