For a national fleet, the cost of vehicle branding isn't limited to the graphics themselves.
Every vehicle taken off the road for branding is a vehicle that isn't working.
Multiply that across hundreds or thousands of vehicles and even relatively small differences in fitting times, travel and scheduling can have a significant operational impact.
Reducing downtime therefore needs to be considered from the beginning of any large-scale fleet branding programme.
Why does fleet branding create downtime?
Traditional vehicle wrapping can require vehicles to be transported to suitable fitting facilities, prepared for installation and kept off the road while large areas of vinyl are applied.
For an individual vehicle, this may be relatively straightforward.
Across a national fleet operating from multiple depots and locations, the logistics become much more complicated.
Fleet managers may need to coordinate vehicle availability, drivers, fitting appointments and operational schedules while ensuring the rollout remains consistent across every location.
The real question therefore isn't simply how quickly graphics can be fitted.
1. Design the branding around repeatable installation
A national fleet rollout shouldn't be approached as hundreds of individual vehicle branding jobs.
The more that can be standardised before installation begins, the easier the rollout becomes to manage.
That includes establishing accurate vehicle data, approved designs, repeatable templates and clearly defined installation processes.
With modular vehicle branding, graphics are designed as precision-fit sections for specific areas of the vehicle rather than as large continuous sheets of wrap.
This helps create a repeatable installation process that can be reproduced across multiple vehicles and locations.
2. Build accurate vehicle data before rollout
One of the biggest challenges with large fleets is vehicle variation.
Even fleets that appear relatively standard can contain different makes, models, wheelbases, body styles and specifications.
Understanding exactly what is in the fleet before production starts can prevent delays further down the line.
Brandfixx uses 3D vehicle scanning to create accurate digital vehicle data and precision-fit templates for different vehicle types.
Once a vehicle has been captured and a template created, that data can be used when the same vehicle type needs to be branded again.
This becomes particularly valuable for ongoing fleet programmes where vehicles are continually added and replaced.
Find out more about Brandfixx vehicle scanning and precision-fit technology.
3. Reduce the amount of work required on the vehicle
Installation time matters.
Traditional wrapping can involve positioning and applying large sheets of material around curves, recesses, handles and other areas of the vehicle.
Modular branding takes a different approach.
Each kit is divided into predetermined sections designed to fit specific areas of the vehicle. This can make the fitting process more repeatable and reduce the amount of work that needs to take place while the vehicle is unavailable.
For a large fleet, saving time on an individual installation becomes considerably more important when that saving is multiplied across hundreds of vehicles.
Learn more about how modular vehicle branding works.
4. Take the fitting to the fleet where possible
Moving vehicles around the country purely to have graphics installed creates its own downtime.
For national fleets, a more efficient approach can be to organise installation around the locations where vehicles are already operating.
That might mean fitting at depots, vehicle preparation centres or other suitable fleet locations rather than sending every vehicle to a central wrapping facility.
This can reduce unnecessary journeys and make installations easier to coordinate alongside existing fleet operations.
When choosing a national fleet branding partner, fitting capability should therefore be considered alongside design and manufacturing.
5. Coordinate branding with existing vehicle schedules
Not every branding installation needs to create additional downtime.
Where possible, fitting can be coordinated with times when vehicles are already unavailable or moving through another fleet process.
This could include new vehicle preparation, maintenance periods, repair work or planned vehicle changeovers.
For businesses introducing large numbers of new vehicles, incorporating branding into the vehicle deployment process can be much more efficient than recalling vehicles after they have entered service.
6. Consider what happens after the rollout
Initial installation is only one source of downtime.
Graphics may need attention throughout the vehicle's working life due to accident damage, body repairs, branding updates or changes in fleet specification.
If repairing a relatively small area means a vehicle needs to undergo a significant rewrap, the disruption can extend well beyond the original rollout.
A modular system allows individual sections of branding to be reproduced where required.
This means damaged vehicle graphics can be replaced individually rather than automatically treating the entire livery as one installation.
For large operational fleets, reducing this ongoing disruption can be just as important as making the initial rollout faster.
7. Plan for a fleet that will keep changing
A national fleet branding programme rarely has a definitive end date.
Vehicles leave. Replacement vehicles arrive. New models are introduced. Fleets expand and contracts change.
A branding system therefore needs to work just as effectively for vehicle 751 as it did for vehicle one.
Brandfixx developed its modular vehicle branding system for changing fleets around this reality.
Vehicle data, templates and repeatable kits allow branding to become an ongoing fleet process rather than requiring the solution to be recreated each time the fleet changes.
How much difference can reduced downtime make?
The answer depends on the size and operation of the fleet.
Saving a relatively small amount of time on one vehicle may not appear significant.
Multiply that saving across 500, 1,000 or several thousand vehicles and the operational impact can become substantial.
Fleet operators should therefore consider:
- Average fitting time per vehicle
- Travel time to fitting locations
- Number of vehicles involved
- How installation will be scheduled
- Whether fitting can take place at fleet locations
- How repairs will be handled afterwards
- How replacement vehicles will be incorporated
These factors should form part of the whole-life cost of fleet branding, rather than comparing suppliers purely on the initial cost of graphics.
Fleet branding should work around the fleet
Large commercial fleets exist to keep businesses moving.
The branding process shouldn't unnecessarily prevent them from doing that.
Reducing downtime requires more than faster fitting. It means looking at vehicle data, manufacturing, installation, locations, repairs and replacement vehicles as one joined-up process.
That is particularly important for national fleets where small inefficiencies can quickly become large ones.
Brandfixx created its original modular vehicle branding system to provide an alternative approach to traditional vehicle wrapping, designed around the practical realities of managing working fleets.
For businesses planning a large rollout or looking for a more efficient way to manage an existing programme, modular branding for national fleets can provide a different way to approach the challenge.
