Will An Outsourced Fleet Really Serve Your Startup Better?

These days, outsourcing is an undeniable startup buzzword, especially when it comes to expensive pursuits like developing a business fleet. Without a shocking outlay, these services make it easier for you to start shipping and delivering your products. But, is an outsourced fleet always for the best?

Perhaps not. Keep on reading to find out why.

Unnecessary Complication Come With Outsourced Fleet

Starting a business is already complicated, without adding another company into the mix. Admittedly, these complications may be minor when it comes to focuses like marketing that an outsourced agency can handle entirely in-house. But, when it comes to fleet management that requires collaboration on things like stock pick-ups and more, matters become more complex. Before you know it, you may spend more time trying to fit in with your outsourced fleet provider than you do actually creating your products in the first place.

While internal fleet management might seem complex, it’ll often be a much simpler process than trying to navigate this third party. After all, at this stage, you could get away with a small fleet of just one or two vans. By taking additional steps to ensure efficiency, like using the right tracking software and investing in onsite fueling services, you should find that getting on top isn’t half as hard as you thought. It’ll certainly be easier than constantly having to go through a disparate third party!

Ongoing Costs

On the surface, outsourcing things like fleet management and procurement seems like an affordable option, especially when compared to actual vehicle costs. In reality, though, fleet outsourcing contracts that often see you paying a high monthly fee for set periods can quickly become unwelcome cost traps.

This is especially true when you consider that scaling an outsourced fleet alongside company growth will often come with nasty hidden costs. From the need to pay out for a more advanced subscription to the need to address inevitable quality issues that aren’t your fault, those expenses could soon add up to outstrip any money you would’ve spent on an internal fleet in the first place.

Overreliance on Third-Party Help

When you’re trying to learn everything from how to file your corporate taxes to how to manage a small team, being able to hand tasks like fleet management to a third party can feel like a blessing. Finally, you’ll be free to focus on what matters. But, there is such a thing as becoming too reliant on outsourcing.

After all, failing to learn fleet basics when you’re developing your general business acumen is sure to leave you with notable knowledge gaps. And, the further you get into your operations/the more in-demand your products become, the harder it’ll be to bridge those gaps. Hence why it might be worth just tackling fleet management yourself while your demand is still at a low enough level to buy you the time to get a firm grip on it.

Outsourcing is undeniably valuable for startups, but it’s worth thinking about these potential downsides before trusting somebody else with your fleet.