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Driving Decisions

Cover Story Decisions for weeks. As a small company with 35 trucks, we need to keep 34 on the road.” Mark Martincic, ﬁxed operations director at Keith Ely & Associates, agrees that cycle time is a big factor for ﬂeets. “Obviously the truck is not making any money if it is sitting in the shop. Cycle time is an issue at many dealerships, maybe even most, because of the way they do business and because of the inability of the ﬂeet to be able to project what they are going to bring in when.” While wait times for service seem to be shorter at independent repair garages, ﬂeets have the same expectation of quick service regardless of where they take their vehicles. According to Martincic, “The ﬂeet wants to know what’s wrong, how much it will cost to ﬁx and when they can have it back.” The channel that can best answer those questions is the one likely to increase its share of the lucrative service market. MARKET REALITIES Both independent service garages and truck dealers are vying for ﬂeets’ service business and each have strengths they can capitalize on to try to capture a bigger piece of the service pie. But each channel also has to work to better position itself to be an attractive alternative to ﬂeets. Dealers pride themselves on having the latest technology needed to repair today’s sophisticated vehicles and believe that gives them the edge over repair garages. “Dealers are required [by their manufacturers] to maintain the technology, special tools and the training to work on today’s trucks,” according to Allen Phibbs, professional advisor, Keith Ely & Associates. MacKay concurs and adds, “The dealer is capable of doing virtually anything and he has most, if not all, of the correct diagnostic equipment and electronic equipment to do the work.” But that doesn’t mean dealers are the only channel making the investment. “I think there is as much equipment being bought and utilized on the independent side as there is on the dealer side, absent the stuff that is necessary for warranty,” says Bill Wade, partner, Wade & Partners.“The dealer is in the unenviable position of having to buy service tools for whatever make of trucks he sells. The independent buys service tools as necessary for the work he has.” W W W . T R U C K PA RT S A N D S E R V I C E . C O M A u g u s t 2 0 1 0 | T R U C K PA RT S & S E R V I C E 19

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