Replacing specialty vehicles and equipment, like fire apparatus, in a timely manner can be a fiscal challenge for any fleet manager. Many operations refurbish such assets, because they perceive this to be more cost effective. This article explores the argument about refurbishing versus replacing expensive fire equipment.

Low bid is the mantra of most public procurement managers — and rightly so. However, “low bid” may not mean what you think it means. The question is: are you skilled enough to structure a bid specification and analyze the responses so that they consider lifecycle costs rather than just net acquisition cost? When consider hybrids and other specialized type of equipment the use of lifecycle cost analysis (LCA) is imperative when deciding to if it is worth the investment. This article explains the use of LCA for selecting vehicles during the procurement process.

Funding for vehicle replacement purchases is a frequent target of budget cutters when a company is under pressure to reduce costs or increase profits. These short term decisions can have a significant long term financial impact.

Vehicle and Equipment Specification Writing and Getting What you Need Legitimately

The process of developing specifications for the purchase of vehicles and equipment is a complex task. Many fleet managers and purchasing agents have come to the conclusion that restrictive and narrowly defined RFP specifications is the only mechanism for procuring the correct assets for their operations. Moreover, some specifications are so limiting in their scope that many vendors forego bidding on an opportunity, because they believe the RFP is wired for another vendor or brand of equipment. Performance-based specifications, however, can be used to achieve a fair, competitive bidding process and protect you and your fleet customers from getting the best value due to a low-bid procurement environment. This article discusses how you can implement performance-based specifications for vehicle and equipment procurements.

asset lifecycle; fleet replacement

The process of developing specifications for the purchase of vehicles and equipment is a complex task. Many fleet managers and purchasing agents have come to the conclusion that restrictive and narrowly defined RFP specifications is the only mechanism for procuring the correct assets for their operations. Moreover, some specifications are so limiting in their scope that many vendors forego bidding on an opportunity, because they believe the RFP is wired for another vendor or brand of equipment. Performance-based specifications, however, can be used to achieve a fair, competitive bidding process and protect you and your fleet customers from getting the best value due to a low-bid procurement environment. This article discusses how you can implement performance-based specifications for vehicle and equipment procurements.

As funding for fleet replacement diminishes in a tough economy many organizations begin considering alternative methods, such as lease-purchase financing, to purchase new vehicles and equipment. This articles discusses the funding options that are available to government and commercial organization and how each funding approach works.