Budgets are often the bane of many fleet managers' existence. They're complex and time consuming, and often lead to a lot of questions and pushback from your leadership team. However, when viewed the right way, your budget allows you to prove your impact as a fleet manager. In this episode, we break down all of the expense categories that fleets should be tracking and provide tips on how to improve your budget adherence as you enter the new year.

Question: For fleet managers, what are some big budgeting wins that you've had in your career? Where have you found places to reduce your fleet costs? Send us an email and your response could be featured on a future podcast episode or blog post.

Takeaways from this episode:

• The fleet is often viewed as a cost center. By adhering to your expense forecasts, you can set expectations around the costs affecting your fleet and reduce this stigma.
• Categorizing your fleet expenses allows you to identify opportunities for improvement when it comes to budget adherence in 2024.
• Being under-, at- or over-budget should not be viewed as a success or failure. Rather, i should be viewed as an opportunity to improve yourself and your fleet.

Additional Links and Resources:

• Building a Fleet Budget 101 (white paper)
• Fleet Management Cost Analysis (blog)
• 7 Ways to Reduce Fleet Costs (blog)
• Fleet Expense Management Software (solution)

Fleet management has historically been a career reserved for maintenance technicians who decided they were ready to crawl out from under the hood of a vehicle. However, with technology advancements, there are many young people who are finding their start in fleet management because of their willingness to leverage software and data to track maintenance and improve processes.

In this episode, we sit down with Carlos Romero of C&C Complete Service to learn about his recent interviewing experience and see what tips he has for somebody who is trying to become a first-time fleet manager.

Question: For fleet managers (or people hiring fleet managers), what did your interview experience look like? Send us an email and your response could be featured on a future podcast episode or blog post.

Guest this Episode: Carlos Romero, C&C Complete Service

Takeaways from this episode:

• The right fleet management role for you might not even exist yet. Sometimes you have to convince an organization that they need somebody to manage their fleet.
• Leverage the interview setting to learn about an organization's current system and speak to past experiences to show that you understand their scenario.
• Take advantage of any learning opportunities that exist - newsletters, fleet management associations, podcasts and more.

Additional Links and Resources:

• The First 90 Days for a New Fleet Manager (podcast)
• Key Skills, Challenges & Responsibilities of a Fleet Manager (blog)
• Building a Fleet Management Skillset (webinar)
• Fleet Management Associations (list)
• Fleetio's Resource Library

As of Friday, September 22 at noon, the UAW announced their decision to extend the footprint of their strike against the "Big Three" automakers – General Motors, Stellantis and Ford. In this episode, we look into why the UAW union members are striking, as well as the potential impact it could have on your fleet from a parts and vehicle purchasing standpoint.

How are you preparing your fleet for the potential impact of the UAW strike? Send us an email and your response could be featured on a future podcast episode or blog post.

Takeaways from this episode:

• While the strike might not have large scale implications yet, fleet managers should always look at news like this through the lens of a future impact and take steps to reduce the impact to your fleet.
• Your fleet management strategy should be especially flexible and proactive: (1.) predict which critical parts you will need soon and go ahead and build up your stock (2.) identify which vehicles are nearing end of life and look into procuring replacements or reducing their utilization.

Resources for fleet managers:

• Government Fleet: How Will UAW Strike Affect New, Used, and Rental Vehicles?
• How to Maintain Aging Fleet Vehicles [Blog]
• 8 Best Practices for Parts Inventory Management [Blog]