White Paper: Optimizing Your Fleet: A Business Case For Thriving In An Economic Downturn

Often overlooked and sometimes not well understood is the total cost of ownership associated with your material handling assets. Given the economic climate, there is not a better time to evaluate your present fleet maintenance program. Consider the advantages of enlisting the services of a quality Fleet Management partner to navigate the numerous and many times hidden opportunities to compress your material handling spend. In this White Paper we will explore common issues that may be present and the relevant Fleet Management solutions that can be tailored to address your needs. As you are confronted with some of the most difficult economic hurdles in decades, the need to shed cost for sustainability is a must if you are to emerge leaner, stronger and poised to take advantage of economic recovery.

There are numerous, common challenges that lift truck fleet owners face. Following are among the most common and costly areas: The failure to recognize the hidden costs associated with having multiple service providers can expose you to costly administrative burden as well as incremental maintenance-related expenses. Additionally, the lack of visibility of true material handling costs and actual asset utilization data may prevent you from exposing significant cost reduction opportunities. Further, the possession of an aging fleet with high hours typically indicates the absence of a dynamic replacement program. Based on an economic life cycle model, a material handling asset may be subjecting you to higher costs per hour and reduced productivity. In the text that follows, we will explore each of these areas along with the tools/techniques available through a comprehensive Fleet Management program that can identify gaps in your current approach and subsequently lead to operational cost compression.

A quality fleet management solution is comprised of a number of key elements and includes a broad range of tool sets and capabilities. Following are the most critical elements which can be employed to produce positive bottom line results with little up front investment and a relatively short payback.

• A Professional fleet assessment
• Consolidation of fleet services
• Fleet management reporting system
• A planned replacement program
• A fleet optimization model
• Telemetry-based solution drivers

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