By Fleet Management Weekly Staff
October 30, 2024
Managing a fleet is no easy job – it requires coordinating numerous drivers, vehicles, and vendors to keep everything running with minimal downtime. Most fleets rely on Fleet Management Companies (FMCs) to streamline operations. But while FMCs act as the go-between for fleets and their vendors, they often require intermediaries to fill in the gaps and find local dealers in their clients’ markets.
Patriot Fleet Solutions is an intermediary, a one-stop-shop solution that provides FMCs with a centralized business model and access to a nationwide network of dealers. As an offshoot of Patriot Liner, one of the nation’s fastest-growing and most successful spray-on bed liner brands, Patriot Fleet Solutions can leverage Patriot Liner’s extensive expertise and nationwide presence to benefit FMCs.
“What we offer is centralized access to a network of dealers,” says Henry Chedraoui, Vice President of Patriot Fleet Solutions. “Our network of dealers allows us to find localized solutions for FMCs with clients across the country. We can quickly access reliable products and services from a local Patriot shop, whether a broken-down vehicle in Tampa or a rush order for five new trucks.”
Unifying a Fragmented Industry
“The fleet industry is fragmented,” says Henry. “Unlike the automotive industry, which is very organized, fleet service relationships are muddled. What we offer is to consolidate and streamline the entire operating process. That’s what makes us unique.”
Patriot Fleet Solutions fills the gap by acting as FMCs’ and clients’ go-between, pairing each vehicle with a local Patriot shop. The company does the work of locating local dealers and shops to provide services as needed, offering FMCs a centralized, one-size-fits-all solution. This can encompass a range of services, from performing proactive maintenance to sourcing new vehicles.
Most FMCs traditionally outsource many of their services to different vendors, relying on a patchwork quilt of vendors who need to communicate with each other. Because many of them represent clients in various states, they often must seek out dozens of dealers across dozens of markets.
“Not only does this require an inordinate amount of time, energy, and resources, it’s also woefully inefficient,” explains Henry. “We have 300 dealers from all over the country. An FMC client tells them what they need, and the FMC will relay that information. I will find Patriot shops that best fit the client’s needs.
“Our customers do not need to find and outsource other services. Whatever the need, we handle it all: toolboxes, bed liners, decals, transportation, mechanical. They tell us what they want, and we care for it.”
Faster Access to Vehicles
One issue that most fleet management companies must be aware of is the long wait time for ordering vehicles directly from manufacturers. Many fleets are forced to wait months for new vehicles to be delivered, which can seriously impact productivity and threaten the bottom line.
Patriot Fleet Solutions bypasses these lengthy wait times. Henry details the service: “Ordinarily, when FMCs try to purchase from dealers instead of manufacturers, they can run into all sorts of issues, from inconsistent pricing to limited availability, not to mention the time it takes to travel to various dealers and explore their inventory.
“We manage all of this, eliminating the hassle of acquiring vehicles and bridging the gap between order and delivery. We order our vehicles out-of-stock, from class one to class eight. About 80-85% of the orders are for classes one to six, although we do have a few shops that do seven and eight.”
Patriot also streamlines vehicle maintenance by relying on a network of local shops instead of pushing multiple vehicles through one location. “Instead of relying on one shop to handle multiple cars, which can create a months-long backlog, we divide and conquer the challenge through several local dealers,” says Henry.
“We have relationships with multiple shops in cities like Dallas or Atlanta. So, if you give me 50 trucks, we will have a whole pipeline of shops waiting and finish them in one week instead of two months.”
Thanks to their worldwide network, Patriot Fleet Solutions can service a vehicle no matter where it ends up. That means if a car from Miami runs into trouble in New York, it takes one phone call, and Patriot Fleet Solutions will find a shop to fix it.
“There won’t be a separate billing process,” notes Henry. Further, he said that all billing is centralized and billed directly to the FMC as part of the lease. “That simplifies the process for both fleets and FMCs alike, giving them a unified overview of vehicle costs and reducing inefficiencies or improper budget planning.”
Real-time Status Updates
One of the more significant issues FMCs face with their vendors is access to accurate, real-time status updates. “Managing a vast network of vehicles is difficult when you don’t have instant access to a vehicle’s status at any moment,” says Henry.
“In my previous role at another business, I witnessed firsthand the struggle of using separate systems for status reporting. When I joined Patriot, we invested in a system that, among many other benefits, provides advanced real-time data, giving us a competitive edge. No FMC or fleet manager is ever kept in the dark about the location or status of their vehicles.”
Looking Forward
While Patriot Liner has been operating for about 40 years, they have only recently launched Patriot Fleet Solutions a few short months ago. Despite being a relatively new division, the company has already managed to build 1500 vehicles, generate significant revenue, and ink relationships with large FMCs.
“We buy from everybody,” says Henry. “We have relationships with every manufacturer we can. This is what we do, everything from the simple stuff to the most complicated projects. Our bed liner is state of the art.
“As the co-founder of another vehicle services company dating back to the 90s, our owner learned from past mistakes and knew the pitfalls. With Patriot, he has done away with the things that didn’t work, insisted on state-of-the-art materials, including American-made sprays, and introduced processes that make Patriot the best choice for our clients.”
Henry predicts that the next step for Patriot Fleet Solutions is to continue securing partnerships with more major FMCs. The company’s success during its first four months of operation indicates that it will continue its upward trajectory for the foreseeable future.