Fleet maintenance software and information technology continued gaining ground among all types of fleets last year. This year should see continued growth in maintenance software adoption, according to top executives in the field.
For example, maintenance software provider Squarerigger Inc. reported a very good year for 2005, with a revenue increase of 34% compared to 2004. In 2006, Squarerigger expects to double that growth to roughly 60%. According to Ed Cooper, Squarerigger CEO, in January alone the company’s revenues equaled about one-fifth of 2005 revenues.
Arsenault Associates recently announced seeing record growth in 2005 as revenue grew 18% and it acquired 80 new fleet clients. According to the company, demand for mobile maintenance technology is on the rise leading to more interest for PDA versions of its Dossier software for use by mobile technicians. In fact, Arsenault sees mobile maintenance software technology being a big trend for 2006.
“The fleet managers have come through two generations since I started,” Charles Arsenault, founder & president of Arsenault Associates told FleetOwner. “Today the manager expects fleet management software to either be in place or coming in place.”
According to Squarerigger’s Cooper, a driver behind increasing sales is that fleets are recognizing the value in providing mechanics technology for mobile “point-of-action”—allowing the mechanic to input data with pocket PCs into the maintenance database anywhere while on the job to cut administrative work.
Considering the amount of time the product is estimated to save each mechanic a day at a salary of $35/hr, Cooper said many clients find that the return on investment is achieved in a year.
Integration of maintenance software with a fleet company’s information technology, as opposed to allowing it to run separately, is another trend that will pick up in 2006.
“It takes the fleet knowledge out of the head of one individual to all levels of management,” Arsenault said. “Fleet maintenance gives a picture of more than just [preventative maintenance] scheduling. Good software provides the total cost for labor and cost per mile in terms of month, year-to-date, and life-to-date of equipment. It allows re-capitalization of equipment-- it also allows them to get into life-cycling of equipment to make decisions based on problem equipment rather than just older equipment.”
For more information on Arsenault Associates, go to www.truckfleet.com. For more information on Squarerigger, go to www.squarerigger.com.
