4 people. 18,000 vehicles. No blown engines. How does that work?

Charles Schott is Fleet Director at Rollins, one of the largest service fleets in North America - 20 pest control brands, 4,000 vehicles refreshed every year, 90% service compliance. He's built fleet operations at global scale before: 30,000+ vehicles across 70 countries at Pfizer, armored fleet at Brinks, now Rollins.

In this episode, Chris Brandt and Charles break down what makes it all work: FLOW as the operating principle, A3 problem-solving as the discipline, acquisition integration as the stress test, and the fleet management partnership as the force multiplier.

What you'll take away:

• Why fleet leaders are asset managers first — and how that reframing changes every decision

• The 'truck rodeo' standardization play that got 20 brands aligned without a mandate

• How Rollins' 4-person team pulled off 31 secretly-staged trucks for an acquisition

• The one vehicle metric (over-temp) that nearly eliminated blown engines across 18,000 units

• The three things Charles looks for in a fleet management partner

Connect with Charles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-schott/

The Fleet podcast: https://mission.org/the-fleet

Chapters:

0:00 18,000 Vehicles. 4 People. Nothing Can Sit

1:40 Charles Schott runs fleets from Pfizer to Brink

6:46 18,000 vehicles, 4 people, and the big F word: FLOW

9:04 Fleet management is air traffic control

12:30 Acquisitions: the seat at the table

14:20 31 trucks staged in secret - how Rollins pulled it off

19:52 How fleet leaders earn credibility (crumb-to-loaf rule)

25:13 A3 problem-solving across the supply chain

32:35 The truck rodeo: standardizing 20 brands without a mandate

35:26 Telematics, over-temp, and eliminating blown engines

41:03 Supply chain constraints and keeping vehicles longer

50:13 What Charles looks for in a fleet management partner

55:59 Going global: build the foundation, not the roof

59:11 Close

This episode is sponsored by Element Fleet Management.

If your organization depends on a fleet of vehicles, it's time to think about your fleet as a strategic asset.

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