Fleet Consulting Services | Independent Fleet Consultants

Mercury stands out in fleet consulting by offering completely independent fleet services, ensuring unbiased, objective measurement and results.

We combine specialized fleet management expertise with unparalleled industry experience, independence, and a proven track record. This unique approach sets us apart from fleet leasing companies of all sizes, providing unmatched performance and reliability in fleet management.

Mercury is the leading dedicated provider of fleet consulting services. Our focus in every project is to develop implementable, real-world solutions that produce the greatest return on our client’s investment.

Our consulting team is composed of fleet management industry experts experienced across all aspects of fleet management consulting, research, tracking, and training. Unlike generalist management consulting and BPO firms that may take on a client engagement whose scope includes fleet management issues, we do one thing and one thing only – we serve the fleet industry.

Mercury is an independent consulting firm. We do not have commercial ties to any other business entity, and we are not a value-added reseller or channel partner to any supplier of products or services in the fleet industry.

Our consultants tackle challenges and opportunities that require a degree of technical sophistication and analytical rigor that simply cannot be found in most other fleet consulting firms. We focus on results and we welcome the opportunity to implement our recommendations.

Best practices performance reviews are one of the most popular types of projects that we conduct. In this high-level,  comprehensive review, we evaluate current fleet practices using process mapping and gap analysis techniques aimed at first defining, and then identifying, strengths and weaknesses in specific functional areas. We determine how well these processes are defined and executed by assessing their soundness, consistency with industry best practices, and quantitative results in terms of costs, performance, and satisfaction levels.

Mercury assists fleet organizations that operate general, revolving, or sinking funds, and cost clearing accounts to develop budgets and charge-back rates for improved performance and competitiveness. Mercury is a strong believer that cost transparency and ownership is imperative for effective cost control. Our thinking is that you cannot effectively manage costs that you cannot see or understand, and for which there is a lack of accountability.

Mercury is unique among fleet management consulting services in that its professional staff combines knowledge of day-to-day fleet management and maintenance business processes, fleet leasing company service delivery practices, and the implementation and use of fleet management information systems and associated IT solutions, such as online policy and procedure manuals, repair manuals, motor pool reservation systems, and Web-based management reports. This combination of experience and skills enables us to perform a wide array of IT projects for both fleet operators and software developers.

SYSTEMS

Functionality, Implementation, and Utilization Assessments

Implementation and Integration of Systems

SOFTWARE

Functional specification for commercial off-the-shelf software

COMPUTER INFRASTRUCTURE

Application and database servers

Network and workstations

Design, installation, upgrading, and/or ongoing maintenance

FUNCTIONAL FIT-GAP ANALYSIS

Suitability assessments of commercial off-the-shelf software for sale to fleet operators

FLEET MARKET RESEARCH

Studies for software developers

US fleet market demographics

Marketing and sales strategies

Fuel assessment and feasibility studies are in high demand because fuel is usually second to vehicle / equipment capital cost. Many fleet organizations have a high interest in the suitability of alternative fuels and how to address or implement sustainability initiatives. Mercury conducts assessments of fuel management programs, including current and potential, as well as internal fuel practices, contracts, commercial fueling practices, use of alternative fuels, and capital improvement needs.

Optimal Replacement Cycle Analysis, or ORCA, is Mercury’s proprietary software tool developed to conduct vehicle lifecycle cost analyses with user specific data. The tool allows us to tailor the base information to specific needs, use actual or predictive costs, and adjust variable costs in a way that directly reflects the operations at hand.

We fine-tune your input data in order to return results based on empirical data that determines when replacement would be the most beneficial to the fleet operation. ORCA also determines incremental costs of retaining vehicles for periods longer than the ideal replacement year – so it is able to adapt to real-world circumstances.

Fleet policies and procedures provide a guide for meeting organizational objectives and document the steps that employees, drivers, repair technicians, and management, are to follow when entrusted with the care of a vehicle or piece of equipment. Mercury assists fleet organizations with the development of standard operating policies, procedures, manuals, driver guidebooks, and much more. We have developed dozens of different products for a wide variety of diverse fleet operations throughout many different fleet segments.

Many fleet organizations struggle with replacing vehicles and equipment in an orderly and efficient manner. Sometimes, senior management does not appreciate the fleet’s contribution to the success of the enterprise’s overall mission and replacement decisions are based on short-term considerations. Fleet replacement costs are an easy target for budget cutting, especially in times of economic stress. Mercury’s fleet consulting services provide fleet replacement planning services to organizations for decades. We design programs that bring reliability to fleet operations along with short-term fiscal stability and long-term economic value to our clients.

Mercury’s fleet replacement planning and cost analysis program projects near and long-term vehicle / equipment replacement costs, depreciation costs, residual values, funding requirements under alternative financing approaches, replacement charge-back rates, and replacement reserve fund balances. The program is designed to assist organizations in determining the best way to finance the replacement of vehicles and motorized equipment, and to assist them in managing a systematic asset replacement program on an ongoing basis.

Periodic utilization reviews and rightsizing studies often pay for themselves many times over in increased productivity and lower operating and capital costs. Mercury has performed these studies for countless organizations. Our studies have enabled clients to reduce their fleet size by as much as 20 percent while lowering their replacement costs, repair bills, and discretionary-trip expenses.

VAM is a structured approach created by Mercury to assist organizations in performing a rightsizing study on their fleets with the intention of improving the quality of their fleet management and operating practices while reducing costs. This automated vehicle justification protocol analyzes utilization and mission criticality data to make preliminary recommendations for vehicle retention.

Mercury Associates specializes in optimizing fleet management operations, ensuring maximum efficiency and return on investment for transportation businesses. Our expert fleet management consultants bring strategic insights and innovative solutions to streamline processes, reduce costs, and enhance overall efficiency. By leveraging cutting-edge tools and technologies, we analyze key metrics such as fuel consumption and driver behavior to implement tailored strategies for cost reduction and risk management. With comprehensive services, including fleet optimization and asset tracking system implementation, we enable businesses to unlock the full potential of their fleets.

Through continuous improvement and collaboration, we drive long-term success by minimizing costs and maximizing efficiency. Partner with Mercury Associates to ensure regulatory compliance, minimize downtime, improve safety standards, and enhance asset utilization. Contact us today to discover how our tailored solutions can optimize your fleet operations for success.

Mercury delivers understandable, defensible findings and practical recommendations on managing the size, composition, and operation of your fleet. Our goal is to bring savings and productivity gains that far exceed the cost of our work.

Mercury has provided consulting and/or training services throughout the world. Our growing network of international affiliates combines our North American experience with local bases of operations and the knowledge of business cultures and practices that is essential to serving our clients in other countries well.

• North America
• Australia
• Caribbean
• South America
• Europe
• Central and Southeast Asia
• Middle East

We understand that technical expertise in fleet management is not always sufficient to compel organizations to implement needed improvements to their business practices. Mercury’s professionals have many years of experience educating senior decision makers and elected officials as to how effective fleet management and operating practices contribute to overall organizational success.

Mercury holds several U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) schedules and participates in purchasing programs, which streamline the purchasing process for our government clients. We also hold a state of California multiple award schedule (CMAS) and a contract with Loudoun County, Virginia.