Get More Value at Every Stage of the Fleet Lifecycle with Total Cost of Ownership Tools

Total Cost of Ownership

Solutions to optimize your fleet and keep costs down

Understanding your fleet vehicle cost of ownership is key to reducing expenses and avoiding inefficiencies. When you have a dedicated team looking at quality data, you can discover major opportunities for cost savings and methods for driving meaningful change in your fleet.

Merchants Fleet has expert consultants who will look at your fleet operations data from all angles. The result is a holistic, customized set of recommendations that are tailored to your fleet. From fuel, cost per mile, safety and maintenance to even vehicle purchasing and replacement, we use analytical insights to add value by helping you manage your fleet ownership costs at every step.

Electric Vehicle Fleet Total Cost of Ownership

If you’re looking for cost savings, consider electrifying your fleet. Electric vehicles (EVs) can lower the cost of ownership due to decreased fuel and maintenance expenses and decreased downtime, plus tax incentives.

Merchants Fleet has the big data analytical tools and deep expertise in electrification to assess your fleet needs, understand your electrification and sustainability goals, and identify the best path forward for your organization to begin adopting EVs.

We’ll also help you optimize fleet charging opportunities. It’s important that EVs are charging whenever possible in order to maintain the highest level of utility. If an EV isn’t charged overnight, you’ll have limited use the next day. Our fleet management consultants and our telematics technology will help you identify all available charging opportunities so that you can maximize your EV fleet and continually operate without any downtime.

Learn More About Fleet Electrification

Combining Expertise and Technology to Drive Change

The costs of a fleet program go beyond your lease payment. Our consultants use their years of fleet industry expertise, aided with the latest fleet technology, to examine driver use and fleet performance to uncover areas where you can reduce fleet operating costs. Fuel cards, telematics, and GPS tracking give you the power to do a deep dive into your fleet’s fuel usage, driver behavior, utilization, productivity, and more. We use TotalView, a system that combines the power of strategic fleet management expertise with data-driven analytics and technologies to help you take your fleet further. Learn more about TotalView and how our superior fleet technology can help you monitor and manage your costs.

Manage Your Fleet Lifecycle

Merchant Fleet analyzes available data and conducts a vehicle lifecycle analysis to identify ways to maximize resale value, minimize repair and maintenance costs, save on fuel, and improve driver satisfaction and productivity. Examining vehicle usage, your current maintenance plan, and your vehicle replacement strategy are key ways to optimize your fleet.

We also want to ensure your fleet has the right vehicles for the right applications. For example, we don’t want you to use longer-range electric vehicles where shorter-range (and less expensive) EVs would work just as well. Our EV options from top OEMs include new battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).

When it is time to replace your gas-powered or electric vehicles, we can help you determine which models deliver the best value and how long to keep them on the road. Our customized approach gives you a plan that meets your exact needs, so you never have to worry about if you’re getting the most value possible out of your fleet.

Optimize Your Fleet’s Performance

Lowering your total cost of ownership often starts by examining your fleet’s day-to-day performance. Your fleet likely has several inefficiencies you are unaware of, such as aggressive braking and accelerating, speeding, or filling the tank with the wrong type of fuel. Fleet vehicle repairs are also a major area of the budget for many companies.

Our team uses a Fleet Scorecard to take an accurate, in-depth look at your fleet’s entire lifecycle costs, set realistic goals, and design strategies that will deliver valuable savings. By examining vehicle usage metrics, our team can determine ways to avoid costly breakdowns, control maintenance costs, and limit downtime. Recommended tactics could include fuel card programs, telematics to give you real-time data like driver speed and idle times, and other customized efficiency strategies.

In general, EVs have much lower maintenance costs than gas-powered vehicles since there are fewer parts and areas that need regular servicing. Regenerative braking means there is less wear on the brakes, and only minimal maintenance is required for the battery, motor, and electronics.

We can help you identify which vehicles in you fleet can be transitioned to EVs instead of conventional vehicles. This can help fleets maximize electric miles and cost savings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, we can help provide recommended EV charging policies so that you’re not charging your vehicles during peak demand — and paying for it.

Enhance Driver Performance and Safety

Many companies are unaware of the way their drivers use vehicles, including which routes they use and sub-optimal driving habits. This can lead to higher fleet vehicle cost of ownership and missed opportunities for improved driver performance, safety, and overall cost of ownership savings. Our consultants will reexamine your fleet’s habits, uncover areas for improvement, and gauge your drivers’ real performance so they can be safer on the road.

Did you know proceeds at sale can be impacted by 10% through effective replacement cycling?

Let Merchants Fleet strategic consultants show you how to align your fleet cycle processes and realize savings.

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