Managing a company fleet has become an increasingly complex responsibility, with businesses having to balance vehicle costs, compliance, maintenance, electrification and changing operational requirements. For businesses looking for additional support, fleet management solutions can help take some of that administration away from internal teams.
The pressures facing those responsible for company vehicles have now come under renewed scrutiny, with Fleet News working with the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) on a survey examining stress and workload across the fleet industry.
The survey is looking at areas including working hours, workload pressures, employer support, stress levels and workplace wellbeing, with the results due to be published in the December edition of Fleet News iQ.
While the results have yet to be published, the survey puts the growing demands of fleet management firmly in the spotlight. As fleet responsibilities continue to expand, so too can the amount of time and resource required to manage them effectively.
For businesses without a dedicated fleet team, or where fleet management has become an additional responsibility for an existing employee, that workload can be particularly challenging.
The Growing Responsibilities Of Fleet Managers
Fleet management increasingly involves far more than arranging replacement vehicles.
A fleet manager may be responsible for controlling vehicle expenditure, monitoring maintenance, managing drivers, dealing with accidents, keeping vehicles compliant, reviewing utilisation and planning replacements. At the same time, businesses are under continued pressure to control costs and ensure their vehicles remain productive.
The transition towards lower-emission vehicles has added another layer of consideration.
Businesses introducing electric vehicles need to assess whether they are suitable for particular journeys, consider charging requirements and understand how factors such as mileage, payload and vehicle downtime could affect operations.
For businesses running mixed fleets, there can also be additional decisions around which vehicles should remain petrol or diesel, which could move to hybrid or electric power, and when individual vehicles should be replaced.
This means fleet managers are increasingly balancing operational, financial and environmental considerations at the same time.
Cost Pressures Are Adding To The Challenge
Vehicle costs are another important part of the picture.
Businesses have to consider more than the headline cost of acquiring a vehicle. Fuel or energy costs, servicing, maintenance, taxation, insurance, downtime and vehicle depreciation can all affect the overall cost of running a fleet.
Fuel price movements can make budgeting more difficult, while rising operating costs can increase pressure on businesses to identify savings elsewhere.
For larger fleets, relatively small changes to individual vehicle costs can become significant when multiplied across dozens or hundreds of vehicles.
This makes effective fleet planning increasingly important.
A detailed fleet review can help businesses understand how vehicles are being used, whether they remain suitable for their roles and where unnecessary administration or expenditure may exist. Fleet lifecycle management can also help businesses plan vehicle procurement, operation and replacement as part of a longer-term strategy.
Fleet Electrification Adds Another Layer Of Complexity
The move towards electric vehicles is also changing the responsibilities involved in fleet management. For businesses considering the transition, electric vehicle fleets can provide a way to reduce emissions while also changing how vehicles are managed and operated.
For some businesses, replacing a diesel or petrol vehicle with an electric alternative may be relatively straightforward. For others, it requires much more planning.
Daily mileage, charging availability, journey patterns, payload requirements and vehicle downtime all need to be considered before an electric vehicle is introduced.
Businesses may also need to think about workplace charging, home charging for eligible drivers and how public charging fits into their operation. CVC’s electric vehicle charging guide explains the different charging options available to UK businesses.
This means electrification is not simply a case of choosing an electric vehicle from a list. It can involve changes to how the wider fleet operates.
For fleet managers already dealing with vehicle procurement, maintenance, compliance and driver support, these additional responsibilities can increase the amount of work involved in running a fleet.
Smaller Businesses Can Face Particular Challenges
The pressure is not necessarily limited to large corporate fleets with dedicated fleet departments.
In smaller businesses, responsibility for company vehicles may sit with an operations manager, office manager, business owner or another employee who already has a wide range of responsibilities.
Managing even a relatively small fleet can involve keeping track of servicing and MOT dates, arranging repairs, replacing vehicles, dealing with drivers, managing finance agreements and ensuring vehicles remain suitable for the job.
