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6 things we learnt at Fleet Management Live

As the UK’s largest fleet event comes to a close we round-up the six key themes from Fleet Management Live 2017.

1.GETTING THE BIGGER PICTURE

Whole Life Cost. The sum of all the variable costs associated with running a vehicle fleet; including vehicle depreciation, the cost of servicing and downtime, insurance costs, fuel spend, mileage amounts and taxation – in all its guises.

It’s surprising just how many businesses don’t understand the whole life costs of their vehicles – with many thinking the only cost they need to be aware of is the big number on their invoices each month.

But that’s not even half the story. Insights from Red Bull and Zip Water revealed that purchasing departments today need to focus on best value to ensure their businesses strike the right balance between value for money – and delivering quality service levels to drivers.

To find out more click here to understand the elements you need in order to get to grips with whole life cost fleet management.

2. THE IMPORTANCE OF BENCHMARKING

Benchmarking is playing an increasingly important role in helping to identify some of the key areas of cost savings to improve a fleet’s financial performance.

From end of contract damage to accident management companies and public bodies right across the UK are looking at how they compare to other organisations – and indeed against their competitors.

Discover a new way to analyse key fleet costs and compare your fleet performance using our quick and easy benchmarking tool.

3.THE COST OF COMPLIANCE

Health and safety law isn’t just confined to your office or workplace – for businesses running vehicles it stretches out to the UK road network too.

Caroline Sandall, Vice Chair of ACFO spoke about the importance of balancing risk and reward and how for HR teams; they have the greatest ability to not only influence driver behaviour, but also policy.

AA DriveTech also provided insights during the day into risk management strategies to help minimise business risk from drivers and vehicles – by far the best place to start when setting out a Fleet Risk Strategy is the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Driving at Work document. This summarises both the law and how you can meet its requirements.

The challenge for fleet managers is that vehicle fleets are subject to a wide range of legislation, and as highlighted by fleet technology company Jaama, it’s often under review and subject to change so it’s essential that fleet managers take time to update their knowledge. Whether that latest legislation around driving hours or the role of data – and how to safeguard it when providing the compliance bigger picture fleets

If you would like to find out the role of technology in providing auditable evidence of business critical fleet daily checks take a look here.

4.GREENER FLEETS, CLEANER CITIES

The government released its Air Quality Plan in July, suggesting potential ways to reduce diesel emissions and announcing that the sale of petrol and diesel cars is to be banned by 2040.

There’s now the prospect of emissions surcharges, extra parking fees and a hike in diesel tax, alongside a nod towards a potential scrappage scheme to encourage motorists to move to cleaner vehicles.

Toby Poston, Director of Communications and External relations at the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) alongside Ian Featherstone, Fleet Advice Manager at the Energy Saving Trust (EST) provided insights into what government proposals mean for fleets and how could it affect their vehicle choices.

While change is on the horizon, it’s not yet known how quickly it will happen. However, it’s safe to say that in the coming years, fleet managers are going to have some big decisions to make – and they’ll need a partner that can help support the transition to cleaner fuels.

Discover more about EV100 here – an initiative designed to speed up the transition to electric vehicles. 

5.THE IMPORTANCE OF MULTI-TASKING  

For anyone running a business, the ability to multi-task is an essential skill – which is why the Institute of Car Fleet Management (ICFM) provided the perfect introduction into the industry for new-to-fleet managers and business owners.

It’s estimated by Sewells that 55% of the UK’s 4.5 million fleet vehicles are currently operated by SMEs – and the reason why so many SMEs chose to lease? Because it offers a number of services to help businesses reduce time spent on fleet activities – from vehicle ordering to service scheduling, mileage management to monitoring vehicle efficiency – as well as providing the flexibility that  businesses need with regards to cash flow and budgeting.

Find out how LeasePlan can relieve some of your fleet related admin burden here

6.INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY  

A revolution is occurring on our roads that will make vehicles more efficient, more reliable and safer than they have been before. This is the revolution of data.

It’s now estimated that one-in-five vehicles will have some sort of wireless connection by 2020, adding up to over a quarter of a billion vehicles around the world.

The benefits are clear – improved efficiency, enhanced vehicle utilisation – which ultimately lead to cost savings. But there’s also a bigger consideration – improved safety of vehicles there are potential safety benefits of having more and more connected vehicles on the roads.

As we heard from technology firms Jaama and Mobile Eye; the speed that technology is developing is startling, and its essential that managers have the tools and knowledge they need to ensure they don’t get left behind.

This is an exciting time for businesses operating fleets, but also for fleet providers such as LeasePlan. It’s our job to explain the challenges, suitability and the real benefits of the technologies available.

Take a look at our fuss free (jargon free) guide to the latest technology here

To discover more about any of the topics covered in the Fleet Management Live round-up get in touch with our expert team today. Simply call us on 0344 493 5840 or fill out our online form.
 
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