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COMPREHENSIVE AFTERMARKET SERVICES

MAKING THE CASE FOR

CONTENT CREATIONPEERLESS

2 • TOYOTA: Comprehensive Aftermarket Services • toyota.com

MAKING THE CASEMAKING THE CASEGAINING VISIBILITY INTO YOUR WORKFORCEMAKING THE CASECOMPREHENSIVE AFTERMARKET SERVICES

MAINTAINING A FORKLIFT FLEET shouldn’t be

a juggling act, but without the right balance of

equipment uptime, output, safety, and maintenance,

that’s exactly what it can turn into.

Despite what some �eet managers may assume, forklift

investments don’t end when the purchase agreement

or lease is signed and the equipment is put into service.

They extend out into the warehouse, DC, and plant,

where regular maintenance, upkeep, and repair converge

to ensure the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) for

these critical material handling machines.

Along with struggling to keep their forklifts ef�ciently

maintained, companies also grapple with issues like

equipment manufacturers that go out of business, those

that don’t provide comprehensive maintenance programs,

and those whose vehicles simply don’t withstand the

test of time or deliver on their early promises. Untenable

in today’s high-velocity, multi-channel distribution

environment, these issues can severely hamper a

company’s ability to run smoothly, service its customers,

and stay competitive.

All it takes is one mechanical shutdown to create a

bottleneck on the DC �oor—a bottleneck that not only

hampers productivity but that also results in high repair

costs. “Whenever you have an emergency, you also

have truck downtime to contend with,” says Megan

McGriff, assistant manager, parts marketing, sales,

and promotions for Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A.

(TMHU). “When you have downtime, you have decreased

productivity and increased costs.”

By incorporating a planned maintenance guarantee

and a more extensive extended care plan into the forklift

acquisition process, companies can avoid these traps and

keep their �eets running in a very ef�cient and affordable

manner. Add product assurance and/or warranty options

to the equation and you get a comprehensive aftermarket

package that keeps operational emergencies to a

minimum while helping to improve employee safety in a

highly-productive environment.

By de�nition, aftermarket services encompass the

maintenance and running of a forklift after it has been

acquired. As such, anything that comes into play during

that period—servicing, maintenance, repair, reducing

downtime, ensuring safe performance of the forklift —

will all fall under the aftermarket umbrella. “Beginning

from the point where the truck is delivered and put

into operation,” says Bret Bruin, TMHU’s director of

aftermarket services, “aftermarket includes all of the

maintenance and repair, the disposal of the truck when

it comes off lease, and the steps involved with trading or

selling the truck.”

Why today’s �eet managers need a robust, OEM-supported aftermarket services approach to forklift maintenance.

Service After the Sale: Looking Beyond Acquisition Costs

“Whenever you have an emergency, you also have truck downtime to

contend with. When you have downtime, you have decreased productivity

and increased costs.”— Megan McGriff, assistant manager, parts marketing, sales,

and promotions for Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A. (TMHU)

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• TOYOTA: Comprehensive Aftermarket Services • toyota.com 3

average forklift technician is now 50+ years old and either at

or nearing retirement.

Poor visibility into total operating costs for the vehicles

is another stumbling block, with many companies looking

solely at acquisition costs when making their forklift

purchases. In reality, the maintenance associated with

keeping those vehicles running at optimal levels for the

next three, �ve, or seven years must also be factored into

the equation.

“The maintenance and upkeep of a unit is actually a much

bigger �nancial investment than just the acquisition cost, yet

a lot of companies don’t know how many forklifts they have

or what the costs are to operate those vehicles,” says Bruin.

Perhaps even more importantly, the same companies don’t

pay attention to the operator behaviors that impact the

safety and/or the cost of their �eets.

“When companies jump at the chance to decrease their

costs by using another service provider or by trying it DIY,”

McGriff explains, “they wind up getting hurt in the long run

because the techs they’re working with lack the speci�c

technical know-how to service the forklifts as well as the

speci�c OEM can.”