As the number of vehicles increases, so does the potential administration.
This is one reason why outsourcing some or all fleet responsibilities can be worth considering for businesses that do not want their internal teams spending valuable time dealing with day-to-day vehicle management.
Fleet News Survey Highlights Wider Industry Concerns
The Fleet News survey, conducted in partnership with the Association of Fleet Professionals, is intended to provide a clearer picture of the pressures being experienced across the sector.
According to comments reported by Fleet News, AFP deputy chair Lorna McAtear said anecdotal reports of extreme stress and burnout among fleet professionals were becoming increasingly common.
She also highlighted the increasing demands being placed on fleet managers alongside limited additional resources.
The survey will examine how working hours have changed, the support provided by employers, workload pressures, stress levels and the availability of workplace wellbeing initiatives.
Because the results have not yet been published, it is too early to draw conclusions about the scale of the issue across the fleet industry. The decision to investigate these issues highlights the growing attention being given to workload and workplace pressure within fleet management.
Could Outsourcing Fleet Management Reduce The Administrative Burden?
For businesses struggling to keep on top of their fleet, outsourcing some of the responsibility can provide another option.
Rather than having one person or a small internal team coordinate every part of the vehicle lifecycle, businesses can use a fleet management partner to handle areas such as vehicle sourcing, finance, maintenance, compliance, driver support and replacement planning.
This can be particularly useful where fleet management is only one part of someone’s wider role.
At Commercial Vehicle Contracts (CVC), we provide a one-stop fleet solution designed to bring different aspects of vehicle management together under one roof. Our fleet management service can cover vehicle sourcing and procurement, business vehicle leasing, driver support, maintenance management, compliance monitoring, MOT and servicing reminders, replacement planning, accident management, fleet reporting and grey fleet support.
Businesses can also benefit from a dedicated account manager, providing a single point of contact for their fleet rather than having to coordinate multiple suppliers themselves.
One-Stop Fleet Solutions From CVC
CVC’s approach goes beyond simply supplying vehicles.
Businesses can use CVC for vehicle leasing and finance, fleet management, specialist vehicle conversions and ongoing support. This means requirements such as sourcing the right vehicle, arranging finance, adding specialist equipment and managing vehicles throughout their lifecycle can be brought together through one provider.
For businesses operating commercial vehicles, this can also include commercial vehicle conversions such as shelving, racking, refrigerated equipment, ply lining, tow bars and other specialist requirements, with the work coordinated as part of the vehicle supply process.
CVC also offers fleet audits covering areas such as whole-life costs, vehicle utilisation, compliance, maintenance, taxation, replacement planning and vehicle suitability. This can give businesses a clearer picture of where their fleet is performing well and where changes could be made.
For businesses considering electrification, fleet support can also extend to vehicle suitability assessments, charging advice, whole-life cost comparisons and wider electric vehicle planning.
The aim is to remove some of the administrative burden associated with managing a fleet, allowing businesses to concentrate on their core operations while having specialist support available for their vehicles.
Making Fleet Management Easier For Your Business
The role of fleet management is continuing to evolve.
Businesses now have more factors to consider when selecting, funding and operating vehicles, while fleet managers are expected to control costs, maintain compliance, support drivers and plan for future changes.
For some organisations, managing all of those responsibilities internally makes sense. For others, bringing in specialist support can reduce administration and give internal teams more time to focus on the wider business.
With vehicle leasing, fleet management, specialist conversions, maintenance support and dedicated account management available through one provider, CVC can act as a single partner for businesses looking to simplify the way their fleet is managed.
Whether you operate a small company fleet or a much larger operation, the right fleet support can help reduce the number of separate processes and suppliers your business has to coordinate.
As fleet responsibilities continue to expand, having a partner that can manage the vehicles while you concentrate on running the business can help reduce the administrative burden.
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