10 reasons that fleet procurement solutions are the way to go

procurement solutions

Almost 90% of fleet procurement professionals say that their jobs are moderately to extremely stressful. Much of this stress is due to antiquated fleet management processes, many of which can be updated through modernized procurement solutions.

But public institutions are often slower to evolve than businesses in the private sector. In fact, many nonprofit organizations and government institutions struggle to manage traditional methods, forcing them to look for easier ways to source public fleet contracts.

Fortunately, that's no longer difficult to do. Let's take a closer look at what modernized procurement solutions look like in general practice.

The five major inefficiencies of fleet procurement

Traditional methods of fleet procurement are clunky, dated, and prone to inefficiency. The most common of these include:

  1. Inability to monitor driver safety
  2. Red tape/compliance
  3. Rising inflation
  4. Fuel inefficiencies
  5. Cost-cutting initiatives

When more than one of these inefficiencies affects a single fleet procurement office, the consequences could be serious and extremely long-lasting. Fortunately, modernized procurement solutions can help.

Ten reasons to use fleet procurement solutions

If you aren't already using modernized fleet procurement solutions, you may be getting left behind. Many fleet procurement solutions are available at the public or government level and require little more than forethought, planning, and persistence.

The following is a list of reasons that your public office deserves better fleet procurement solutions.

1. Reduce OTD times

The average order-to-delivery (OTD) time for a public vehicle can be months, if not years. Proper strategies to get in line early can smooth any wrinkles in your OTD timeline.

2. Lower costs

Between traditional RFPs and lengthy manual contracting, traditional fleet procurement may cost more than your agency can afford. Integrating with modern tools, like cooperative contracts, could slice costs in half and reduce your yearly overhead.

3. Monitor driver safety

Modern fleets require modern telematics to track the efficiency of their drivers. Research shows that 42% of professionals using modern fleet solutions (like tracking software) see considerably fewer safety incidents than those who don't.

4. Track fuel consumption

Fuel cost is a significant concern in fleet procurement, which is why proper management is crucial to ongoing success. Today, 55% of fleets have reduced their fuel costs through telematics, a number only expected to grow.

5. Optimize routes

Another benefit of fleet procurement solutions is the ability to streamline driver routes. This maximizes fuel, lowers maintenance needs, and ultimately, preserves the life of your vehicles.

6. Streamline compliance

Compliance is a tricky issue for public agencies and fleets. Thankfully, cooperative contracts make it easy to remain well within your legislative means.

7. Digitize reporting

Paper reports are confusing, messy, and downright impossible to manage. A digital portal containing all your documentation is an excellent foil to this and a more sustainable option.

8. Estimate maintenance costs

Knowing the cost of your maintenance up front could be an excellent way to forecast departmental budgets and upcoming expenses. Failure to do so could lead to expensive surprises, which are particularly unpleasant for small agencies and localities.

9. Standardize vehicle models

It can be a struggle to manage different models of vehicles, which is where standardization comes into play. Doing so ensures that maintenance and repairs are more convenient, which keeps costs low for your fleet.

10. Access experts

Fleet procurement is a challenging field that requires the support of experts in multiple disciplines. At Sourcewell, you can access in-house specialists at any time to advise your governmental buying process.

How Sourcewell provides multiple fleet procurement solutions

The team behind Sourcewell has been empowering fleet managers for more than forty years, especially with ongoing support via cooperative contracts. Here's what you need to know regarding this fleet procurement solution and how it impacts agencies of all sizes:

  • Cooperative contracts enable public entities of all sizes to access competitively solicited contracts with economies of scale. This means small agencies have access to rare or expensive equipment that is usually inaccessible at the scale that they need.
  • The proper leveraging of cooperative contracts can lead to lower prices, faster OTD times, and fewer headaches as time goes by. This is a popular option for government entities and is easily accessible for organizations nationwide.
  • As long as you are located within the United States and are a government body or educational institution, you can browse cooperative contracts at length and reach a single point of contact to get started.

Integrating your existing workflow with cooperative contracting is simple, easy, and straightforward. The team at Sourcewell currently offers hundreds of cooperative contracts, with additional opportunities always on the horizon.

Here at Sourcewell, we help public agency buyers procure fleet vehicles faster by fulfilling the time-consuming bid process for them. Through cooperative contracts, we expedite the fleet vehicle procurement process so you can better serve your teams.

Want a faster procurement process? Contact one of our specialists today to buy the fleet solutions you need!