When it comes to advice on how to improve fleet longevity, the deployment of affordable route optimization software should be high on the list for many reasons. For fleet managers looking to improve the longevity of their fleet, it’s clear that reducing miles driven through more efficient routing is one powerful way to make your fleet last longer.
How To Improve Fleet Longevity: Drive Fewer Miles
There are many factors that determine when it’s time to retire a vehicle in your fleet, be it a car, a van, or truck. There are complex vehicle life cycle analysis tools that can estimate the optimal time to replace a fleet vehicle. But for small to mid-sized fleets, and/or fleet managers who also run the whole business or non-profit, the most common way to assess whether it’s time to retire a vehicle is based on the age of the vehicle and the mileage on the vehicle’s odometer.
This is not a fool-proof method but it is the most common way to decide on retiring a vehicle in the fleet. Given this, logic and common sense dictate that reducing miles driven through more efficient routing extends the retirement date of fleet vehicles further into the future. In simple terms, more efficient routing makes fleet vehicles last longer.
For small businesses or non-profits operating on tight margins, the ability to defer buying a new car, van, or truck for the fleet for a year is worth its weight in gold.
How To Improve Fleet Longevity: Avoid Expensive, End-of-Life Repair Bills
Another factor in deciding to retire a fleet vehicle is when the car, truck, or van starts to require expensive repairs that cost more than the value of the vehicle. Common sense would dictate that you stop throwing good money after bad, and you don’t invest more into a vehicle than it’s worth.
Route optimization software tools like RouteSavvy help reduce wear-and-tear effects on vehicles. While some fleet vehicles may be “lemons” that break down unexpectedly, it’s more common that fleet vehicles require expensive repairs later in life based on mileage. Thus, when route optimization software helps reduce miles driven, it can help delay that inevitable decision to retire a vehicle facing a repair bill that costs more than the resale value of the vehicle.
There are formulas in place that help fleet managers calculate when to replace a vehicle before a major repair occurs. Route optimization software tools like RouteSavvy help extend the retirement date for vehicles, which helps delay big capital expenditures like buying new vehicles.
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