Let's start with a question many in the industry will recognise: What do you do with the crane and the crew when the roads are dry, winter is over, and the phone and missions come less often?
For many roadside assistance operators, this is not a hypothetical — it's an annual reality. Some stations report that up to 80% of their revenue during certain periods comes from services completely unrelated to traditional vehicle recovery. That tells us something important: the skills and equipment are already there, but the potential isn't being fully used.
A system built for one type of job
Much of the roadside assistance industry in Norway operates through franchise systems where jobs are dispatched via contracts and platforms controlled by a handful of large players. Rates are set centrally, agreements are negotiated at the top, and individual stations have limited influence over pricing or job flow.
The result? Many stations manage multiple separate systems, earn limited margins per job, and run a business model that is heavily dependent on seasons and other parties' priorities. That's a vulnerable position — and it doesn't have to be permanent.
What does the industry actually have to offer?
A roadside assistance station is, at its core, a transport company with heavy expertise and specialised equipment. That means many stations already have the foundation to deliver services well beyond emergency roadside help:
- Specialist transport: machinery, lifts, trucks, agricultural equipment, salvage vehicles, boats, hay bales
- Direct assignments from businesses, municipalities and private customers
- Fixed service agreements with local businesses and fleet operators
- Collaboration with other stations on long-distance or complex jobs
This isn't future potential for the industry's top performers — it's already happening. The question is whether it stays informal and ad hoc, or becomes a structured part of the business model.
Direct jobs: more control, better margins
When a station works directly with a customer — without any intermediary — something fundamental changes: they set the price. They keep the full revenue. They build a relationship. Over time, this is the foundation for a more robust and profitable operation.
Direct customers do, however, require the station to manage bookings, communication, invoicing and documentation themselves. This is where many find that the systems they use for franchise jobs fall short — they're built for one workflow, not for a diverse service portfolio.
Collaboration as a growth strategy
Some of the most forward-thinking stations in Norway have already discovered the value of working together. A job that's too far away, too large, or requires equipment you don't have — it can be shared with a colleague. Revenue is split, capacity is used, and the customer gets served.
This is essentially what the franchise system does — but with a third party taking a cut and setting the terms. Why not build the same mechanism on the industry's own terms?
Technology that lifts, not locks
One in three roadside assistance stations in Norway currently uses Assist to manage jobs, customers and invoicing. What we see is that those who use the platform most broadly — not just for vehicle recovery, but also for specialist transport, direct customers and inter-station collaboration — are the ones building the most resilient business models.
We also have customers in transport beyond recovery — container operators, specialist hauliers — using the same features. The point is that the platform isn't built for one industry model, but for the working reality that actually exists in the field: varied, unpredictable and geographically spread.
A contribution to the conversation
We think the industry would benefit from asking some fundamental questions:
- What services can we offer with the fleet and expertise we already have?
- Which customers in our area have transport needs we can solve?
- Do we have the systems we need to handle a broader job portfolio?
- Are there stations we should be collaborating with more systematically?
There's no single answer, and we don't claim to have it. But we believe this is a conversation the industry would benefit from having — and having openly.
What do you think? We're curious to hear how your station handles the off-season and which revenue streams work best for you. Feel free to reach out — we're always up for a good industry conversation.
The Assist team