Winning Fleet Business: Or, Why Fleets Swipe Right on Repair Shops

Ever wish your shop could bring in fleet work?

It sure sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Fleets often mean large contracts and regular work. But getting on their radar, especially as a smaller independent shop, can seem…well, pretty fraught. You’re a small fry, after all. Why on earth would they notice you?

We are pleased to inform you that some fleets are, in fact, looking for independent shops to partner with, and it doesn’t require a blood oath or the tears of your parts manager (though those do seem to power half the industry). At the 2025 edition of Diesel Connect, Mark Kennedy, VP of Equipment at Knight-Swift Transportation sat down with Peter Cooper of Ascend Consulting to talk about what fleets are looking for in shop partners, and there was no blood or tears mentioned.

Instead, fleets are looking for shops that just…well…make their lives easier and keep their trucks moving. Oh, and not disappearing into the void when something breaks at 2 AM is a big plus, too. 

In this article, we’ll pull back the curtain on how fleets pick their independent partners and what criteria they’re looking for. We’ll also give you a few pointers on how to make your shop an obvious “yes” instead of “eh…maybe?” or even “ugh, no.” 

Check out the video here if you’re interested. Otherwise, let’s get started. 

Downtime is the Key Issue for Fleets

Before we go any further, let’s get one fact ultra-clear: Fleets want to avoid downtime at all costs. Your shop, should they choose to partner with you, needs to help them do that. 

Downtime is a vicious suckerpunch to a fleet’s operations. When a truck is downed, they’re getting hit on multiple levels:

• Driver pay. If Knight-Swift’s drivers aren’t driving, they often aren’t getting paid. And no, drivers don’t get makeup time for breakdowns. In most cases, lost hours means lost income. 
• Customer satisfaction. Delayed or missed deliveries are already dinging customer satisfaction, as a late truck can throw off unloading schedules or retail stocking. Oh, yeah, and if a fleet is seen as unreliable, the customer is going to start looking elsewhere. 
• Operational efficiency. Pulling one truck from the lineup can mess with load schedules, overtime pay, and other operational matters for the fleet itself. 

If your shop can help a fleet stave off those three things, you’re in a good position to apply for fleet work. But don’t get complacent, Mark warns. “Just because you’re on the list today doesn’t mean you’ll stay there.” 

(And just because you’re not on the list today doesn’t mean you can’t wind up on it! There’s opportunity here, folks.) 

Why Do Fleets Seek Out Independent Partners?

Tell me, Fullbay, you might be saying, why would a fleet want to work with little old me?

For starters, you’re there.

No, really.

Big fleets operate all over, not just in the region where their HQ might be located. Knight-Swift partners with independent shops in areas where their trucks operate but where they don’t necessarily have an internal shop presence. A reliable network of indie shops can offer broader coverage, which is a huge asset to any operation (especially in a repair desert!). 

But fear not! If your shop happens to be near their yard or complex — or you’ve got a mobile branch that can get there — you’ve still got an in, because fleets are super busy. Like insanely busy. Knight-Swift handles most of its own preventive maintenance, along with smaller repairs, but tends to outsource larger projects that aren’t covered by warranty. 

In other words, they’re looking for shops to handle their overflow work. Think clutches, rear ends, and overhauls, along with bodywork. As described by Peter, “A fleet would rather take their mechanic and get 10 light bulbs fixed in a day and get 10 trucks back on the road than do one clutch.”

(Knight-Swift almost always outsources clutches, by the way.)

Top Six Traits Fleets Are Looking for in Repair Shops

When fleets outsource repair work, they’re looking for partners who make their lives easier, not harder. Here are six traits fleets look for when choosing independent repair shops to partner with.

Quick turnaround time. 

Remember, downtime is the devil. Fleets want their trucks up and running ASAP. Once a truck is down, the countdown to missed routes and reshuffled loads begins. That doesn’t just mean you work fast in the bay — it also means if you’ve got a mobile branch, you can get to their trucks quickly. “Being ‘Johnny-on-the-spot’ will get you our business,” Mark says. “Especially if it’s a breakdown.” 

If you can get out there and save the day when no one else can, you will be a hero. 

Mobile capacity. 

We want to emphasize the end of that last paragraph. When a truck taps out on the side of the road, or a fleet needs a ton of PMs knocked out without moving equipment from the yard, mobile fleet maintenance becomes the true hero. Also…come on. A repair service that goes to them? Super convenient. Fleets love convenience (and saved driver hours). 

Competitive labor rates. 

Fleets keep a close eye on costs. When they’re searching for shops to outsource labor to, they want, in the words of Mark, “the lowest [rate] possible.” Note that this does not mean cheap; rather, it’s that independent shops tend to have leaner overheads, and they can offer pricing that feels…well…pretty refreshing compared to what dealerships or the in-house shops provide. But again, that doesn’t mean cheap. 

You need to be doing quality work. How much you charge for that work is up to you, but we can point you towards some resources to help you set (and raise, when appropriate) competitive labor rates. And hey, if you want even more information about labor rates, we’ve got a whole freakin’ ebook on the topic.

Consistent, standardized notes that include VMRS codes. 

Fleets want records that are actually decipherable. They do not want strange symbols and chicken scratch masquerading as notes. Specifically, they want you to use Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards, or VMRS. In short, they assign a code to each part on a truck and each step of the repair process. They’re a common language for the trucking industry, developed over 40 years ago by American Trucking Associations, and independent shops are still fairly behind in the adoption process. Which means using them can put you ahead of the pack. (Still not sure about these VMRS codes? Learn more about them here.) 