In this Making the Case supplement, we explore the use

of comprehensive aftermarket services for forklifts, show

programs like Toyota 360 Support work, and reveal the

return on investment (ROI) that comes from working with

a manufacturer like Toyota to create a program that meets

your company’s speci�c needs.

For many �eet managers, the question becomes: Do I

attempt to service this equipment myself, do I outsource it

to a third party, or do I work with the original provider’s

aftermarket service plan? Many times, companies either

take the DIY or “self-service” approach. Others hire

non-OEM service companies to manage repairs and

maintenance on a one-off basis, never really knowing

how much money they’re investing, time they’re wasting,

and productivity they’re losing as a result. By not working

with a manufacturer-certi�ed technician, for instance,

companies miss out on the chance to get their equipment

repaired in the most effective and ef�cient manner

possible using OEM parts.

For example, companies that decide to service the units

themselves nearly always run into challenges �nding trained

technicians—a problem exacerbated by the fact that the

“Beginning from the point where the truck is delivered and

put into operation, aftermarket includes all of the maintenance

and repair, the disposal of the truck when it comes o� lease,

and the steps involved with trading or selling the truck.”

— Bret Bruin, TMHU’s director of aftermarket services

MAKING THE CASECOMPREHENSIVE AFTERMARKET SERVICES

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MAKING THE CASEMAKING THE CASEGAINING VISIBILITY INTO YOUR WORKFORCEMAKING THE CASECOMPREHENSIVE AFTERMARKET SERVICES

FLEET MANAGERS CAN NO LONGER OVERLOOK AFTERMARKET SERVICES, nor can they wait until a major

interruption happens to spring into action. And while many companies still attempt to handle the problems

internally or call on a third-party for help, smart �eet managers are factoring the total cost of ownership (TCO)

on their forklift investments and turning to their vendors’ comprehensive aftermarket service programs instead.

Aftermarket Services Shouldn’t be an AfterthoughtBy leveraging comprehensive aftermarket services, �rms can readily adopt a proactive stance and begin tapping into otherwise-overlooked opportunities for improvement.

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technicians will be onsite at those

intervals, enhancing that vehicle’s

uptime. During that process,

the dealer will also help identify

potential safety-related operational

issues and effectively address

issues before they happen.

“It’s all about safety and keeping

the truck up and running,” says

Bruin, who adds that TMHU’s

commitment to stocking service

parts provides an extra layer of

assurance for �eet managers. “Our

parts availability is over 98%, so

we �ll 98%+ of the incoming parts

orders, every day.”

HOMETOWN HEROES

As one of the most important

elements of any comprehensive

aftermarket services programs,

quali�ed technicians play a key

role in keeping companies’ forklift

�eets running at optimal rates

and for the lowest TCO. Through

Through offerings like Toyota 360

Support, those �eet managers get

the bene�ts of:

• Toyota Certi�ed Technicians

– Rigorously trained experts in

Toyota forklifts.

• Toyota Genuine Parts – The

parts the forklifts were built with

and the Toyota techs were trained

with.

• 4-Hour Guaranteed Service

Request Response Time – Never

be in the dark about the status of a

maintenance need.

• Two-year Labor Warranty – If

you get it �xed, it stays that way.

• Toyota Standard and Extra

Care Warranty – To ensure longer

protection against maintenance

costs.

• Optional T-Matics Support –

Data insight into the forklift �eet.

• The Toyota Service App –

Submit service requests quickly.

Bret Bruin, TMHU’s director

of aftermarket services, says a

true aftermarket service program

starts with understanding the

customer, its operations, and its

individual service and maintenance

needs. “There’s no one-size-

�ts-all solution; our dealers are

trained to understand speci�c

industry segments and customer

applications,” says Bruin. “Then,

they design a maintenance

program for that speci�c

customer.”

