Fleet size, compliance, technology, escalation — a practical evaluation framework before you sign your next transport contract.
Beyond the rate card
Most transport RFPs are decided on per-km rates — and most transport failures have nothing to do with rates. The cheapest vendor with no backup vehicles, no supervisors and no MIS becomes the most expensive mistake by quarter two. Evaluate capability first, price second.
The 10 questions
One: How many vehicles do you own or directly control, and what is the fleet mix? Two: What is your driver verification and training process? Three: Do you provide GPS tracking with client-side visibility? Four: How is billing generated and verified? Five: What is your on-time performance across current clients? Six: Who is my single point of contact and what is the escalation matrix? Seven: What happens when a vehicle breaks down mid-route? Eight: Do you support 24/5 and 24/7 shift operations? Nine: Can you scale by 30% in one quarter? Ten: What compliance documents will you share proactively?
Red flags
Be cautious of vendors who cannot name their maintenance setup (WAQT runs an in-house garage precisely to minimise breakdowns), who bill without trip-level data, or who have no on-site supervisors. These gaps are invisible during a sales pitch and very visible at 7 AM on a Monday.
The right partnership
The best vendor relationships look like partnerships: quarterly reviews with data, proactive route optimization suggestions, and a team that treats your employees' commute as their own KPI. That is the standard to hold every proposal against.