“The degree of maintenance outsourcing largely depends on the core competency and maintenance capabilities of the fleet user and the strategic direction of a company as to where it’s best for them to invest its capital,” Gallick notes. “Investments in bricks and mortar [shops], refueling tanks and equipment, wash bays, parts and material inventory, tooling and diagnostic technology may be better left for those in the core business of equipment maintenance. Additionally, human capital costs are significant—including technician, administrative and managerial sourcing and retention, continuous training, supported by a heavy investment in IT as today’s trucks continue to evolve to be ‘information hubs’ for drivers, dispatchers, logisticians and service providers.”
To the extent today’s fleet manager is tasked with maximizing the return on its capital investment in equipment, while meeting the high expectations of its internal and external customers, full service leasing companies are adept at keeping its customers’ trucks on the road and earning their keep. A robust fleet maintenance program is essential component of this formula, he adds.
Importance of scheduled maintenance
“Scheduled maintenance is more important and more complex than ever. It is no longer just an oil change, and no two OEMS are the same any more,” says Gregg Mangione, vice president of maintenance services for Penske Truck Leasing. “We have a preventive maintenance program that addresses all the differences in vehicle specifications and also provides the dynamic scheduling to ensure those components are serviced when required. No area has emerged as more important in this regard than the new emission packages on today¹s trucks. Through our MyFleet system we provide to the customer visibility of repair history, proactive scheduling and real-time emergency road service tracking. These tools make it easier for our customers to manage costs and make better fleet decisions.”
Penske Truck Leasing offers a network of more than 700 company-owned locations. “We focus on delivering a consistent level of service and quality at those locations through our processes, systems and controls. Linked to that network is our 24/7 roadside assistance center,” Mangione says. “We are the only company in our marketplace that maintains that service entirely in-house. This allows us to not only closely control our customer¹s experience, but it also keeps us close to the reliability issues our customer may be experiencing so that we can work to eliminate them. We provide real-time visibility of over-the-road service activity through email and text alerts.”
Mangione goes on to say that Penske offers quite a few advantages: “We have a variety of OEM vehicles in our fleets; so, Penske has the experience and expertise in spec’ing the latest technology vehicles. Our team of highly trained technicians has seen it all. With one of the newest rental fleets, we can substitute customer units in a moment’s notice while repairs are being made.”
Penske customers have visibility to nearly all of their needs through our MyFleet system: compliance, fuel, tires, parts, rental units, body shop and roadside assistance. “Our goal is to make it easier for our customers to take care of their customers,” he says. “Our full-service lease program provides maximum uptime so our customers have full use of their fleets. That allows them to deliver on their customer commitments. A Penske lease customer has access to our financing, maintenance, regulatory compliance and used trucks sales capabilities, among other advantages.”