For example, if TMHU

determines that a forklift needs

to be maintained every 500

hours, one of its certi�ed dealer

the Toyota 360 Support network,

these technicians work for dealers

and are regarded as true solution

providers that:

• Can be the touchpoint for dealer

resources when customers look to

enhance ef�ciencies

• Are trained in factory certi�ed

programs

• Come to your location equipped

with the correct tools to get your

forklift up and running on the �rst

visit

• Are employed by 66 different

dealers with over 225 locations

• Populate a group of more than

3,500 on-call technicians

• Have more than 2,600 service

vans on the road

“We call them our heroes; they

are the Tom Brady and the Lebron

James of our teams,” says Bruin.

“They’re on the front line with our

customers, serving them on a daily

basis, establishing a high level of

trust with them, and taking care

of their �eets.” Using the Toyota

360 mobile app, customers can

instantly connect to a certi�ed

technician who guarantees 4-hour

emergency response times (and

what gets �xed stays �xed, with

a 2-year warranty on all Genuine

parts and labor).

At every dealer location, a

team of customer service and

sales representatives (CSSRs)

is responsible for customer

commitment. The technician does

the heavy lifting, and the CSSRs

ensure that all repairs were done

correctly, completed on time, and

“We call them our heroes; they are the Tom Brady and the

Lebron James of our teams. They’re on

the front line with our customers, serving

them on a daily basis, establishing a high level of trust with

them, and taking care of their fleets.”


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billed properly. The CSSRs are also trained on the Toyota

Production System (i.e., lean manufacturing management),

and are resources for customers looking to improve safety,

enhance ef�ciencies, and remove any waste from their

organizations by using lean management.

“This is unique to Toyota,” says Bruin. “No other forklift or

material handling provider has the Toyota Production System

and our culture of continuous improvement, which is taught

organization-wide.”

PREVENTING PROBLEMS IN THE FIRST PLACE WITH

TELEMATICS

As more and more technology is integrated into the

modern-day forklift, the use of telematics—software that

provides a 24/7 window into the operation and condition of

a forklift—is growing among �eets. With this data in hand,

companies can run a smoother and more ef�cient operation

that’s focused less on �ghting a rising tide of problems and

more on preventing them in the �rst place.

Whether a forklift �eet is made up of a single truck or

100 trucks, Toyota’s T-Matics solution provides data and

information for �eet managers to use when evaluating whether

their �eet is being utilized as smartly and ef�ciently as possible.

Fleet managers receive real-time, actionable data that helps

them make the smart calls on safety and training, maintenance

schedules, and other operational concerns that directly impact

their companies. Some of the most important metrics include:

• Forklift Fleet Tracking – Gain a window into your �eet at

all times.

• Electronic Safety List – Mandate automated operator

checklists before use, which eliminates paper and improves

accountability and safety.

• Maintenance Tracking – Receive timely noti�cations

on planned maintenance needs and link directly to your

dealership for time- sensitive service intervals.

• Web-based Reporting – Generate benchmarks and report

results daily, weekly, quarterly and/ or yearly, which help you

make more informed, data-based decisions.

• Impact Alerts – Be alerted immediately if any of your

forklifts receive an impact.

• Operator Limits – Set permissions to ensure forklift is

being used only by certi�ed operators.

Bruin says the data generated by forklift telematics is

helping companies work smarter in today’s high-velocity

distribution environment, where split decisions can mean

the difference between a smooth-running operation and

one where delays and bottlenecks can quickly turn into

customer service problems.

“When your truck talks to you and tells you what’s wrong or

what it needs, it gives you the opportunity to quickly address

any issues and ward off potential problems,” says Bruin. “With

this information in hand, we can readily provide accurate

recommendations on how a user should manage its �eet.”

READY FOR A MORALE BOOST?

A good aftermarket service program encompasses more

than just handling maintenance and repairs on a scheduled

basis; it’s also about the accompanying warranty on the

vehicle, the parts, and the services. TMHU, for example, pairs

the �rst year of planned maintenance with an extended care

plan, and all at an extremely competitive price.

