Reducing fleet branding costs isn't simply about finding a cheaper price to wrap each vehicle.
For businesses operating large commercial fleets, a significant proportion of the cost can occur after the initial installation.
Vehicles are damaged. Graphics need replacing. New vehicles enter the fleet. Others leave. Liveries are updated. Vehicles have to be transported to fitting locations and taken out of service while work is completed.
Individually, these costs can seem relatively small. Across hundreds or thousands of vehicles, they can become significant.
Reducing fleet branding costs therefore starts with looking at the entire lifecycle of the branding rather than the initial installation price alone.
1. Look beyond the cost per vehicle
Comparing quotations based purely on the initial cost of branding each vehicle can be misleading.
The real cost can include:
- Initial graphics production
- Installation
- Vehicle downtime
- Transport to and from fitting locations
- Repairs following vehicle damage
- Replacement graphics
- Rebranding and livery updates
- Branding replacement vehicles
- Removal at the end of the vehicle's life
These costs should form part of any meaningful comparison between fleet vehicle branding solutions.
A slightly lower initial installation price may not represent better value if the branding is expensive or disruptive to maintain throughout the fleet lifecycle.
2. Reduce the cost of repairing damaged graphics
Commercial vehicles work for a living.
Scratches, dents and accident damage are inevitable, particularly across high-mileage or operational fleets.
The question is what happens to the branding when that damage occurs.
With large areas of wrapped vinyl, repairing relatively localised damage can sometimes require a much larger area of graphics to be removed and replaced.
A modular approach allows individual branded sections to be reproduced independently.
With modular vehicle branding, if one section becomes damaged, the aim is to replace the affected section rather than automatically reproducing a much larger area of the vehicle.
Across a large fleet with regular damage and repairs, this can make an important difference to ongoing branding costs.
3. Minimise vehicle downtime
The cost of branding isn't limited to vinyl and fitting labour.
Every hour a commercial vehicle is unavailable can have an operational cost.
For a national fleet, this becomes particularly important. Moving vehicles to specialist fitting centres, waiting for installations to be completed and coordinating appointments across multiple locations can add significant complexity.
Reducing fitting time and bringing installation closer to where vehicles are already located can therefore help reduce the wider cost of a branding programme.
For large fleets, it is worth considering both the installation process and how to reduce vehicle downtime during fleet branding before selecting a supplier.
4. Standardise vehicle data and templates
Consistency becomes more difficult as a fleet grows.
Different vehicle makes, models, wheelbases, body types and specifications all need to carry the same brand accurately.
Creating reliable vehicle data and repeatable templates can reduce the amount of work required every time another vehicle needs branding.
Brandfixx has built an extensive library of vehicle data through 3D scanning and the development of precision-fit templates.
Every vehicle scanned and every template developed adds to that knowledge, allowing branding to be reproduced consistently when the same vehicle types appear elsewhere within a fleet.
This is particularly valuable for businesses with ongoing vehicle replacement programmes rather than one-off rebrands.
Learn more about Brandfixx vehicle scanning and precision-fit technology.
5. Plan for replacement vehicles from the beginning
Large fleets rarely remain static.
Vehicles reach the end of leases, new models are introduced and fleet sizes change in response to operational requirements.
Branding replacement vehicles shouldn't therefore be treated as an unexpected additional cost.
The branding system should be designed around the assumption that vehicles will change.
This is one of the reasons Brandfixx developed modular vehicle branding for changing fleets. Once the branding and vehicle data have been established, future kits can be produced to maintain the same visual identity as vehicles enter the fleet.
6. Make future brand changes easier
A full fleet rebrand isn't the only reason vehicle graphics change.
Telephone numbers, web addresses, accreditations, campaign messages, services and individual brand elements can all be updated during the working life of a vehicle.
If those elements form part of a much larger graphic, a relatively small change can potentially mean replacing considerably more material than the element itself.
Designing fleet branding with future changes in mind can help avoid unnecessary replacement work.
With a modular system, individual elements or sections can be updated where required without necessarily replacing the complete vehicle livery.
7. Reduce unnecessary material use
Material efficiency and cost often go hand in hand.
Replacing graphics that are still perfectly serviceable because another part of the livery has been damaged or changed creates unnecessary material use as well as additional cost.
A more targeted approach to repairs and updates can reduce the amount of vinyl that needs to be manufactured, installed, removed and discarded throughout the fleet lifecycle.
For organisations with sustainability targets, reducing material use can also support wider environmental objectives.
Find out more about reducing the environmental impact of fleet vehicle branding.
8. Measure whole-life cost, not just installation cost
Perhaps the biggest change fleet operators can make is how they evaluate branding costs in the first place.
Instead of asking:
“How much does it cost to brand each vehicle?”
Ask:
That calculation should include initial installation, downtime, repairs, replacement vehicles, livery changes, removal and material use.
For large and frequently changing fleets, the difference between the two calculations can be substantial.
Our guide to understanding the lifecycle cost of fleet branding explores this in more detail.
Reducing cost without reducing brand impact
Lower fleet branding costs shouldn't mean accepting inconsistent or lower-quality branding.
In fact, the right system should make consistency easier to maintain.
The objective is to remove unnecessary cost from the process: excessive downtime, unnecessary material replacement, repeated design work, inefficient repairs and recreating branding every time the fleet changes.
Brandfixx developed its original modular vehicle branding system around many of these challenges.
Rather than viewing every vehicle as another standalone wrapping project, the modular approach allows branding to be managed as an ongoing fleet programme.
For organisations operating hundreds or thousands of commercial vehicles, that shift can be important.
Because ultimately, the biggest fleet branding savings may not come from paying less for the first installation.
They can come from needing to do less every time something changes.
