AES: the road to wheel alignment ROI
Workshop solutions provider AES has described how commercial vehicle wheel alignment equipment can offer operators a swift return on investment (ROI) by paying for itself within 12 months, under a range of example scenarios.
AES takes various scenarios such an operator’s fleet size and vehicle configurations to provide illustrative examples of how Josam’s alignment kits can generate an ROI within 12 months. Among its alignment offerings are the Josam Laser AM analogue system, the Josam Cam-aligner digital system, and the Josam I-Track advanced digital system.
To estimate an ROI, AES takes into account a range of variables: for OEM, independent and tyre workshops, the cost of investment in alignment equipment, labour cost and external contractor cost, if outsourcing. For fleet operators, it also considers estimated fuel and tyre costs. In addition, the number of vehicles and tyres (for fleets) or estimated vehicle population (for workshops) is considered, as well as the types of vehicles – 4x2s, twin-steers, trailers etc.
Assumed preconditions include £1.05 per litre fuel costs; average tyre costs of £300; average MPG of eight; average tyre lifespan of 100,000 miles; 10 per cent extended tyre life with wheel alignment; 1.5 per cent fuel saving (conservative); 100,000 miles driven per year per vehicle; and an average wheel alignment cost of £80, with two alignments per year for each vehicle. Average alignment and adjustment time is assumed.
In one example given, a fleet operator has 35 tractor units (6×2) and 20 trailers (3-axle), outsourcing alignments twice per year for each vehicle.
“In this particular example, assuming that the wheel alignment is done correctly by a contractor and is completed on both the tractor units and trailers, the fleet operator won’t see any gain in fuel or tyre costs, however they could reduce the cost of their external spending,” said AES.
“Based on the above the fleet operator would be aligning their 55 vehicles twice a year (110 alignments) at an average cost of £80 totalling £8,800 annually. Based on average measuring and adjustment time, estimated labour costs could be around £2,200 annually.”
In this case, says AES, the Josam Laser AM could pay for itself within 12 months.
In a second example, a fleet operator has 35 tractor units (6×2) and 20 trailers (3-axle), and is not currently doing any routine wheel alignments.
“In this particular example, it is assumed no wheel alignment is being carried out on a regular basis.
“Based on the preconditions above, the fleet operator would run 280 tractor unit tyres and 120 trailer tyres; estimated annual tyre savings would be £9,600. Fuel saving on the tractor units based on a fuel price of £1.05 and an average MPG of 8, annual fuel savings could be £25,060 (1.5 per cent).”
In this situation, the Josam Cam-aligner could pay for itself within 12 months, says AES.
The third example given is an OEM/independent/tyre workshop.
“Assuming the workshop does not currently use an external contractor, we have estimated wheel alignment as profit centre,” said AES.
“Based on the above, the workshop selling wheel alignment as a service and completing two wheel alignments per day (two axles) at a charge of £80 would generate over £58,000 wheel alignment turnover. Estimated labour costs based on averages would be around £18,200 leaving an estimated profit of £40,040.”
This would mean the Josam I-Track could pay for itself in a year, says the firm.
AES highlights additional benefits for both fleet operators and workshops investing in wheel alignment – including the ability to perform wheel alignments on demand and not having to wait, the ability to check all vehicle axles and not just the steered axles, and having control/full-service offering.
“Another common way to sell alignment is to carry out a free health check, where a vehicle is measured free of charge by the workshop and the customer is presented with the report,” said AES.
“The customer is then asked if they would like their vehicle correcting, which is when a fee is charged. This approach is common in the passenger vehicle market and also the Nordic commercial vehicle market, but it does require advanced alignment equipment which can measure vehicles quickly and accurately like the Josam I-Track, being able to measure an 8×4 in less than five minutes.”
AES offers wheel alignment, fuel savings and emissions calculators on its website, which can be modified to provide a gauge of how quickly an alignment system could pay for itself. A more advanced version is available on request, which goes into more detail to provide a more accurate ROI estimate.
