With nearly 6,000 trucks in operation across North America, On The Move Trucks is satisfying the needs of a growing number of customers.

“Our customers deserve complete satisfaction,” says Kirk Nash, president of On The Move Trucks. “We do not want anyone using our service unless it absolutely works for them. Quality and price are important parts of our equipment decisions, but the real key is for us to feel comfortable selling to the customer, and for the customer to have comfort in doing business with us.”

Based in Boerne, Texas, northwest of San Antonio, On The Move was founded 14 years ago in Dearborn, Mich. by Nash and Maury Westerdale, a retired design engineer with Ford Motor Co. Today, the fourth largest truck rental fleet in the United States services self-storage, moving, rental store, real estate, apartment complex, catering and contractor markets. The company’s trucks, which in many cases also serve as rolling billboards for customers’ businesses, are in use all over the country, including Alaska and Hawaii, as well as in Canada. Two of the fleet’s vehicles are even in operation in Russia.

On The Move fields almost 6,000 trucks, more than 95 percent of which are Ford vehicles ranging from E-350 box trucks to medium-duty F-750 units. The balance of the fleet consists of Sterling Class 8 tractors and a few small groups of other makes requested by customers. Half of the Ford models are Super Cabs, and while a large portion of the fleet is gasoline powered, a sizable number of vehicles are equipped with Ford and Caterpillar diesel engines.

Innovative ways

Most bodies in the On The Move fleet are 24-foot vans supplied by Unicell Body Co. and ABC Industries, along with a few models manufactured by Supreme Corp. and Morgan Corp.

“We’re especially involved with our body suppliers,” Nash notes. “When we spec boxes we not only want to be sure we meet our customers’ needs, we also look for innovative ways to do things. For example, we were involved in designing a rear door that covers the loading ramp when closed as an antitheft measure.

“We’ve also been a Ford customer for a long time,” Nash continues. “Matthew Davis, our national sales and insurance manager, serves as our main liaison between the OEM, its dealers and our customers. We’ve been very pleased with the responsiveness of Ford Motor Company and in particular with Grande Truck Center in San Antonio, especially over the last few years. We’ve never been a company that demands attention from its suppliers, but it’s obvious that the OEM and its representatives are concerned with our satisfaction.”

Working closely with a small group of suppliers is important if a problem does arise, Nash says, because everyone gains experience understanding each other and can usually work things out quickly. In addition, he notes, a close relationship with all suppliers gives On The Move more insight into specification and warranty issues, and enables uniform pricing for the 600 to 800 chassis the fleet purchases annually.

Guaranteed value

All trucks in the On The Move fleet are spec’ed for lease terms of four years.

“Customers make 48 payments and at the end of the lease have the option of buying the vehicle for 20 percent of its original value,” Nash says. “That’s a choice virtually all of our customers make, even those with high-mileage vehicles because it’s hard to find a comparable truck that’s not worth at least that 20 percent. The vehicles that aren’t purchased by customers go into our daily rental fleet or we sell them outright.”

Ford truck dealers handle preventive maintenance, repair and warranty services for all vehicles in the On The Move fleet.

“Our customers are responsible, as part of the lease agreement, to have the trucks serviced based on the intervals established by the OEM,” Nash says. “In most cases this isn’t a concern because our customers have their company names on the trucks, so they’re inclined to make sure they are operating clean, well-running vehicles.”

On The Move customers also can take advantage of the leasing company’s participation in Ford’s Quality Fleet Care program. The package of support services for small, medium, and large fleets includes a number of tools and resources to help manage a fleet of vehicles. For example, fleets can purchase parts from Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealerships and Ford Authorized Parts Distributors (FADs) in multiple locations and take advantage of centralized or location billing to streamline invoicing and payment procedures.

Also offered by Ford Quality Fleet Care for On The Move and its customers are invoices containing specific details to support the amounts billed, organized by transaction date, invoice number, locations, parts and freight charges, sales taxes, and total charges. Furthermore, online reporting is in place to provide a valuable source of information on vehicle, operating and maintenance costs.

Helpful information

“Daily costs of operation are a concern for our customers and we rely on them to let us know when issues or concerns arise,” Nash says. “That kind of information is very helpful in identifying trends in specifications that we need to discuss with our suppliers and in evaluating our customer’s business needs so we are sure we are supplying them with the most productive and efficient vehicle possible.”

From trucks backed by unconditional guarantees to insurance, licenses and even self-storage products, On The Move Trucks is striving every day to provide the complete satisfaction its customers require.