Transportation is an essential element of the infrastructure of most organisations, and so organising and managing that fleet of vehicles has become integral to the successful running of a business. This is why software and other technologies have been developed to assist organisations in their fleet management, allowing people to track vehicles, assess driver performance and fuel efficiency and to more easily monitor a vehicle’s age and condition.
Fleet management is important in minimising the risks associated with being responsible for a large number of vehicles, for administrating breakdown and insurance cover, for reducing costs, controlling regulatory compliance and for maximising the productivity of your fleet of vehicles. Fleet management providers now offer a specialist solution to a critical element of the business, but how can you identify when you need one? And how do you know your own fleet management isn’t good enough and you need expert help?
You have been stung by a bad car leasing deal
Whilst car leasing has long been proven to be more cost effective than buying a fleet of cars, there are still bad car leasing deals around. It is very easy to misjudge a car’s value at the beginning of a lease, or what it is likely to be at the end of a lease. These are critical factors when calculating what a monthly lease payment will be. A fleet management provider has access to complex, dedicated software which can accurately assess a vehicle’s value and what you should ordinarily be paying. Being leasing savvy involves analysing ever-changing information on the vehicle market and if you have been paying more than you should be on a car leasing deal, it may be time to hand the responsibility over to the experts.
Fuel costs are excessive
A fleet management provider can use vehicle tracking software to monitor fuel consumption per driver, and can also assess driver habits to identify where inefficient driving may be occurring. This can help you programme the fleet schedule and manage habits to help fuel consumption come down. Better driving habits has benefits on efficiency and the vehicle’s condition, so assessing this metric should be a key component of your fleet management system.
Administration costs
This can be the general costs of resources responsible for managing the fleet and how drivers are allocated to certain jobs. But it can also be the costs of service and maintenance and getting the best leasing deals. Fleet management providers build good relationships with MOT and service garages as well as leasing companies, through their experience in the trade, and this inevitably leads to better deals based on their industry know-how. If you haven’t got the resources to assess this market sufficiently and need to simply accept the first deal offered to you, then it may be time to seek the help of a fleet management provider.
No control over grey fleet
Grey fleet can be classed as vehicles under private ownership, but which are used for company business. These may be owned or leased by employees rather than the organisation, but you still have a responsibility to record their tax and insurance status and to manage their condition and service status. If you have no control over this then a fleet management provider can ensure you are compliant in your legal duties and are not exposed to liability issues.
Losing out on end of lease benefits
You may have heard of hybrid leasing and the many benefits of it, offering more flexibility to the fleet manager and also providing an avenue through which you may profit from a leasing vehicle at the end of its leasing period. Hybrid leasing ensures that a vehicle is disposed of via the most cost-effective route, part of this offers a profit share scheme, and some fleet management providers offer this scheme for when you decide to upgrade your vehicles. Partnering with a fleet management provider will give you access to these deals and any profits associated with them, thus fully utilising the fleet as an asset to the company.
