Truck maintenance labor is expense truckers can't run away from. Inflation has not done them any favors. It has made the costs of running a business rise, and things are still the same. Fleet managers have had to rethink where they spend the money, especially when it comes to labor. They are facing challenges on whether to outsource or do their maintenance in-house.

According to Transport Topics, most companies have a set-aside service department. The challenge they face is the shortage of technicians. They are forced to be creative to cover up for the same. Truckers check out several things before choosing partners to work with. They check out the amount of time a truck will be off the road, the quality of work, and the ability of these partners to deliver. Truckers must not only focus on the costs of acquiring these services.

Getting the Right Vendors

Getting the right vendors is the key to a good long-term relationship. Truckers must seek to balance the costs, and the quality assured. Most of the customers are not local, and therefore trucks must always be in good condition to deliver. Several factors must add up before making this choice. The first thing that truckers must do is thorough due diligence. This process lasts at least a year so that truckers know exactly who these vendors are. They cannot make such decisions overnight; time is a key factor. 

Tom Wiers noted that truckers must understand how the vendor would handle their issues and how long they would take to respond to the same. Doing these checks upfront saves the truckers from avoidable issues with these vendors. Wiers also pointed out that it's important to integrate these vendors in the right way. All required fleet members must be involved from the start to the end of the sourcing process. They can't just be called in at the later stages; it would lead to a relationship breakdown. 

Some truckers prefer to work with OEMs and manufacturers. It doesn't matter who you decide to work with; the most important thing is an assurance of quality. However, there must be a clear balance between the quality and the costs involved. Truckers feed off trucks in good condition; therefore, keeping them in good condition is the key to success. The key holders are the truckers and the vendors they choose to work with.