Opinion: The SMR balancing act

A successful service, maintenance and repair (SMR) strategy is vital to help fleet decision-makers minimise costs and vehicle downtime, and ensure the operation of an efficient fleet.

Here we will look at the key considerations a fleet decision-maker has to make when determining their approach to SMR.

To help reduce in-life costs over the lifespan of fleet vehicles, and to ensure operational efficiency and minimised downtime, having an SMR strategy is vital.

Having it built into the leasing cost of a fleet means customers can benefit from budgeted, predictable running costs, along with the advantages of a fleet provider’s service level agreements (SLA), whether through the main dealer or an independent.

Therefore, if any issues arise, the fleet provider has the partnership with the service provider to see that things are remedied quickly, which removes the onus from the customer. This emphasises the importance of having a strong team to monitor the service provision at all stages and act accordingly should it fall outside the SLA.

While each customer’s business requirement and fleet size are different, lead time, customer satisfaction and cost-management are all commonplace in the decision-making process.

Customers are rightly cost-conscious, so it’s important for them to understand the whole in-life cost of maintaining the vehicle so they can budget accordingly. Context and transparency are important, whether you’re managing 10 vehicles or 1,000 vehicles.

Fixed cost or pay-as-you-go?

There is no right or wrong answer when weighing up the benefits of taking on a fixed-cost SMR plan or choosing to pay as you go. The former provides convenience by consolidating routine servicing and maintenance using a fixed cost spread over manageable instalments. The latter works if you know your vehicle’s service schedule and proactively address minor issues to prevent costly breakdowns.

Either way, having a structured maintenance schedule prevents unexpected failures.

As a volume fleet provider, Alphabet has access to a substantial amount of industry data and discounts to help reduce the monthly costs of a SMR plan.

More and more fleets are turning to electric vehicles (EVs). When comparing an electric to a petrol or diesel vehicle, the maintenance requirements are different. In an EV, there are fewer moving parts and no need for oil changes. It means the service and maintenance budget tends to be more focused on tyre-related expenses.

It’s important to keep up to date with advances in tyre technology, and in many cases, we are seeing EVs fitted with bigger, more robust tyres.

Time for a new tyre?

When it comes to replacing a tyre – no matter what you drive – it might seem fairly straightforward, but there’s a lot of technology involved in the manufacturing of tyres. For instance, the same vehicle can come with multiple size options depending on specification. Additionally, some applications can include technology such as run-flat or self-seal tyres.

At Alphabet, we will always recommend premium tyres.

We also encourage customers to take a more proactive approach to tyre bookings, particularly when they know they will need new tyres, and to inspect their tyres more frequently.

With the continued complexity of tyres and the wide range of sizes, it’s key that, where possible, customers pre-book tyre appointments before the need becomes critical. This will ensure we have the right tyres in the right place at the right time.

Pre-booking also offers customers the benefit of selecting a mobile appointment, if that’s more convenient.

Taking a proactive approach can be the difference between a vehicle being off the road or a delayed changeover. Therefore, it’s always best to pre-book in-line with the expected lifecycle of the tyre, which is something that should be built into the maintenance of the vehicle.

The power of connectivity

What is changing the SMR world is greater adoption of connected vehicle technologies, which make it much easier to know when a vehicle requires a service.

As more vehicle information becomes available, your fleet provider can notify fleet managers and their drivers when a vehicle requires a service to remove any guesswork.

For example, in some cases where the data is available, we will know if the brake pads are 80% worn and tailor the booking accordingly. This all plays into making the service and maintenance journey as easy and seamless as possible: customers are simply sent an invitation to book online – it’s that easy.

The customer also has the option to change the service date online or via a customer support agent if the original service date is not convenient.

When choosing a leasing provider, the speed at which SMR requests are managed is fundamental to addressing potential issues before they arise, coupled with cost control and long-term performance.

To achieve this, reliability of network is key. At Alphabet, we have the benefit of a comprehensive network of dealers and independent repairers offering nationwide coverage.

Using a blended network means that we have an extensive pool of expertise to call upon at any one time to reduce lead times and create greater operational resilience.

Miles Tetlow is head of service management at Alphabet (GB)