“We make sure customers have guarantees in place

to help them feel comfortable and secure,” says Megan

McGriff, assistant manager – parts marketing, sales, and

promotions for TMHU. “We want them to know the service

is worthwhile leading up to their decision to invest in Toyota

360, and we deliver on our promises.”

In return for their investment, companies get tangible

bene�ts like improved safety, better service, and

improved uptime bene�ts as a result of using OEM parts.

They also get peace of mind, higher productivity rates,

and improved employee morale. “You’d be surprised at

how morale goes through the roof,” says McGriff, “when

you no longer have employees sitting around, waiting for

their forklifts to be repaired.”


“When your truck talks to you and tells you what’s wrong or what it needs, it gives you the opportunity to quickly address any issues and ward o�

potential problems. With this information in hand, we can readily provide accurate recommendations on how a user should manage its fleet.”


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THE CASE FOR THE FLEET MANAGER: The negative impacts of forklift downtime, service calls, and

failed parts can create major headaches for operators and �eet managers who need reliable material

handling equipment in their warehouses, DCs, docks, and yards. Focused on ROI metrics like vehicle uptime,

cost-per-hour, and forklift utilization, �eet managers that leverage comprehensive aftermarket services, a

planned maintenance guarantee, and an extensive extended care plan into their forklift acquisition strategies

gain signi�cant, tangible ROI..

Comprehensive Aftermarket Services


MAKING THE CASE FOR

What’s the ROI for �eet managers, CFOs, and CEOs?

“If a �eet manager doesn’t have a maintenance

plan or an additional, extended care plan, then the

ownership costs are uncertain,” says Megan McGriff,

TMHU’s assistant manager – parts marketing, sales,

and promotions. “For example, just one major repair to

a forklift could disrupt your budget.”

With a comprehensive aftermarket services

package, however, the likelihood of expensive

repairs goes away, and allows companies

to save money and reduce total cost of

ownership (TCO) over time. “Because you’re

maintaining the forklift as you go along, and

not just addressing issues as they surface,”

says McGriff, “you more readily see good ROI

in the form of better vehicle uptime, lower

cost-per-hour, and improved utilization.”

— Megan McGriff, assistant manager, parts marketing, sales, and promotions for Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A. (TMHU)

“Because you’re maintaining the forklift as you go along, and not just addressing issues as they surface, you more readily see good ROI in the form of

better vehicle uptime, lower cost-per-hour, and improved utilization.”

toyotaforklift.com


Because Toyota 360 Support Plus is offered at

an extremely competitive price, the upfront �nancial

risks associated with the aftermarket services plan

are signi�cantly reduced. “We offer the peace of mind

associated with maintaining your critical material

handling equipment,” says McGriff, “and lessen the

worry over how to cover those costly repairs that

could come up.” Recently, when working with a major

transportation company, Bret Bruin, TMHU’s director

of aftermarket services, says the company’s CFO was

focused on two key metrics: cost per hour to operate

the unit and vehicle uptime.

With the help of Toyota’s comprehensive aftermarket

services program, that company boasts a 97.7%

uptime (with some of the 2.3% downtime allocated

to regular maintenance) across its �eet of 5,000

forklifts. “That’s a great uptime rate for a company that

operates around the clock,” says Bruin, noting that for

CFOs, the most valuable ROI comes in the form of low

equipment downtime (and associated costs).

“When there’s an end customer relying on you to

have a forklift to move the product around and get that

product to them,” McGriff adds, “at the end of the day,

if that forklift is down, then you are losing money and

potentially even losing customers by not being able to

meet their expectations and needs.”


THE CASE FOR THE CFO: Tasked with making the initial forklift investment, CFOs will

ultimately see the cost of constantly replacing parts, having to make service calls, and

repairing vehicles that are no longer under warranty. They’re also uniquely positioned to see the

�nancial impact of a comprehensive aftermarket service approach.

