Many businesses acquire and run their forklift truck fleet on the basis of sourcing the product and maintenance support directly from an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), expecting to get the best possible deal with the least exposure to risk. But, does this approach really offer the value, versatility and operational resilience businesses need today?

With the right-sized deal, Forklift OEMs may be able to trim their margins in order to secure factory throughput, however, this reveals the core aim of the manufacturer – to maximise truck sales and keep the factory busy. The focus is not necessarily on providing the best possible outcome for the customer and can result in some equipment being specified that is not the most appropriate for the task, but simply the nearest available option in the manufacturer’s product range.

With incessant pressure on businesses to run leaner and more efficient warehouse and factory operations, the emphasis for most companies is now firmly on getting the most from the forklift fleet in terms of versatility to cover several tasks, flexibility to respond to changing customer demands, along with greater overall performance and reliability. In some instances, this may require specialist handling equipment that is suited to flexing across applications such as unloading or loading vehicles as well as operating in narrow aisle racking – one vehicle for both purposes can save significant costs. But is an OEM likely to rush to suggest this option when the opportunity is there for additional sales?

Peaks and promotions are gaining in strength and frequency, so ensuring vehicle uptime and resource availability is of prime importance to a broad range of businesses – flexibility to hire in trucks at peak periods can help trim overall fleet costs and provide extra cover when needed. Most OEMs have hire fleets, but would that option necessarily be the sales team’s first thought?

Often, the best option for a business is to source according to a ‘best for purpose’ approach – this may, for example, be a telereach for loading or unloading curtain-sider trailers or an articulated narrow aisle truck that offers flexibility across duties and space saving. Few OEMs are likely to go the extra mile in procuring such a range of equipment on behalf of the customer. Particularly, if the customer is also in need of cleaning machines, access equipment, special attachments and more.

So, what’s the alternative? Multi-brand material handling service and support businesses, such as Rushlift, work closely with fleet owners over the entire length of the contract to maximise the overall performance of the fleet: from specifying and recommending the most appropriate trucks for the duties to be performed – and that means providing the best truck for the job, whatever the make – to providing full, regular servicing, fast breakdown call-out, and on-site meetings to review fleet performance. From analysing the usage of individual trucks Rushlift experts can make recommendations that may save significant costs, whilst improving operational performance and reliability – maximising asset value across the lifetime of the fleet.

As a national full-service provider of material handling equipment, Rushlift has service centres located strategically across the UK and over 90 highly qualified field service engineers on the road at any one time, enabling the company to provide an engineer on site within four hours (average response time to VOR). Working in-step with the customer on regular servicing maximises vehicle uptime and optimises fleet performance, building-in operational resilience across the year and, critically, at peak periods.

Rigid fleet ownership models are becoming far less attractive, as businesses turn to flexible hire and leasing options which enable them to scale up or down quickly without locking up capital. Independent suppliers of materials handling equipment, like Rushlift, are in the best position to offer the responsiveness and agility businesses are now looking for through providing a best-for-purpose fleet, providing full maintenance and support, with the back-up of a large flexible hire fleet of over 300 vehicles for those busy peaks – reducing risk, increasing overall performance and providing a customer focused, best value approach.

For further information on improving fleet performance, go to https://www.rushlift.co.uk