Restoration Business Relies on Fleet Predictability
Chicago, IL – J.C. Restoration, Inc. is a business that thrives on unexpected emergencies. But nothing happens by chance when it comes to managing the company’s fleet of 40 vehicles. As a full-service, 24-hour disaster response company in the Chicago area for commercial and residential customers, J.C. Restoration repairs properties damaged in storms, fires, crimes, and other emergency situations. Founded in 1982 by Jose Cruz, the company today is owned by his son, Warner.
J.C. Restoration switched to Enterprise Fleet Management about five years ago after Warner realized that he was spending too much of his time trying to dispose of vehicles and not getting a good return on his investment. “The business model we were using was upside down and our cash flow was suffering,” said Warner. “Not only was I spending too much time trying to figure out when to sell vehicles, I was losing money because the residual was always higher than I had anticipated.”
Outsourcing fleet management responsibilities has made a significant difference for J.C. Restoration. “Now we are actually making money at the end of the lease because our residual is lower,” said Warner. “And by having a cycling program, we have a systematic process for acquiring and disposing of vehicles based on a variety of factors, such as time of year, mileage, vehicle type, age and maintenance history.”
“Having a cycling program ensures vehicles are always in the best possible condition and replaced at appropriate intervals to achieve optimum performance and the best resale value, which definitely impacts our cost savings,” said Warner. He also believes that maintaining a fleet of newer vehicles not only impacts the firm’s ability to provide reliable and dependable service to customers, it enhance the morale of employees who drive the vehicles, which translates into good customer service.
Maintenance Management also works well for the company, which operates five different divisions, each with a dedicated fleet of vehicles. Since any downtime must be minimal, J.C. Restoration depends on Enterprise to schedule and monitor maintenance and to scrutinize invoices.
“In addition to saving a lot of time and aggravation worrying about whether we were getting the most economical, timely and high-quality repairs, as well as any available warranty benefits, rebates and price breaks, we were able to eliminate a full-time maintenance manager position from our company’s payroll,” said Warner.
Finally, like many other businesses today, the high cost of fuel is also a major concern for J.C. Restoration. But, Warner believes he is keeping costs at a manageable level with a fuel card program that enables him to track fuel costs for all drivers in the company.
Because each driver is assigned a unique ID number that is immediately recorded electronically at the point of fuel purchase, J.C. Restoration receives one report at the end of each month that tracks all fuel purchases. The program provides detailed information about each driver and the vehicle in one easy-to-read report.
The fuel card program not only helps J.C. Restoration better control costs, it actually gives all of the firm’s drivers maximum convenience by giving them access to more fueling locations than any individual retailer’s card.
However, for Warner Cruz the best thing about working with Enterprise is that it’s good for his business. “I have more time to focus on customer service instead of contending with issues pertaining to buying and selling cars, managing maintenance and repair bills, and monitoring fuel purchases,” he said. “Because Enterprise specializes in companies like mine that have mid-size fleets, they have become our business partner and are helping us achieve strategic goals and objectives.”
The preceding was furnished by Enterprise Fleet Management. For more information call 1-877-23-FLEET or go to www.enterprise.com/fleets.
J.C. Restoration switched to Enterprise Fleet Management about five years ago after Warner realized that he was spending too much of his time trying to dispose of vehicles and not getting a good return on his investment. “The business model we were using was upside down and our cash flow was suffering,” said Warner. “Not only was I spending too much time trying to figure out when to sell vehicles, I was losing money because the residual was always higher than I had anticipated.”
Outsourcing fleet management responsibilities has made a significant difference for J.C. Restoration. “Now we are actually making money at the end of the lease because our residual is lower,” said Warner. “And by having a cycling program, we have a systematic process for acquiring and disposing of vehicles based on a variety of factors, such as time of year, mileage, vehicle type, age and maintenance history.”
“Having a cycling program ensures vehicles are always in the best possible condition and replaced at appropriate intervals to achieve optimum performance and the best resale value, which definitely impacts our cost savings,” said Warner. He also believes that maintaining a fleet of newer vehicles not only impacts the firm’s ability to provide reliable and dependable service to customers, it enhance the morale of employees who drive the vehicles, which translates into good customer service.
Maintenance Management also works well for the company, which operates five different divisions, each with a dedicated fleet of vehicles. Since any downtime must be minimal, J.C. Restoration depends on Enterprise to schedule and monitor maintenance and to scrutinize invoices.
“In addition to saving a lot of time and aggravation worrying about whether we were getting the most economical, timely and high-quality repairs, as well as any available warranty benefits, rebates and price breaks, we were able to eliminate a full-time maintenance manager position from our company’s payroll,” said Warner.
Finally, like many other businesses today, the high cost of fuel is also a major concern for J.C. Restoration. But, Warner believes he is keeping costs at a manageable level with a fuel card program that enables him to track fuel costs for all drivers in the company.
Because each driver is assigned a unique ID number that is immediately recorded electronically at the point of fuel purchase, J.C. Restoration receives one report at the end of each month that tracks all fuel purchases. The program provides detailed information about each driver and the vehicle in one easy-to-read report.
The fuel card program not only helps J.C. Restoration better control costs, it actually gives all of the firm’s drivers maximum convenience by giving them access to more fueling locations than any individual retailer’s card.
However, for Warner Cruz the best thing about working with Enterprise is that it’s good for his business. “I have more time to focus on customer service instead of contending with issues pertaining to buying and selling cars, managing maintenance and repair bills, and monitoring fuel purchases,” he said. “Because Enterprise specializes in companies like mine that have mid-size fleets, they have become our business partner and are helping us achieve strategic goals and objectives.”
The preceding was furnished by Enterprise Fleet Management. For more information call 1-877-23-FLEET or go to www.enterprise.com/fleets.
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