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THE CASE FOR THE COO: Responsible for ensuring that their business operations produce rising key

performance indicators (KPIs), COOs want their operations to run smoothly without having to worry

about the everyday management of forklifts. In fact, when they do have to deal with forklifts, COOs aren’t

happy about having to get that deep into the day-to-day management of those machines—often across

dozens or even hundreds of locations worldwide.

“They want a �eet that just works so they can

worry about what their company is good at,” says

Bruin. “Toyota 360 helps make that a reality with its

comprehensive aftermarket services solution.” With its

4-hour (or less) response time, for example, TMHU’s

dealer network is onsite and working quickly to get

repairs or regular maintenance handled promptly. In

fact, there are over 3500 Toyota Certi�ed Technicians

backed by 2-year parts warranty that includes labor.

Bruin says Toyota is dedicated to their clients both

small and large. For smaller companies, the Toyota

360 Support promise comes with focused attention

from their certi�ed Toyota dealer to make sure that

response times are maintained and that customers

are as comfortable with their material handling

equipment as possible. For companies with larger

�eets, Toyota can track maintenance and repairs

across their equipment and locations, delivering a

single consolidated invoice to HQ each month.

“We look at every single repair invoice to ensure

that the work is done within a reasonable and

standardized repair time for these large companies,”

Bruin explains. “We scrub every invoice to make

sure customers get consistent labor hours and parts

pricing.” For all customers, Toyota is dedicated to

making sure technicians are as minimally-invasive as

possible. “We strive to make sure that everything is

�xed right the �rst time.” Finally, Toyota’s T-Matics

solution provides real-time data to �eet managers

so they can determine whether the forklift �eet is

being used as smartly and ef�ciently as possible

via vehicle management software (T-Matics) that

provides a 24/7 window into the vehicle’s operation

and condition. “We’re able to give customers very

detailed insights,” Bruin says, “right down to the

operator behavior level.”

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Let the Certified Technicians Handle the Heavy Lifting


YOU WOULDN’T TRUST YOUR CAR to an inexperienced mechanic, nor would you allow an unlicensed

contractor to work on your home. Yet companies still attempt to service and maintain their forklifts in-

house—or, allow untested, non-certi�ed outside technicians to repair their vital material handling equipment.

These approaches are not only costly

and time-consuming, but they are also

unsafe and unpredictable. “Where it may

seem like a bene�t to self-service and

save money upfront,” says Megan McGriff,

assistant manager—parts marketing, sales,

and promotions for TMHU. “In reality, your

employees should be focused on strengthening

your �rm’s position in the marketplace—not

�xing and maintaining forklifts.”

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When it’s time for repair or service, utilizing a

comprehensive aftermarket services solution that

includes a service request mobile app (for making

automatic service requests without the need for

phone calls) and Toyota 360 Support’s pool of

certi�ed technicians can be a big win for most

operations. “All of our dealers guarantee a 4-hour

emergency response time,” says McGriff, “so you

know that help is going to be there and be there

quickly when you need it.”

Through Toyota 360 Support, companies

also get a 2-year warranty on parts and a labor

guarantee, as long as those parts are replaced

by a Toyota-certi�ed technician. These are just a

few of the many bene�ts of working with Toyota, a

company that prides itself on its lean operational

practices and culture of continuous improvement.

And if you’re still not convinced, Bret Bruin,

TMHU’s director of aftermarket services,

encourages you to come and see for yourself.

“Come for a visit at one of our customer sites

or dealerships to see our program in action, and

then do some competitive shopping around,”

says Bruin. “You’ll see a signi�cant difference in

the way our aftermarket programs work and how

much value they add for our customers.”

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TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WHAT TOYOTA CAN DO,

VISIT WWW.TOYOTAFORKLIFT.COM

CUSTOMER SUPPORT: 1-800-381-5879

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