How to avoid the costs of returning rental vehicles through optimized fleet management?
Despite the evolution of professional mobility methods, the vehicle remains one of the main means of transport for employees. Long-term hiring (LTH) is still widely adopted by companies to build up their fleet of company or service vehicles. However, the costs of returning vehicles at the end of the contract often increase the burden of managing these fleets.
Return costs can reach 2,000 to 3,000 euros per vehicle, especially when there is no visibility on the real condition of the vehicles. Shocks, scratches, and scrapes are often ignored, leaving fleet managers caught off guard when the time comes to return.
How can you avoid these unexpected return costs? Here's a four-step approach to controlling fleet management costs and keeping repair costs down.
Step 1: Make drivers aware of the importance of communication
Vehicles are generally rented for 36, 48, or even 60 months. During these periods, it is not uncommon to observe various forms of damage and wear and tear.
However, all too often, drivers forget, intentionally or not, to report the damage to the fleet manager, who is then completely in the dark.
The first answer to this difficult question is therefore in the hands of drivers. They should therefore be made aware of the consequences of this lack of information and encouraged to communicate more with the fleet manager.
Yes, but not only that...!
Step 2: Use a fleet management tool to facilitate communication
It is also advisable to provide them with a tool that facilitates communication with the fleet manager. This key information is essential to anticipate.
This is, for example, what Optimal, the European specialist in connected vehicles since 2006, offers. The fleet management solution consists of a web-based management platform (SaaS) and a mobile application (providing an interface between the fleet manager and the drivers).
The “Complaint Management” module developed by Optimum Automotive allows drivers to:
1 - Report a claim (location, date, time, circumstances, photos of the damage, etc.)
2 - Conduct regular inspections of their vehicle:
- Frequency: defined by the fleet manager
- Notifications inviting drivers to perform a complete inspection of their vehicle according to a predefined framework.
Drivers follow a “photo story scenario” that includes 18 mandatory checkpoints. The number of photos is unlimited:
- body parts
- interior of the vehicle
- tyres
Step 3: Request a vehicle inspection for a thorough analysis
Depending on the size of the fleet, a thorough review of these photos may require a significant investment of time.
To ease this burden, Optimal uses a team of experts specialized in vehicle repair. They will then analyze the damage identified in detail. They will estimate the cost of repairs needed to keep the vehicle in perfect working order.
Step 4: Anticipate rather than suffer: a return to calm
With this valuable information throughout the vehicle's operating cycle (photos of the damage, repair estimates), the fleet manager is then in a position to make informed choices: return as is, repairs with or without recourse to insurance, etc.
When it's time to return the vehicle, the fleet manager can relax. He knows that the returned vehicles are in accordance with the original rental contract and that he will not be charged any return costs!
Optimize fleet management for total cost control
In conclusion, next-generation tools make it possible to streamline the flow of information between drivers and fleet managers. They benefit from perfect visibility on the real state of the vehicle fleet.
In addition, the support of automotive experts makes it possible to anticipate repair costs at a lower cost. It also eliminates return costs for better control of fleet TCO. Beyond economic aspects, regular vehicle checks also contribute to maintaining the brand image (for example, brand vehicles) and the employer brand (for example, the attractiveness of benefits offered to employees), but also to the prevention of road risks (for example, the control of tire wear). As everyone knows, a well-maintained vehicle is safer than an abandoned one.
