When leaders of the Central Maryland chapter of Meals on Wheels realized their fleet of makeshift vans was aging and breaking down, they called on PHH Arval to help refresh the fleet. The challenge: Create a van with heating and cooling elements to ensure proper meal delivery while minimizing vehicle maintenance costs and downtime expenses.

PHH responded by generating a vehicle design and lease structure that will enable Meals on Wheels to make more deliveries more quickly with fewer issues. The non-profit's leaders tried the van, loved it, and ordered more.

Since early 2013, Meals on Wheels has seen significant progress on optimal vehicle selection and replacement, best practices and cost-savings strategies, according to PHH, including: 

• Projected vehicle maintenance costs per mile (per vehicle) for the new van prototype is 50 percent less than the existing aging Meals on Wheels fleet.

• YTD realized savings, for the older Meals on Wheels fleet currently in service, utilizing the PHH managed maintenance program is nearly 8 percent of their its maintenance spend.

• Optimized cash flow through flexible PHH lease structure allows for reinvestment in the Meals on Wheels program.

• Minimized downtime due to unscheduled maintenance allows more meals to be delivered.

• Increased fuel efficiency for newer vehicle selections.

• Higher safety ratings and standards for new vans and Meals on Wheels drivers.

A team of PHH engineers and consultants have provided Meals on Wheels with expert recommendations around decreasing total cost of ownership, which provides opportunities for Meals on Wheels to deliver more meals to those in need. The new approach allows Meals on Wheels to replace 20 vans in 5 years instead of 10 years, according to PHH, allowing the non-profit to provide an anticipated 1,000 more meals per year.