An Opportunity to Right Size a Decentralized Fleet
This client’s mission is to provide high-quality respiratory care and other services to improve the health and well-being of patients in their homes. They focus on offering personalized, efficient, and compassionate care to enhance the quality of life for those with chronic respiratory conditions and other medical needs. Their cargo vans deliver oxygen tanks and other medical devices to patients and hospitals across the US. Due to the decentralized nature of their business, fleet operations were managed independently at local branches, which often resulted in underutilized and surplus vehicles that went unnoticed. They recognized the opportunity to right-size their fleet, eliminate surplus vehicles, and improve overall efficiency. However, the decentralized structure posed challenges in identifying and addressing underutilized vehicles across the business, requiring significant manual effort and coordination.
Leveraging Data and Telematics for Comprehensive Fleet Utilization
To optimize its fleet, this client embarked on a fleet utilization project, with Wheels providing essential support through data analysis, reporting, and historical vehicle ordering insights. The fleet coordinator led a nationwide outreach to branch managers, identifying inactive or sparingly used vehicles.
Odometer readings from telematics-identified low mileage vehicles, allowed the client to focus on areas of underutilization. They identified 70 units that had not been disposed of, despite replacement vehicles already being ordered, and another 67 surplus vehicles that were no longer in active use. This ongoing project aims to continually reduce the overall fleet size while optimizing vehicle utilization across the business.
Significant Cost Savings and Streamlined Operations
To date, they have successfully reduced vehicle count by approximately 8%. This reduction has resulted in significant cost savings for the company, including approximately $1.4 million in disposal credits and an additional $3.2 million in savings from reduced fleet costs. The overall savings are expected to grow further. By streamlining fleet management and collaborating closely with Wheels, the company has optimized its fleet operations, realizing substantial financial benefits and improved operational efficiencies.