Mark Lovett Uptime

Interview Mark Lovett, Head of Commercial Vehicles at LeasePlan UK

Interview with Mark Lovett, Head of Commercial vehicles on what LeasePlan can do to help businesses operating vans. 

What approach does LeasePlan take when supplying vans? 

“When supplying fleet buyers of vans, LeasePlan’s first line of defense is our dedicated commercial vehicle team. They offer specific expertise and insight for businesses that operate vans.”

How do you ensure you get the specification right – and right first time?

“To ensure we are providing the right vehicles for a business’ requirements, LeasePlan adopt a consultative approach with our clients, which means our teams evaluate their specific needs and provide insight on selecting the right vehicle, as well as providing any ancillary equipment or additional LeasePlan support and services that would be appropriate to them.”

“This approach is extremely efficient at not only saving time in researching the correct equipment but it also ensures every client has a vehicle that is fit for their desired purpose.”

How do you approach the order and delivery process? 

“Once the client and commercial vehicle teams are in agreement with the type and specifications of the vehicles needed, the vehicle will be specified and ordered.”

“We handle the complete build process from start to finish, providing clients with real-time visibility on the project – from racking to the conversion – making what can be a complex, time consuming practice, seamless and transparent. Another part of the build process LeasePlan manage is ensuring that the supply of the van and any ancillary equipment is on time and within the agreed budget.”

What is the benefit to the client of LeasePlan managing this process? 

“The benefits of our team managing the development of our customer’s vehicle acquisition means there is absolute transparency, so any changes or errors that may have been made can be spotted and fixed in a shorter time. The management approach demonstrates, as a whole, the open partnership we have with our customers.”

What in-life support do you provide? 

“The process doesn’t end when the van is supplied to the client, LeasePlan provide account management for the life of the vehicle until the end of contract.”

“We know how critical these vehicles are to business operations, which is why we recently launched an on-the-spot daily vehicle check app – My Vehicle CheckTM – so van drivers are able to carry out inspections of their vehicle. This enables companies to certify that they are meeting the necessary requirements regarding; safety, duty of care, road legislation and in particular FORs and FTA requirements. The purpose of the app is to save administration time for companies and ultimately in reducing vehicle off road time and unscheduled events.”

How do you effectively manage vehicle off road (VOR) time? 

“LeasePlan offer a number of telematics options to provide visibility of vehicle use – including managing driver behaviours, which we would expect to improve elements like fuel efficiency and road safety. It is widely accepted that telematics can save approximately 10% of fuel costs and reductions in the repair cost attributed to accidents.”

“To successfully manage schedules and services, LeasePlan offer its fleet managers a unique product called Uptime, which will proactively schedule services throughout the life of the vehicle. This maximises the use of the vehicle with less time spent on the administration process and management from the client. The average daily cost of a day’s downtime for a fleet van is approximately £743* per day, so it’s crucial we focus on uptime efficiency. LeasePlan also contribute to increased utilisation of vehicles by proactively managing each downtime event over a two day period to ensure the vehicle is returned to a working state as soon as possible.”

Do you provide out of hours servicing and repair? 

“Coinciding with our Uptime and Vehicle Off-Road management approach, we work with mobile service providers that have nationwide coverage and a garage network with extended opening hours. This enables engineers to have their van serviced at a place or time that suits their business, making it easier and more time efficient for them, ultimately reducing downtime.”

How do you share best practice across the industry? 

“Adding value to our customer’s fleet operation is the LeasePlan team of Account Managers, who are commercial vehicle and van-focused with experience of managing demanding van-focused accounts and can provide best practice advice, support and recommendations from other fleets. The data and insight provided by the account management team enables the maintenance engineers to make better and more informed decisions around the vehicles they use for their fleet and the ancillaries that would add value.”

 


 

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