Trailer Rightsizing
Increase Productivity with the Right Operational Mix
Fleet rightsizing — it’s a task most fleet managers have had to deal with over the past few years. How many trucks are too many and how many are not enough?
The concept of fleet rightsizing is beneficial to organizations of all sizes to economize their assets while maintaining the right amount to be operationally efficient. Telematics can help in rightsizing efforts by identifying route inefficiencies, under-utilized vehicles, and over- or under-powered units that don’t match the needs of the fleet. The result – a mix of vehicles that fits the operational needs of the organization.
While some fleets may stop at just rightsizing their trucks, others are seeing the benefit in rightsizing their entire outfit of vehicles and assets.
If your fleet includes trailers, the continuous process of rightsizing should include these expensive assets. Trailer rightsizing includes many of the same techniques and parameters that you follow to rightsize your vehicles.
Rightsizing vs. Downsizing
When taking on the task of rightsizing your fleet’s trailers, it’s important to remember – rightsizing is not downsizing. Downsizing is the process of reducing assets, sometimes in response to a revenue downturn, while rightsizing is the process of finding that right operational mix, which may or may not mean cutting assets. In some cases, fleets may find they need to increase the number of trailers they need to support their companies’ missions.
How are trailers used?
The first step in the process of rightsizing is gaining a better understanding of how trailers are being used. These insights, along with your vehicle telematics data, allow you to determine if you have the right number of trailers in your fleet and if they are being utilized properly. This helps you understand if some trailers standing idle while others are being overused; and if the right trailer assets are in the right depot locations.
With a trailer tracking solution you will discover:
Utilization history
How often are specific trailers used over their operational lives?
Trailer location
Where are your trailers located at a given time?
Maintenance history
How healthy is your trailer fleet? Are there assets that are costing more to maintain than they are generating revenue?
Drop history
How profitable is each trailer in the fleet?
An Ongoing Process
As with vehicle rightsizing, trailer rightsizing should be an ongoing, active process. Monitoring utilization, maintenance, and asset location are among the keys to ensuring you have the right number and types of trailers in the right place. Rightsizing is a key to continued operational efficiency. Having the right vehicle and trailer mix ensures maximum productivity — minimizing downtime and having the right assets available at the right time in the right location — which leads to better customer service and an enhanced revenue stream.
Scalable Technology
The solution you use for your trailer rightsizing process should be scalable, designed not only to give you the tools to grow but grow along with you as the fleet and company succeed. It is also important that data history is unlimited. You can only make informed operational and rightsizing decisions when you have the entire picture of your trailers’ utilization and effectiveness.
Adding the goal of rightsizing to your trailer tracking gives you the ability to get deeper insights not only into your trailer fleet but into your overall operation. Don’t stop halfway — consider rightsizing your trailer fleet today.
Choose the Right Partner
Your telematics provider should be one of your closest partners in this ongoing rightsizing process. They can tailor the information you receive from the trailer — e.g., utilization or maintenance — to your parameters, so you receive the kind of valuable insights that will help you make the best rightsizing and crucial operational decisions.
Adding the goal of rightsizing to your trailer tracking gives you the ability to get deeper insights not only into your trailer fleet but into your overall operation. Don’t stop halfway — consider rightsizing your trailer fleet today.
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