Is your current fleet working for you, or against you?

As customer expectations grow and pressure mounts on supply chains, having an optimised fleet isn’t just beneficial, it’s essential. Too many machines, or not enough of the right types, leads to inefficiencies, increased maintenance costs, and wasted space. 

By assessing your forklift mix, you can uncover hidden inefficiencies, boost productivity, and ensure every truck on your floor is pulling its weight. It’s time to make your fleet work smarter, not harder.

Why Using the Right Fleet Types and Combinations Matters

Choosing the right forklift isn’t just about capacity, it’s also about application. A truck that performs well indoors may struggle outdoors, just as a compact warehouse model may be inefficient for heavier loads or long travel distances. 

Mismatched or redundant forklift types can lead to:

• Inefficient workflows
• Increased maintenance costs
• Safety risks
• Energy waste
• Costly downtime 

When matching forklift capability to the specific demands of your operation, consider the:

• Terrain: if some or all of your material handling occurs outdoors, can the truck handle potentially uneven surfaces?
• Load size: do you need a truck that prioritises heavier loads over other features?
• Lift height: are you storing materials that require reach trucks?

Taking the time to match forklift capability to your operations demands will ensure better safety, efficiency, and long-term performance. 

By aligning your fleet to your real-world needs, you ensure every truck is fit for purpose.

Understanding Forklift Types & Use Cases

The first step to planning the ideal fleet for your operations is to get a broad understanding of the different types of forklifts and their applications. Here’s a closer look at each, and which types of operations generally use them: 

Electric Counterbalance Forklifts

Ideal for indoor use, electric counterbalance forklifts are clean, quiet, and efficient. As they offer excellent manoeuvrability, they are commonly used for pallet handling, loading, and stacking.

Who uses them: Many warehouses with smooth floors and consistent shift patterns find electric counterbalance forklifts ideal for their operations. 

Internal Combustion (IC) Counterbalance Forklifts

These forklifts run on diesel or LPG and are best suited for outdoor environments or heavy-duty applications. They offer higher torque and longer run times.

Who uses them: construction sites, lumber yards, and loading bays exposed to the elements will appreciate the durability of IC forklifts.

Reach Trucks

Reach trucks are designed for high racking and narrow aisle operations. With an extendable mast that can "reach" into racking, they maximise vertical storage, all while maintaining the manoeuvrability and speed necessary for high volume operations. 

Who uses them: Indoor, high-density warehouses, retail and e-commerce businesses, distribution centres, and manufacturing facilities. 

Pallet Trucks

These are used for horizontal transport of palletised goods over short distances. Available in manual and powered versions, they’re essential for low-level picking and internal movement.

Who uses them: warehouses, factories, and distribution centres who need to transport pallets horizontally (for example, across the warehouse floor, or to a loading dock).

Narrow Aisle Forklifts

This category includes Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) trucks and other compact designs built for space-constrained warehouses. They’re perfect for operations needing to maximise storage density without compromising access or efficiency.

Who uses them: Retail, e-commerce fulfillment, cold storage, pharmaceuticals, and automotive parts distribution centres all benefit from VNA trucks’ compact size and manoeuvrability.

As you might have noticed, many of these trucks can and do work together for improved efficiency in high-volume environments. An example of this might be the combined use of reach trucks for picking and pallet trucks for horizontal transportation to loading bays. 

Assessing Your Current Fleet

Before optimising your forklift fleet, it’s essential to understand how your existing equipment is being used. 

Here is a straightforward way to get started:

• Track hours of operation across all machines. This helps identify which trucks are core to daily operations and which may be underutilised. 
• Look at idle time. High idle hours may indicate inefficiencies, poor task allocation, or the wrong type of truck for the job.
• Review maintenance records. While a forklift requiring constant servicing could be nearing end-of-life, there is the possibility it’s simply mismatched to its workload. Conversely, also look out for trucks that rarely need maintenance. The cause could be their minimal use.

Once you’ve collected this information, ask: Which trucks are working hard, and which are sitting idle? Balancing usage helps extend lifespan and reduce downtime. 

A data-driven evaluation can reveal where your fleet is working efficiently, and where strategic adjustments are needed.

Right-Sizing Your Fleet

Having too many or too few forklifts can both create costly problems. Too few leads to bottlenecks, delayed order fulfilment, and overworked equipment. Too many results in unnecessary capital costs, idle machines, and inefficient floor space use.

To find the right balance, assess usage data across your fleet. Consider:

• Telematics and fleet tracking tools. These provide real-time insights into utilisation rates, idle time, and operational bottlenecks. If certain forklifts are constantly in use while others sit idle, it's a sign your fleet isn’t optimised.
• Key metrics like peak hour demand, number of shifts, and load volume. These metrics help determine both how many forklifts you truly need and of what type. For example, a high-volume warehouse might benefit more from specialised equipment (like pallet trucks or reach trucks) than a larger number of general-purpose forklifts.

Using data-driven decisions ensures your fleet size supports productivity without inflating costs.

Electric vs. IC: A Quick Comparison

Electric forklifts offer lower total cost of ownership due to reduced fuel costs, fewer moving parts, and minimal maintenance. They're ideal for indoor use, producing zero emissions and quiet operation. However, they require charging infrastructure and may not suit all-day, heavy-duty tasks without battery swaps.

IC forklifts (diesel or LPG) are better for outdoor or high-load applications, with fast refueling and strong performance. But they have higher fuel and maintenance costs, produce emissions, and are noisier. This makes them less suitable for enclosed or regulated environments.

Related: 6 Key Advantages of Electric Powered Forklift Trucks

Future-Proofing Your Fleet

Future-proofing your fleet is essential as logistics continue evolving. One way to ensure your fleet will stay optimised well into the future is to invest in automation-ready or hybrid fleets. 

These are a mix of manual and semi-automated equipment that allow you to scale operations without a full system overhaul. 

Optimising your fleet for your operational needs will ensure that all of your trucks are pulling their weight, with minimal downtime and reduced inefficiencies. 

Looking for more information about which forklifts are best suited for your operation? Download our free guide: Questions to ask when buying your next forklift. This guide will dive deeper to help you: 

• Identify your business and operation’s needs
• Understand exactly what you’re paying for
• Consider the total cost of ownership

A trusted partner like TCM can support this journey with expert guidance, flexible solutions, and long-term service support. We’ll help you build a fleet that adapts, scales, and stays one step ahead.

Get in touch today.