Be the Reason to Keep It In-House: Proving Fleet Value with Data-Driven Confidence

If you think your fleet operation is safe from outsourcing, think again.

All it takes is one vendor walking into the mayor’s office (or a CFO meeting with a budget slide) for your in-house shop to be scrutinized, questioned, or worse, eliminated. And when it happens, it won’t matter how long you’ve worked there or how loyal your team is.

The only thing that matters is the story your data tells.

In this timely and tactical webinar, industry expert Nathan Schaefer, CAFM and CPFP, shows fleet leaders how to protect their shop from the threat of outsourcing by using their data to prove value, improve performance, and tell a story leadership can’t ignore.

Why In-House Fleet Operations Get Targeted

Fleet shops are under growing pressure from leadership to cut costs and “do more with less.” Outside vendors know this—and they’re pitching every angle possible: faster repairs, cheaper parts, fewer headaches.

Here’s what they don’t tell your stakeholders: lower price doesn’t mean lower total cost.

In fact, the opposite is often true. But if you’re not already armed with dashboards, accurate cost tracking, and performance reporting, their story will sound better than yours.

“If you're not telling your story with real data, someone else will, and their version won’t include the value you bring to the organization.”
— Nathan Schaefer, RTA Fleet Consultant

Four Critical Ways to Defend Your In-House Fleet Operation

1. Track Total Lifecycle Costs (LCA), And Know Your True Cost of Ownership

Nathan shared that one of the most common gaps across fleets is the absence of real lifecycle cost analysis. Many fleets rely only on years or mileage to trigger replacement, but that tells only part of the story.

If you don’t factor in:

• Real maintenance costs (with accurate labor rates)
• Resale value and depreciation
• Cost of downtime
• Upfit cost per use case

You’re likely either overholding or undervaluing your assets, and neither makes you look good to leadership.

“We go into fleets and see that 88% of assets don’t even have a replacement plan in place.”

How RTA Helps:
With dashboards like the Replacement Plan Dashboard and 20-Year Replacement Curve, RTA Fleet360 helps you visualize your asset backlog and justify replacement budgets with confidence.

2. Use Class Codes and VMRS to Standardize Data and Uncover Cost Trends

Trying to manage fleet performance without class codes is like trying to balance your checkbook without knowing what your bills are.

Standardizing your asset and job classifications (using NAFA, APWA, or VMRS) allows you to:

• Analyze spend by vehicle type or job
• Set consistent labor times
• Spot cost anomalies before they spiral

How RTA Helps:
RTA’s Repair History by VMRS and Cost by VMRS Code reports make it easy to see trends like excessive battery failures or high brake costs, so you can take action, improve vendor relationships, or retrain techs before it's too late.

3. Calculate Your True Labor Rate (Most Fleets Don’t)

“90% of fleets I visit don’t have an effective labor rate. They’re guessing, and it’s costing them.”

If your reported labor rate doesn’t include overhead like technician benefits, shop utilities, and admin time, you’re underreporting your costs, and you’re setting yourself up to look artificially cheap, or artificially expensive, depending on the situation.

This directly impacts replacement planning and shop viability.

How RTA Helps:
RTA’s labor tracking tools break down direct vs. indirect time and help you measure technician efficiency against standard repair times (SRTs). You get a true view of productivity and can back up your rate with real numbers.

4. Fix Inventory Leaks and Prove Your Parts ROI

Your parts room isn’t just a shelf. It’s a money pit if not managed correctly. Nathan emphasized that many fleets:

• Don’t track parts issued in real-time
• Let obsolete inventory sit for decades
• Don’t apply proper markups to recoup costs

If your fill rate is low and your techs are constantly waiting for parts, your downtime and labor cost are higher than you think.

How RTA Helps:
With the Parts Dashboard, you can track real-time part usage, fill rates, inventory value, and slow-moving stock. You can set reorder thresholds, apply markups, and justify your parts program with clarity.

Key Takeaways

• Start somewhere. Even a basic replacement rule is better than no plan at all.
• Track real data. Shop rate, parts usage, technician time, all of it needs to be accurate.
• Show, don’t tell. Dashboards like RTA’s Leadership Dashboard and Vehicle Audit Reports help you present your case to leadership before vendors do.
• Outsourcing is often sold as a financial win, but rarely delivers on operational quality. Don’t wait for the pitch to come. Be ready with your numbers.

Who Needs This Advice

This insight is critical for:

• Municipal fleet managers defending their operations from council-driven outsourcing
• Enterprise fleet leaders managing complex, multi-site operations
• New fleet managers building credibility with stakeholders and finance
• Anyone responsible for cost control, uptime, technician productivity, or asset lifecycle planning

The RTA Advantage: More Than Just Software

RTA Fleet360 isn’t just software for fleet maintenance. It’s a fleet maintenance management system that gives you the tools, data, and dashboards you need to defend your operation and optimize every process.

With embedded BI dashboards, parts and labor reporting, replacement plan tools, and VMRS integration, RTA helps you:

• Improve fleet availability
• Reduce downtime
• Accurately forecast replacement
• Prove your shop’s value with confidence

This isn’t just about fighting outsourcing. It’s about building a world-class operation your stakeholders can believe in.

Final Word: Don’t Wait for the Knock at the Door

Leadership is going to ask questions. A vendor is going to come knocking. The only question is: will you be ready to answer with data, or just opinions?

With the right tools, the right reports, and the right story, you won’t just protect your shop, you’ll turn it into a strategic asset that no one wants to give up.