February 15, 2024
Abby Nuttall
Articles
If you have even one company vehicle or require your employees to drive as part of their role, even in their own car, then you need a fleet manager.
Depending on the size of your business and vehicle needs your fleet management may need just one person, an entire department, a specialist company it is outsourced to (such as Wessex Fleet) or a combination of internal and external fleet management. Whether you choose to use an external fleet management company or not there will usually still need to be one person within your business who manages your fleet needs.
Five Reasons You Need a Fleet Manager
We’ve spoken to our expert team who deal with all areas of fleet management including vehicle supply, maintenance and administration to give you our five top reasons for having a fleet manager.
1. Ensure Compliance
The first reason that a fleet manager is essential for your business is that they will help ensure your fleet is compliant with laws, regulations and your company’s policies.
An important part of their role is to make sure that you as a company are meeting your legal and ethical requirements by managing the vehicles, drivers and any associated admin tasks. We know it can be tempting if you’re a small business to try and manage the tasks on a car by car basis or splitting it between employees but that is how things can get missed. Having one, or more, dedicated employee(s) that deal with all your fleet tasks will help ensure cohesive and complete compliance.
2. Reduce Costs
The next reason you should have a fleet manager is to help reduce the cost of your fleet. And it’s not just a one time or one area reduction. Having an efficient fleet manager can save you money by:
- Getting issues fixed when they are minor rather than developed into larger more expensive problems
- Making sure vehicles are serviced regularly, again helping with early detection of issues
- Supporting drivers with additional training and resources to reduce any driver caused damage
- Making sure drivers and vehicles have appropriate permits, tolls and clean air zones (CAZ) fees and similar costs are paid to avoid penalties for not having them
- Paying any fines promptly to avoid costs growing
3. Improve Vehicle Conditions
When you have someone monitoring and scheduling vehicle servicing, maintenance and repairs the general condition of your fleet vehicles will improve as work will be completed promptly.
We also know from our own experience that when drivers know they can call one number for any problems they may be having and speak to a knowledgeable person then they’re more likely to do so. This means they’re more likely to contact them when an issue is minor, arrange for any work quickly and question anything that they’re unsure of.
4. Support Your Drivers
A fleet manager doesn’t only look after the vehicles in your fleet but the employees who drive them as well, so having a dedicated point of contact for drivers helps you support them better.
In terms of the driver fleet managers help:
- Arrange and manage training
- Answer any questions they may have on their vehicle, driving it and caring for it
- Arrange new vehicle deliveries, old vehicle collections and make any interim temporary arrangements where their car is unavailable
5. Improve Your Fleet Make Up
An effective fleet manager will improve your fleet make up in a number of ways. We’ve already mentioned that they will improve the condition of your vehicles through maintenance management, but they can also improve your fleet by looking at the wider picture. Some of the reports they will use can flag vehicles or drivers of concern and then they can implement improvements. They can also highlight areas of the business where vehicles aren’t being used, pool cars trends and other usage trends that they can then take action based upon to improve your fleet making it more efficient and effective.
Enjoyed this article? Read more of our latest blogs below:
- 10 Tips for Looking After Your Company Car
- Five Fleet Management Tips
- Five Christmas Maintenance Checks
- Looking After Your Drivers During the Holidays
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