For those of you running a fleet of trucks, tyres are most likely to be that commodity you don’t really think about too much because, in your mind, they last until they last and when they ‘wear out’ they are simply replaced.
We have been in the tyre business for 40 years, so we understand this common perception.
But what would you think if your definition of ‘wear out’ refers to loss of money whereas our version is all about getting tyres to save you money?
Let’s explore human error in tyre management in the freight and transport sector. It is normally inadvertent but consequences can be very costly.
In the transport, freight and logistics sectors, frequent movements of stock and the vehicles that transport the stock can put teams of employees under 24/7 demands and increase the likelihood of errors being made along the information chain.
This is where the tyre dealers have traditionally stepped in to take control. All the major brands have until now managed the paperwork associated with fitting, inspecting and replacing tyres on trucks and vans, and their success has been limited by the human factor.
One step down the chain, a workshop manager is expected to follow this tyre management and paperwork, but he or she has no intuitive software to help.
Our patented tyre tracker does have this capability; so now, as a business owner or senior manager, you do actually HAVE real time information on every single tyre, if you want it. It extends the life of every single tyre, and this is profit for you.
And this frames the context of our post. Sometimes, as business people, we tend to forget that profits don’t only grow through more income, they just as readily come by reducing unnecessary costs and outgoings from wastage.
Believe me, when it comes to tyres, far too few fleet operators and managers recognise that data is power – just like it is in every other industry sector.
Let’s make it clear from the outset, we get on very well with the tyre companies – large and small. For our clients we sometimes buy from their stocks, sometimes we are servicing their products which our clients have bought. At other times we sell different brands to our client base, all dependent on the needs and demands.
This means we are often privy to invoicing systems by tyre dealers. While they genuinely serve their purpose well, simple invoice data does not give you true figures on the ‘lifecycle and maintenance’ of tyres.
Staff cannot be expected to keep up with all aspects of maintenance of equipment without the help of data input – it’s near impossible.
Tyre distributors sometimes promise the world, but they cannot deliverinformation on tyre cost and maintenance at the drop of a hat like the Tyre Tracker can.
Tyre Tracker helps to identify possible vehicle issues earlier, such as alignment problems with earlier warning alerts. It blatantly shows necessary rotation schedules, replacement intervals, required pressure checks and just about every other asset duty to increase the life of your tyres. It does so while giving accurate figures on overall costs.
Remember, these are your figures and it is likely you have never seen them as clearly and comprehensively as this before.
Fleets of trucks and vans are largely reliant on limiting the potential for human error because managing any aspects of the operation is a round-the-clock assignment, especially for tyre management.
Tyre Tracker now does this work with ease and for fleet managers this means reliance on tyre management can be taken in-house and alleviate demand on tyre brand dealerships. Tyre Tracker simply calls for simple input, such as speedometer reading, at every scheduled stop.
Even operators of massive national fleets can now depend on a new level of diligence which they thought was never possible.
From years of experience, I found that the brand dealerships did their very best in keeping records of a fleet’s tyres with what was basically account keeping software, and a lot of people input.
But the big companies such as national-profile road transport companies and high-rate courier firms don’t pay big dollars any more for a couple of overworked employees to deliver a preferential outcome.
Tyre Tracker acts as a virtual ‘big brother’ on every single tyre a transporter owns.
How hard is it to key in information from four tyre changes or a speedometer reading into a computer and letting the power of its analytics do the work for you?
It is a simple, non-technical and non-laborious way to get all the technical data put into the company’s management system – therefore providing a level of diligence well beyond that limited by common human frailty.
It means tyres are no longer a cost ridden consumable but a genuine capital asset.
Tyre Tracker logs every single tyre in your fleet and allows these tyres to be properly tracked, right down to the axle on which they are fitted, and ensures optimised rotation and rebalancing to extract every bit possible from the expected lifespan of a tyre.
With high level of traceability, we know when used properly it will eradicate blatant tyre wastage and hand management of this resource directly into the hands of the owner, rather than the dealer.