Fleet management is widely regarded to be one of the biggest costs an organisation carries, given that it involves personnel, strategic planning and ongoing running costs. Fleet can have a huge impact on an organisation’s efficiencies, and yet many businesses are reluctant to employ expert help in this field. Outsourcing practices in payroll and HR is very common, and we also employ professional help with legal matters and aspects of facilities management, such as contractors for service and maintenance. But it is easy for the costs involved in fleet management to run out of control, so taking advantage of field expertise should be a primary consideration.
To run an effective fleet you need strong knowledge in a lot of areas. Given that many organisations don’t even have a dedicated fleet manager – preferring to share the role between HR or facilities management departments – this could lead to huge opportunities to control costs and efficiencies better, being missed.
In terms of managing your fleet in the best way possible, outsourcing this function could benefit the organisation in a number of ways, such as:
- Cost control
Software packages are evolving all the time to help businesses monitor performance in terms of delivery times, route planning, fuel efficiencies and motor vehicle expenses. So it makes complete sense to take advantage of these tools to help manage your resources. Measurement tools and comparison projects can manage people and vehicles better, but these detailed methods do require some work, and of course some expertise. A dedicated fleet professional is able to provide this.
- Clear policies
A fleet management professional is practiced in aligning their policies and procedures with the client organisation. This means they can adapt their management to reflect internal policy and targets and objectives with regards to costs, health and safety and environmental practices. This might involve moving to electric vehicles or tailoring leasing contracts in a certain way.
- Setting goals
You can work with a fleet management professional to monitor performance and identify areas for improvement, relating to individuals, departments or the whole organisation. Fleet managers are able to see and monitor trends and track performance in a very detailed way. The amount of data available makes it very easy to identify possible areas for improvement that are achievable and measurable. As above, these can also be in line with a clear organisational policy.
- Free-up resources
The key to an organisation working effectively is empowering departments with resources and the authority to function cohesively. A dedicated fleet management professional can certainly do this by taking key tasks away from people who may not be best qualified to carry them out. An effectively-run business ensures people can concentrate on their areas of expertise and can maximise their efficiency. Any function that is outsourced to an expert in that field, will enable other people and departments to dedicate more time to their own areas of expertise.
- Long term support
Taking on professional support in the fleet management function ensures a consistency of approach and a commitment to long-term support. Partnering with the right fleet management organisation is of course an important consideration, but getting this right means you have a streamlined approach around which you can build some important planning and strategic considerations going forward.
Outsourcing fleet management is becoming an increasingly popular tool in an organisation controlling its key costs and using evolving technologies and techniques to better run a business. There is so much involved in fleet management that touches on the beating heart of the organisation, and hence it makes complete sense to have a dedicated professional who can monitor every aspect of this to promote best practice and identify tools for continual improvement. This is why outsourcing fleet management is the best way to bring professional and long term strategy to your business.