Honestly, this is a big one. “We have people that review work orders to make sure it’s coded correctly before it gets closed out,” Mark says. If a shop isn’t using VMRS codes, that’s more work for Knight-Swift’s people, who will have to convert whatever’s on the work order to VMRS. Spoiler alert: they’re not going to do that. 

Reliable, easy-to-follow documentation that features RPs.

If you want to attract fleet customers, you’ve got to get on board with TMC’s Recommended Practices, or RPs, which provide guidance for the services a shop provides. You can learn more about the history of RPs and how they came to be in this article, but in short, they are documented methods of completing repairs. 

Clear documentation is necessary in any fleet repair, but it’s particularly important when a shop is outsourcing work to an independent shop. In some cases, they can get warranty work credited by the manufacturer even if the work isn’t done at a dealership — if they have it properly documented. Properly following the steps laid out by RPs will help you do that.

Clear communication. 

Consistent documentation is only part of the puzzle. You also need to be a proactive communicator. Believe us, fleets hate being ghosted more than we hate decaf. Solid repair partners provide quick updates: ETA shifts, parts delays, tech findings, the whole thing. Staying in touch prevents surprises and builds confidence. It makes you the shop a fleet actually wants to work with. 

They also appreciate a shop that is upfront about where their vehicle may be in line. “We want to be in and out and on our way,” Mark says. If a truck comes in and has to wait for 20 other trucks to go through before its two-hour fix is addressed, you’ve got to be direct about that. They need to know whether they can get the truck back on the road in a certain amount of time, or if they need to down it and put the driver up somewhere. 

(For the record, they may need to find a shop that can get them through quicker.) 

How Do You Show Fleets That You’re Interested?

So, now you know what fleets are looking for in repair partners. Can you do all of the above? If so, how do you signal your interest to fleets?

Unfortunately, there’s not any kind of matching app out there to pair your independent shop with the fleet of your dreams (unless someone wants to team up on that? How about it, Hinge?). Mark had advice specifically for shop owners wanting to pitch Knight-Swift, but this will apply to most other fleets, too:

Just say hey. 

Really. Outreach! Do outreach! 

“Go to our website and see where our shops are,” Mark says. If there’s a shop close enough to drive to, let them know you’re an independent operation looking to take on some work and you’d love to meet with them. “Let them know what you can do … be a resource for them,” he suggests. 

Oh, you might want to bring donuts, too. (Peter is a firm believer in the power donuts have in bringing people together. One of the shops he worked with landed Costco thanks to boxes of donuts. Okay, and probably great repair skillz and slick business acumen, but donuts never hurt. Granted, it took the shop six months and a lot of donuts to land the contract, but the point is it worked. That shop (and the sugar buzz they provided) was top of mind when the fleet needed someone.) 

Once you’re in their system as a vendor and have a vendor code, the fleet’s breakdown call center will see that they’ve used your shop before. And of course, this is where the real work begins. Yeah, you’ve gotten their attention, but how you perform as a repair partner is what will determine whether the relationship will grow. 

That means providing updates on what’s going on. Things like, “We had to order these parts, this is the lead time, this is when we expect it to be in,” Mark explains. “That’s all good information for us because that’s stuff that we have to communicate to our operations and our driver so that we kinda keep them up to speed on what’s going on.”

Pro Tip: How You Answer the Phone Matters

Once you’ve landed a fleet customer, you want to keep them, right? You do that with good work and following the advice above, but there’s one other big thing we haven’t talked about yet: the power of the phone.

Yes, folks, some fleets are really into phones. Particularly during those times when it’s quicker and easier to call (yes, they happen). 

Mark and Peter both emphasized the importance of picking up. They also emphasized the need to school your staff (and maybe yourself, if you’re a one-man band) in how to answer said phone in a positive way. “‘We’re so busy today, I haven’t had a chance to go to the bathroom’ is not what a fleet wants to hear when they call you,” Peter says. 

Instead, aim for professionalism. Make sure your people greet callers in a friendly, businesslike way: “This is Aragorn’s Independent Repair Shop, how can I help you today?” That’s it. There’s no need to talk about how busy you are, or how you haven’t eaten in a week. You should probably lay off on jokes or trying to be funny, too, as everyone’s got a different sense of humor and your great DEF gag may not land the way you hope it does.

Ask for a detailed rundown of the problem and offer them the first open spot. “I can get you in at nine o’clock tomorrow” is all you need to say. Or, if you’ve got a mobile branch, “Boromir can get to your yard by this afternoon; does that work?”

Politeness and professionalism go a long way. 

Go Find Yourself a Fleet

At the end of the day, fleets are looking for dependable repair partners who make their lives easier. If your operation is hungry for more work and can stick to the documentation and repair standards fleets prefer, you may well have a shot at picking up some of that sweet fleet maintenance work.

So get out there and look for work! Pick up the phone, knock on doors, and make introductions. Let them know how you can help them. And hey, maybe stock up on donuts. You never know when you’ll need them. 

Want to see what else Mark and Peter covered? You can watch the whole session right here. And hey, if this looked cool, just imagine what the next Diesel Connect is going to have in store! Get your tickets here.