Economic recession demands a radical approach to managing vehicles to cut costs and Fleet Support Group has launched a web-based interactive forum to enable customers to exchange money-saving ideas.
The forum, which can be accessed at www.fsguk.com , is one of the initiatives to come out of Fleet Support Group’s Fleet Cost Reduction Steering Group.
Launched amid the late summer economic crisis, the Group comprises 20 Fleet Support Group companies, automotive tax experts from advisers KPMG, lawyer Kevin Basnett, of Goughs Solicitors, and is chaired by Gary Kent, who runs Toot Rock Consulting and has around 30 years fleet experience latterly as European fleet manager at City business solutions organisation Dun & Bradstreet.
The forum was officially launched at the recent Fleet Support Group ‘What’s In It For Me?’ workshop where company chairman Geoffrey Bray said: “Fleet managers must challenge the status quo. In the light of the economic crisis everything done yesterday and last year must be forgotten. Companies must reword policies that control vehicles. The fightback begins now.”
To support the interactive forum, Fleet Support Group has published ‘An Action Plan to Cut Fleet Costs’, which says: “Responsible management would have already recognised that vehicles represent a huge area of cost, but unfortunately there are many organisations that, for whatever reason, are not dealing with this issue. They should be aware that if they do not change they will not survive.”
Central to the action plan is the Fleet Support Group cost reduction guarantee, which pledges that by working with the company and implementing its products, services and programmes, such as FleetMaster, RiskMaster, crash management and maintenance management, costs will be cut.
Fleet Support Group’s five-point cash-saving action plan comprises:
- A root and branch review of existing fleet policy
- Feed fleet data into Fleet Support Group’s cost calculator to determine savings
- Implement Fleet Support Group’s products, services and programmes
- Measure weekly and monthly key performance indicators
- Manage performance ongoing using all available tools within Fleet Support Group’s systems.
Setting demanding targets is essential for a successful action plan and the ‘Fleet Cost Reduction Steering Group’ has been instrumental in drawing up a list of suggestions designed to stimulate the way businesses think about fleet management in the core areas of vehicles, drivers and journeys. Areas of focus should include:
- Are vehicles essential?
- If vehicles are required are they the most efficient available?
- Use vehicle carbon dioxide emissions as a mechanism to promote downsizing and link the argument to a driver’s reduction in benefit-in-kind tax
- Enforce the improvement of driving skills, which has a direct impact on vehicle-related costs
- Invest in telematics to manage driver, vehicle and journey performance
- Promote positive planning for all journeys to minimise vehicle use and link journey planning to the use of transport alternatives to cars
- Implement a fixed fuel budget for every vehicle to reduce fuel use and stimulate sensible journey planning.
The guide to cutting costs concludes: “If we can work out how much we can save and how we can do it, communicate that to our drivers, then support, train and manage them where necessary, we will save a small fortune and gain a strategic advantage over our competitors.”
Commenting on the launch of the interactive forum, Mr Kent said: “We hope to get lots of ideas from customers and that the forum becomes a useful tool for fleets to exchange ideas. We believe it is vital for fleets to share with each other the cost savings that are taking place. There are no excuses for not taking out cost. Fleet decision-makers should take a lead - now is not the time for weak management - and recommend new ways of working and not have those new ways thrust upon them.”