The health of company vehicles is essential for a continuous flow of productivity. Let's find out in this article the various phases and the main aspects of the maintenance of these vehicles.

• Towards an efficient approach
• How to optimize the management of the vehicle fleet

When we talk about maintenance of company vehicles, we are not simply talking about transport companies. This article is not aimed at those who manage public transport, bus rental or NCC.

Your company probably also has company means, the maintenance of which is essential. In the case of a large number of vehicles, then, it becomes essential to manage the car fleet in an optimized way. As a consequence, the people who use company cars probably do not run into problems of inefficient functionality. Put simply, in the case of a company with several representatives, any breakdown of mechanical parts of the car leads to both a loss of productivity of the individual representative and of the company as a whole. The company means, in the end, are tools that serve to bring profitability to the company.

Towards an efficient approach

The present and the future of industry are the elements that define the concept of industry 4.0. However, managing company vehicles is a rather complicated aspect. On the surface, it might seem simple, banal and intuitive, but in truth it is not.

We have in fact:

• the deadlines to be respected (stamp duty, insurance),
• any fines
• ordinary programmatic maintenance

We can, for example, forget a whole series of deadlines, creating inefficiencies. The existence and increase of inefficiencies leads to an inevitable increase in the costs of the company. Many companies handle this by relying on old Excel spreadsheets, but this doesn't seem like the best choice. The events that are scheduled, such as servicing, revisions, tire replacement, are elements that must be governed with a little more complex software.

How to optimize the management of the vehicle fleet

This article does not want to highlight the activities to be done, but rather underline the management method . If the company uses management software optimized efficiently, as a first benefit it will be able to increase the life span of its cars.

The second benefit is to minimize costs and also ensure constant performance monitoring. The decrease in costs is clearly linked to the decrease in macro interventions, thanks to constant supervision over time.

An IT management of the single document, such as the maintenance booklet, can make it possible to plan routine maintenance interventions.

The second step is certainly the analysis of extraordinary maintenance. Therefore, every single vehicle must be analyzed and monitored over the course of its months of life. The efficiency of the interventions also reduces the costs of ordinary maintenance.

The costs for extraordinary interventions will be kept well under control. All this will also allow you to know the period of availability of the car. The production managers and commercial managers can therefore be informed about the possibilities of use and possibly make changes on the operational activity of the representatives (for example). Other examples could be parcel delivery services or installation and maintenance companies, work vehicle services, etc.

If, for example, a week-long intervention has been planned for a specific vehicle, it becomes feasible and easy to move employees to other company objectives.

Proximity mobility is currently increasing. This could mess up the cards and induce companies not to carry out maintenance on their vehicles. Anyone who thinks that "cars are damaged by driving on highways or freeways" is making a big mistake. In reality, it is the micro movements of the city that create problems for the engines. The reason?

• Turning the car on and off
• Holes
• Bumps

Indeed, although proximity is increasing dramatically in the business world, we all know that cars are still vital, even within small towns.

With the increase of the proximity economy, it is no longer conceivable to carry out assistance for one's customers after 24 hours.

This is why, above all, companies located in particularly widespread areas (Milan, Rome), need an imperative efficiency for their vehicles. For example, for a boiler service company, it is unthinkable that your customer will be followed after 24 hours or more, with respect to the call.

Given the replicability of many jobs, our market dominance could be wiped out quickly if turnaround times increase dramatically.

The vehicles must therefore be thought of as perfect and excellent horses ready to lead us to our customers, in a diligent and productive way. The maintenance of company vehicles is therefore essential and should not be considered as a luxury reserved only for companies in economic well-being.

We all would like to have an efficient company, so certainly the maintenance of company vehicles cannot be overshadowed by anything. It can be compared to the advertising we do through the various online or offline channels. Owning dirty or old vehicles, which fall apart, heavily affect the brand image. In fact, a potential customer might think

"If he does not care for his means, let alone how much he cares for the services he provides"

Stopping advertising is equivalent to ceasing to let ourselves be known and therefore triggering an inexorable total loss of visibility.

In this case, YouDriver.com comes to the aid of all workshops! In a practical and simple way, it is in fact possible to be seen by thousands of users every day, in every part of Italy. Thanks to the development of an Android and iOS app, it is also possible to reach every single user in a capillary way, with offers, discounts and all the services offered by YouDriver.com. It is a kind of missing link between workshops and all those who are looking for an automotive professional.

Click here to register your workshop on YouDriver.com

With the increase in sustainable mobility, companies are additionally tasked with making electric motors efficient. Electric car batteries have a very high cost that can be hardly supported by the company itself in a phase of possible replacement.

We are clearly in an important phase of innovation, within the world of sustainable mobility. Still a long way to go. Before arriving in a situation of technology optimization, the best strategy to be efficient on the market is fundamentally one: to carry out a correct maintenance of company vehicles.

credit photo FREEPIK