Fleet leaders are outsourcing more work than ever. But in the rush to offload repairs, many teams stop tracking the work once it leaves the shop.
And that’s a big problem.
Outsourced repairs still affect:
If you're not tracking them as carefully as in-house jobs, you're flying blind.
Here’s how to treat outsourced repairs like part of your operation, and gain back the visibility you need to improve.
A vendor invoice isn’t a work order. You still need to track:
Use RTA’s Work Order Management to log outsourced jobs with vendor, VMRS codes, and status tracking.
2. Track Status the Same Way You Would In-House Work
Outsourced jobs should have statuses like:
Without this, you can’t calculate true downtime or prioritize asset returns.
3. Use VMRS Codes to Categorize Sublet Work
Don’t just write “outsourced” in your records.
Use VMRS codes to:
RTA’s VMRS coding tools make this easy to apply across your operation.
4. Monitor Vendor Performance Like You Monitor Techs
Vendors are part of your fleet ecosystem. Track:
Use RTA’s BI Dashboards to compare vendor performance just like you would a technician.
5. Understand the Cost of Invisibility
Without tracking, you risk:
Worse: You can’t tell leadership how much outsourcing is really costing.
Tracking = control. Without it, your budget and uptime suffer.
6. Train Your Team to Treat Sublet Work Like Internal Work
Technicians, supervisors, and admin staff should:
Use RTA’s Custom Forms to standardize outsourced job intake and closing.
Conclusion: What Gets Measured Gets Managed, Even If It’s Sublet
Outsourcing isn’t a shortcut. It’s part of your operation. And like any part of your operation, it needs to be measured, tracked, and improved.
Treat outsourced work with the same rigor as internal work, and you’ll:
RTA helps you track outsourced work better, so nothing falls through the cracks.
This article was inspired by a recent episode of our podcast. Check out the full episode for even more motor pool tips and tricks: