Seasonal Vehicle Hire In The UK
The majority of the businesses in the UK do not operate consistently throughout the year. Around Christmas, Black Friday, summer holidays, or even major trade shows, retailers, manufacturers, parcel operators, and event companies experience a demand spike. Even having sufficient numbers of vehicles to meet the busiest of weeks would leave you with underutilised assets for the remainder of the year and unnecessarily high fixed costs.
Seasonal Truck rental and short-term fleet rental allow you to add capacity on demand. There is no need to buy more vans or trucks; you can just go and plug in temporary truck hire during those peak weeks and then hand back the keys when things get back to normal. This flexibility is particularly applicable in instances where demand is fluctuating or supported by one-off contracts.
Get To Know Your Peak-Season Profile
You must have an idea of what your peak really looks like before you start thinking about the types of vehicles. It is a slow rise over a few months to some businesses; a sudden spurt in a few important weeks or even days to others. Go back to the volumes of last year, patterns of delivery and bottlenecks and identify where the service began to squeak: trunking between depots, last-mile delivery, or specialist loads.
It is necessary to translate that demand into vehicle days. When you are certain that you will require three more 18-tonne box vans during November and December, you can plan specific seasonal hiring rather than making a guess and either over- or under-specifying. The same detail also makes the discussion with your rental partner much more fruitful.
Seasonal Vehicle Hire Tip: Book In Advance And Be Precise
You are preparing to go up to the peak, and so are the other operators. The small vans, long-wheelbase panel vans, 7.5-tonners, and 18-tonne box vans are the most popular vehicles and rent quickly. Waiting until the last minute to book seasonal vehicle hire virtually ensures a compromise on the type of vehicle, lead time, or price.
The earlier you book, the better and with a clear brief, you have more options. Provided you can define your required dates, rough miles, routes, and any special requirements (tail-lifts, refrigeration, livery), a service such as Thomas’s Group can book the right vehicles and create a package around your peak plan. It also implies that they will be able to access more rental networks when necessary, accessing thousands of trucks across the country to fill any gaps.
Correlate The Job With Short-Term Fleet Rental
It is easy to pick up what comes along during peak times. However, having the wrong vehicle on the wrong route is an expensive affair in terms of fuel, driver utilisation and even lost deliveries. Rather, consider temporary truck hire as permanent fleet planning.
Smaller vans or 7.5-tonne trucks can be the most suitable for dense urban multi-drop deliveries. For regional trunking and deliveries to RDCs, 18-tonne box vans, curtainsiders, and tractor units tend to be more effective. The range on offer from Thomas’s Group goes from small vans and minibuses to 26-tonne box vans, curtainsiders, and tractor units, meaning you can replicate your core fleet and place seasonal hires directly onto existing routes.
The more similar your seasonal vehicles are to those that your drivers are familiar with, the easier it is to ramp up. That translates to less time spent on familiarisation and fewer surprises when the rush is on.
Guarantee Business Continuity Through Temporary Truck Hire
Breakdowns, unplanned downtime, or safety concerns are unnecessary stressors during peak seasons. The greatest benefit of short-term fleet leasing is that maintenance and support are in the hands of the hire company, not your workroom.
Thomas’s Group retains its commercial fleet that is less than three years old and well maintained, serviced, MOTs, road tax and regular maintenance. You can also have nationwide recovery and replacement under your agreement, so when a vehicle fails, there is a plan to get you moving again in no time. That kind of backup is priceless during periods when you are working long hours to meet seasonal deadlines.
Add Some Flexibility To Your Seasonal Hire Strategy
Good forecasting can still surprise you with peak demand. A large customer gets additional business, a promotion scores higher than anticipated, or weather drives more online orders. Flex up or down strength is the strength of seasonal vehicle hire.
When you deal with a provider that appreciates the short-term fleet rental in the UK, you will be able to extend contracts, add additional vehicles, or even change types in case of a change in your needs. Thomas’s Group positions itself as a flexible B2B fleet partner, not only a daily rental desk, but also you can negotiate things such as additional vans. We’ll confirm final numbers closer to the time, and have that factored into your plan.
Drivers and Processes Should Not Be Forgotten
Vehicles alone won’t get you through peak seasons. You also need the drivers, planners and processes to use them effectively. When you’re planning temporary truck hire, think about licence requirements, driver training and shift patterns alongside the vehicles themselves. If you’re introducing new body types or gross weights, make sure drivers have the right entitlement and understand load security and height restrictions.
On the planning side, short-term fleet rental is an opportunity to optimise routes. Other vehicles could enable you to cut down on routes or make additional trips between depots or between high-priority and lower-value work. Seasonal hires may be used to improve service performance and capacity rather than hiring more of the same.
The Way Thomas’s Group Facilitates Seasonal Vehicle Rentals
With its headquarters off the M6 in Birmingham, close to Wolverhampton and Walsall, Thomas’s Group has been serving UK-based businesses for almost 50 years, helping them create the fleets they require, including during peak times. Its B2B vehicle hire service includes short-term hire, longer-term fleet hire, and contract hire, and has hundreds of vans and trucks in its fleet and more than 30,000 vehicles in its national networks.
Since all the vehicles are well maintained and less than 3 years old, you begin the peak season with reliable, modern equipment, supported by nationwide recovery and replacement as needed. In the case of an account-managed service, the team has the opportunity to meet with you in advance, learn your seasonal profile, and develop a short-term rental plan for the fleet to ensure your operation is not stagnated.
By planning now for your next peak, rather than waiting until the phones start ringing, you are much more likely to get the vehicles you want, on the terms that suit your business.
