What a Fleet Manager Should Ask a Battery Supplier

A fleet buys batteries differently from a driver. The question is not the price of one battery; it is whether the supplier can get the right battery to the right site the same day, every time, without the fleet manager touching it. These are the questions to ask, and what a good answer sounds like.

1. Where can my technicians pick up?

You want counters near every site, not a single warehouse. Ask for the list by city. A national fleet should expect coverage in every metro it operates in; Battery Authority USA, for example, lists 1,300+ partner locations by state.

2. What happens where there is no counter nearby?

The answer should be direct shipping through the same account, planned by your rep, not "find a local store."

3. Can you cover every group size in my fleet?

Vans and pickups need Group 24F, 35, 48, 65, 75 and 94R; medium-duty needs Group 31; heavy trucks need 4D and 8D. A supplier with a broad catalog (Continental and Deka run to 160+ batteries between them) covers a mixed fleet; a supplier with a short list will leave you buying odd sizes at retail.

4. How is pricing structured?

Commercial pricing set on the account, applied at every location, with exchange pricing for cores. Be wary of pricing that only applies at one branch.

5. How many invoices will I get?

One. Every pickup at every site on a single monthly statement for the account. If the answer involves per-store invoices, you will be reconciling them.

6. Is there a minimum order?

There should not be. Fleet volume is reflected in pricing, not demanded by contract.

7. How are warranty claims handled?

Claims should run through the manufacturer warranty programs with one person on the supplier side tracking them for your account, so a failure in another state does not become a project.

8. What do you do before winter?

Battery failures rise sharply in cold weather. A good supplier helps you pre-position stock in the group sizes your vehicles use before the first cold snap.

9. Who is my contact?

A named rep who knows the fleet, not a call center. Ask who will answer when a technician is at a counter that does not have the size.

10. How do I get started?

The setup should be an application and one call, not a procurement cycle. The fleet batteries page describes how a Battery Authority USA fleet account works; the application takes about two minutes.

What you are really buying

Not batteries. Uptime. The supplier that can put a Group 65 in the hands of a technician in Phoenix and a Group 31 in the hands of one in Newark on the same account and the same statement is the one that keeps routes running.