Fleet Domain, part of the Argility Technology Group, has announced best practices aimed at reducing fleet management costs and delivering a successful fleet management programme.
“Cost savings are fundamental to successful fleet management. They impact bottom line, operational efficiency and the ability to remain competitive in the market,” says Johan van Niekerk, Fleet Solutions Consultant, Fleet Domain. “Implementing strategies to control costs while maintaining high-quality services and safety standards is essential for any business that relies on a fleet of vehicles. Fleet cost savings are driven by having enforceable fleet policies in place that govern corporate safety, health and risk issues. Fleet costs are recognised to be managed and reduced by following internationally accepted principles that cover:
- Policies and procedures
- Operations
- Cost management
Van Niekerk confirms that without having all three of these pillars in place, a company will be unable to manage safety, risk mitigation and operational fleet costs. “All the above are geared to focus on reducing and improving the cents per kilometre (cpk) cost of a fleet.”
Fleet Domain recommends the following best practices:
- Policies and procedures: Procurement rules and regulations – businesses need a fleet management committee comprising the company’s executive: finance, HR and the fleet department. All these entities must agree on predetermined procurement procedures in keeping with regulatory requirements.
- Vehicle selection and application: Vehicles must be selected for appropriate application and usage.
- Funding options from cash to operating rental: All options from cash to operating rentals need to be evaluated. Using a discounted cashflow (DCF) approach is one way of addressing this.
- Company vehicle or car allowance: The fleet management committee can evaluate the options of supplying employees with a company car or an allowance. There are pros and cons attached to both scenarios, which must be carefully weighed up before choosing which method best suits the business.
- HR – disciplinary actions covering accidents and fines: Disciplinary policies/actions regarding company car drivers or car allowance receivers must be clearly defined and circulated to all concerned. If such policies are to be successfully implemented, all drivers – including management – must form part of the process.
Operations
- Vehicle acceptance
Acceptance of a new vehicle and additional vendor product suppliers must adhere to the specific rules agreed to by the fleet management department.
- Maintenance, tyre and fuel
The suppliers of a maintenance management programme must be evaluated and selected. Such vendors can hail from banking institutions with bank cards or independent fleet management companies. Moreover, the business needs to agree on how information from these vendors will be supplied.
- Tracking integration – tracking with routing and driver behaviour
Selection of a tracking vendor is crucial. The quality and nominated touch points supplied by the vendor must be critically evaluated to enable the fleet department to influence and improve driver behaviour. It is generally agreed in the industry that unless driver behaviour can be changed, no fleet savings will be made.
- Insurance
The fleet management committee needs to agree on the insurance method for all vehicles and assets of the company. There are various options available such as an aggregate excess option, individual vehicle insurance, participative scheme for car allowance users and shared self-insurance with limits.
- Accident procedures for repair or replacement
Accidents affect the depreciation, maintenance and resale values of a vehicle.
The business needs to select – plus acquire upfront approval from insurers – service providers for company vehicle repairs. Strict accident procedures and repair instructions should be agreed on. The rules around repairing a vehicle or replacing it following an accident must be clearly defined.
- Driver interaction
Drivers of company and car allowance vehicles must be advised of all the policies and procedures that will apply to them regarding accidents, fines received and feedback reports from the GPS/tracking company. The new revived AARTO regulations could have serious effects on company or car allowance driver relationships.
Cost management is all important
- Fleet audits
Annual fleet audits must be conducted to ensure correct fleet mix, service delivery, vehicles required and managing replacement cycles. Keeping vehicles past the recommended replacement dates affects depreciation, maintenance, and resale values.
- Structure of fleet department in a company
The rules and authorities of the fleet department must be such that they can operate and take responsibility for a budget accepted by the fleet management committee. The daily decisions and operational issues are their responsibility.
- Fines management
The company must understand the responsibility for the receiving and management of issued/received fines. Not managing fines correctly can seriously impact safety and costs for the company. Disciplinary motivations regarding fines and subsequent actions should be clearly defined and understood by all.
- Driver training
It is important to have a driver training programme in place with a well-recognised and experienced service provider. Taking the cost of driver training into consideration as a percentage of the vehicles' lifetime operating cost is a good approach that results in improved maintenance, tyre, fuel, fewer accidents, fines and HR cost.
- Reports that manage and guide business
Report generation focused on fleet enables companies to manage costly vehicle expenses and driver activities. Developing reports will influence future costs and must be deemed to be paramount to future cost reductions and improvements regarding the return on investment (ROI).
"FleetDomain's Online Fleet Management Information System (FMIS) produces comprehensive centralised information reports. These encompass all facets of fleet management, spanning vehicle selection, acquisition, procurement, delivery and termination, as well as tracking integration, accident records and fines. Succinctly put, our FMIS provides the market with cost-effective, innovative and dependable fleet management," Van Niekerk concludes.
For further information, click here to be redirected to the Fleet Domain website.
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The Argility Technology Group
The Argility Technology Group is part of the Data and Technology cluster arm of global enterprise, Smollan.
Argility is a leading innovator and implementer of software and data analytics solutions for retailers and brands. Our unsurpassed experience combined with a depth of proprietary software and skills enables us to address the multitude of challenges facing businesses in today’s era of digital transformation.
Our origins trace back over forty years as a major software developer in the retail sector. Decades of long, prosperous customer relationships bear testament to our customer-centric culture, exceptional service, and innovative thinking. From single systems to the digital transformation of an entire organisation - we have the solutions, skills, and experience.
We solve complex business problems by supplying and supporting various customised software solutions including Data Science (Artificial Intelligence); Retail Management Systems; ERP; Warehouse; Fleet; IoT; Proximity Management and more. We strive to be more than a technology/solutions provider by partnering with our customers to become an extension of their business resources.
The Argility Technology Group is comprised of: Argility; Cquential Solutions; Fleet Domain; Skydata Communications and strategic partner, Ashanti AI. All are foremost technology developers and suppliers of enterprise software solutions for the retail, supply chain and fleet industries as well as a comprehensive IoT framework that enables enterprises around the world, to integrate, manage and optimise their growing IoT ecosystems.
For further information: www.argility.com