Managing the recharging of service vehicles: challenges and best practices for companies

With the acceleration of electric mobility, more and more companies are integrating electric service vehicles into their fleet.. Unlike company cars, service vehicles are used exclusively for professional missions. Their management therefore implies specific constraints, particularly when it comes to efficiently organizing daily recharging. How do you plan sessions? Who supervises consumption? How to avoid conflicts of use or inefficient recharging? This article provides an overview of the best practices and tools available to optimize the management of company vehicle recharging.

Structuring the recharging of service vehicles: an organization to be thought out in advance

Managing the recharging of company vehicles can't be improvised. It involves setting up a clear organization, adapted to the company's operations, and capable of optimizing costs, charging time and vehicle availability.

Understanding the uses and constraints of service vehicles

A service vehicle is a work tool in its own right. It is used by several employees, often at fixed times, and must remain operational at all times. This implies major constraints in terms of recharging:

• The company vehicle is not allocated to a single driver: it is used by several employees.
• It can make several trips a day, or even be used in continuous rotation.
• It must be available every morning with a battery sufficiently charged for the mission.

Unlike a company car, it cannot simply be recharged at the employee's home or on his or her own initiative. The company must therefore centralize and organize charging, either on site or via a network of partner charging stations.

Define a recharging framework adapted to the company's needs

Before installing charging stations or purchasing recharging cards, it is essential to analyze :

• The number of service vehicles concerned,
• Average daily usage (mileage, typical journeys),
• The parking location outside usage hours (company parking lot, customer site, employee's home, etc.),
• The power level required (a 7 kW terminal may be sufficient for overnight charging, whereas a 22 kW terminal - or more - is needed for intensive use).

This step is essential to avoid undersizing or over-equipping, and to guarantee continuity of service for the electric fleet.

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Choosing the right tools to manage recharging of service vehicles

Once the requirements have been defined, the next step is to equip the company with the right supervision, control and management tools. These solutions not only track refills, but also help control costs and avoid drift.

Installing on-site terminals with integrated supervision

For companies with parking lots, on-site charging stations are often the most effective solution. Coupled with a supervision platform, they offer a centralized view of terminal use, and enable :

• Monitor the status of each terminal in real time (available, charging, out of service),
• Schedule recharging sessions according to vehicle usage periods,
• Assign recharges to specific vehicles or employees,
• Avoid queues or overloading of certain terminals at critical times.

Thanks to supervision, it is also possible to manage energy intelligently, by adapting the power delivered according to requirements (smart charging), and tooptimize energy costs.

💡 Good to know: solutions like Bump 's integrate supervision, maintenance, and multi-user billing into a single platform, ideal for shared fleets.

Use interoperable cards or badges for off-site recharging

Not all service vehicles spend their days in the company parking lot. For employees who need to recharge while on the move (or at home in some cases), it's essential to provide them with flexible recharging facilities:

• Bump Pass recharge cards or operator badges,
• Mobile applications to locate and access public kiosks,
• Automatic reimbursement of costs for refills carried out at home or on business.

The challenge here is twofold: to offer employees flexibility of use, but also to centralize billing and trace consumption to avoid abuse or management errors.

Thanks to interconnected solutions, companies can control all charging points, whether internal or external, and allocate costs to each vehicle or mission.

Controlling recharging costs: a strategic economic challenge

Beyond logistics organization, managing the recharging of service vehicles represents a major economic lever for companies. But without the right tools, there can be serious problems. Poorly optimized recharging, under-utilized charging stations and poor monitoring can generate significant additional costs on energy bills.

Set up precise monitoring of consumption and users

A good management system makes it possible to precisely monitor electricity consumption by vehicle, by employee, or by site. This makes it possible to :

• Correctly allocate costs to the right expense centers,
• Identify abnormal or excessive use,
• Implement energy optimization policies (limiting recharging during peak hours, prioritizing high-use vehicles, etc.).

Modern supervision platforms enable customized reports to be generated, automatic alerts to be triggered in the event of an anomaly, and remote control of kiosks.

Integrating recharging into CSR strategy and decarbonization objectives

Adopting electric vehicles is part of a broader strategy to reduce CO₂ emissions and demonstrate a commitment to CSR. By accurately tracking consumption linked to recharging service vehicles, the company can:

• Monitor environmental impact,
• Justify our efforts in our carbon footprints,
• Communicate transparently with stakeholders (customers, investors, employees).

💡 A well-managed infrastructure therefore not only reduces costs, but also enhances a company's environmental commitments, in a context where energy transparency is increasingly expected.

Best practices for a smoother recharging routine

Ensuring the constant availability of service vehicles requires fluid, reliable recharging logistics. This is as much a question of tools as it is of employee habits and proper use of the infrastructure.

Formalize simple but effective rules of use

To avoid conflicts of use, forgotten refills or abusive refills, it is advisable to set up a clear charter of use. This can include :

• A charging schedule for shared vehicles,
• Priority rules according to mission or load status,
• Theobligation to release the terminal as soon as charging is complete,
• Abadge identification system for each session (precise tracking).

These rules must be easy to understand and systematically applied, in particular by means of reminders posted near terminals or in vehicles.

Raise team awareness and appoint a fleet manager

The success of a recharging management project also depends on user acceptance. It is essential to train staff in the use of charging stations, how to operate the cards and applications, and how to read vehicle charge indicators.

Appointing a fleet or energy manager can also help centralize questions, monitor infrastructure performance andact swiftly in the event of malfunctions. A human touch, however slight, is often the key to effective management.

Bump: the right solution for managing company vehicles

For companies wishing to simplify and professionalize recharging management, Bump 's solution offers a complete solution, designed to meet the specific requirements of service vehicles.

Centralized, multi-user supervision

Bump provides an intelligent supervision platform, capable of :

• Manage multiple users on a single terminal,
• Monitor vehicle charge status in real time,
• Plan refills according to mission requirements,
• Associate each recharge with a vehicle, an employee or a department.

This level of detail enables precise management of usage, fine-tuning of costs, and a significant reduction in energy drift.

A to Z support for companies

Bump doesn't just supply terminals. The company offers a turnkey solution, including :

• Usage audit and installation recommendations,
• Installation and supervision of recharging infrastructure,
• Preventive and corrective maintenance,
• Detailed reporting for energy monitoring, carbon footprints and CSR obligations,
• Multi-user and multi-site billing, simplifying accounting management.

💡 By relying on Bump, companies save time, reduce management costs, and ensure maximum availability of their electric fleetwithout mobilizing significant internal resources.

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