By Ed Pierce, Editor, Fleet Management Weekly and Director, Fleet Brand Acceleration
November 19, 2025
How Fleet Can Lead Companies into the Automation Era
Across industries, automation is transforming how work is performed. Robots move materials in warehouses. Autonomous carts deliver parts in factories. Drones inspect power lines and pipelines. These are no longer science-fiction ideas—they are business tools, already saving time and labor.
For companies with vehicle fleets, this change offers an unexpected opportunity. Fleet and operations leaders, who already oversee some of the company’s most valuable moving assets, can now broaden their influence to include automation and robotics.
Recent news from Holman highlights this trend. The fleet management company announced a new division dedicated to “robotic asset management.” It aims to help companies deploy, finance, and maintain automation tools just as they do with vehicles.
The message for companies that own and operate fleets is clear: your next competitive advantage might not come from having more vehicles — but from how effectively you manage all the machines that drive your business forward.
The Expanding Idea of a Fleet
For decades, “fleet” referred to trucks, vans, or cars that delivered goods and services. Today, that definition is expanding. Inside your warehouse or facility, you might already have autonomous forklifts, robotic sorters, or cleaning machines. Out in the field, you could rely on drones or small inspection robots.
They don’t run on highways, but they perform the same types of work as your vehicles: they move, complete tasks, and require maintenance. They need financing, insurance, scheduling, and replacement—exactly the kind of lifecycle management your fleet team already handles.
Fleet and asset managers have always prioritized uptime, safety, cost, and performance. Those same priorities now extend to automation. In many ways, managing robots isn’t that different from managing trucks — the technology may evolve, but the fundamentals remain the same.
Why Fleet Operations Can Take the Lead
Fleet managers have a clear advantage in this new era: they already operate at the intersection of finance, operations, and technology. They know how to negotiate with vendors, and track performance through data. They understand how to plan maintenance, forecast costs, and extend the life of equipment.
Now, as automation spreads across logistics, manufacturing, and service industries, these skills are becoming vital. Every company experimenting with robots will soon face the same questions that fleets addressed years ago:
- Who owns and maintains the equipment?
- How do we budget for it?
- What happens when it breaks down or becomes obsolete?
Fleet leaders can address those questions. They can add structure and accountability to what is often an experimental part of the business. In doing so, they can boost their department’s visibility, from cost control to strategic innovation.
Bridging Two Worlds: Vehicles and Robots
Many organizations see vehicles and automation as separate areas — one managed by transportation, the other by IT or engineering. But the future won’t be so divided. Picture a single operations dashboard that displays the status of every asset that moves: delivery vans, warehouse robots, drones, and even charging stations.
That’s where business is heading — toward connected visibility. The same telematics data that helps you manage vehicle routes and maintenance can also develop into analytics that track robot performance, battery life, and efficiency. Fleet operations can be the team making that orchestration possible.
The Challenges Along the Way
Of course, expanding into automation won’t happen overnight. Robotic systems are new to many organizations and require different kinds of maintenance, training, and safety planning. Most companies are still experimenting — trying a few robots in one facility before scaling up.
Fleet managers will have to learn some new terminology and collaborate more closely with departments they haven’t frequently worked with, like IT and engineering. However, these collaborations can be highly effective. Fleet’s experience with cost management and lifecycle planning enhances IT’s expertise in software and data. Together, they can create a stronger business case for automation investments.
There’s also a cultural obstacle. In many companies, the fleet department is viewed mainly as a service provider. To lead in automation, fleet professionals need to demonstrate they can think beyond just vehicles — that they can handle all the moving parts that keep operations running. This involves showing clear financial benefits, simple dashboards, and measurable ROI.
A Practical Path Forward
Every organization advances at its own pace, but there are proven steps to follow. Begin small by choosing one or two automation projects that solve real problems—such as warehouse material handling or repetitive inspections. Involve the fleet and operations teams early in the planning process. Utilize their expertise in vendor management, maintenance scheduling, and cost tracking to ensure the pilot runs more efficiently. Then evaluate the results. If uptime increases, safety incidents decrease, and costs remain predictable — that’s the evidence executives need.
Over time, these initial efforts can develop into a comprehensive asset-management strategy that covers both vehicles and automation. Instead of multiple departments handling their own machines separately, a single team manages everything. This results in fewer silos, improved data, and more consistent reporting for leadership.
The Strategic Payoff
The payoff goes beyond efficiency. When fleet operations take ownership of automation assets, they become part of the company’s digital and innovation agenda. They gain a stronger voice in investment decisions. They build new skills in data and technology. And they help the organization prepare for a world where human labor and machine labor work side by side.
Automation doesn’t replace the value of fleet management — it enhances it. The same discipline that ensures vehicles are safe, compliant, and cost-effective can also guide your company’s management of robots, drones, and autonomous systems.
Companies that recognize this connection early will move faster, scale more intelligently, and maximize every dollar invested in automation. The next wave of business transformation won’t just happen in boardrooms or IT labs — it will occur where work gets done.
If you manage vehicles today, you’re already handling the core of your company’s mobility. Tomorrow, that core will include robotic and automated systems that broaden your reach, enhance your insight, and increase your impact.
This is your moment to lead. Don’t wait for automation to come from another department. Bring your expertise in lifecycle management, cost control, and operational performance now. Companies that incorporate automation into their fleet strategy will maintain control of their assets, budgets, and future. Those who don’t risk others defining it for them.
About the author
Fleet marketing expert and consultant Ed Pierce is an editor at Fleet Management Weekly. He can be reached at 484-957-1246 or [email protected].
