Why You Should Use Benchmarks for Your Fleet Operation
Why You Should Use Benchmarks for Your Fleet Operation
How do you judge if your fleet operation is successful year-over-year, or how it compares to other operations?
One way to track your operation’s progress is by setting benchmarks. By setting a benchmark – a checkpoint or number to which data can be compared to – you can determine how your operation is performing. It’s important to pick metrics to track that are important to the success of your fleet operation.
Setting benchmarks can help you better track your operation’s costs, determine when to replace vehicles and see how you compare to other operations.
Track Operational Costs
Operational costs can encompass many areas, from labor to parts to vehicle downtime and more. To ensure you are staying on track, it’s important to measure how your operation is performing. Setting benchmarks for what you should ideally be spending on labor and parts over a given timeframe and measuring your actual expenses against that number can help you determine if changes need to be made. You can also track how long you’re keeping vehicles off the roads for repairs by measuring downtime. Knowing this information can help your operation set goals and make improvements as needed.
Help Identify When to Replace Vehicles
If you’re not tracking your costs carefully on each vehicle, it can be easy to overspend on an asset. Setting benchmarks can give you an idea of what your operation should be spending on each vehicle. If your repair costs, fuel expenses and parts and operating costs are higher than they should be, then it can signal the vehicle has become too expensive to keep in your fleet and should be replaced. Likewise, if an older vehicle’s expenses are below the benchmarks, then it can make sense to hang onto the asset longer.
Determine How You Compare to Other Fleet Operations
Is your fleet operation spending more on labor and repairs than other shops? Are you overspending on parts? Are your vehicles down for longer periods of time than other operations? Tracking your data and comparing it to industry benchmarks can help you determine how your operation stacks up against other shops. Knowing this information can help you evaluate internal processes and make changes as needed.
To learn how RTA Fleet Management Software can help your fleet operation reduce your expenses, contact us today to schedule a demo or start a free trial!