Fleet Financials - Current Articles

By FF Staff

Tough times require tough decisions; when fleet managers cut costs, driver morale sometimes can be affected. There are ways, however, to reduce costs without hurting driver morale.

Tags: business driver, communication, cost-cutting, employee morale, savings

By Dona Szak and C. David Mee

Proper precautions can help a fleet survive a potential lawsuit should an employee become entangled in an accident claim.

Tags: accident management, fleet operations, Liability, Safety

By FF Staff

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and International Accounting Standards Board will issue a draft of new lease accounting rules this summer. The proposed changes will significantly impact fleet balance sheet, P&L, and lease administration.

Tags: accounting, Financial Accounting Standards Board, International Accounting Standards Board , Leasing, Leasing 101

By Cindy Brauer

Fleet safety policy must arise from a fundamental corporate value. The most commonly cited factor in a successful fleet safety program is senior management leadership and commitment.

Tags: Boehringer Ingelheim, challenge, compliance, Ecolab, Johnson & Johnson, Monsanto, policy, Safety, strategies

By Grace L. Suizo

Short-term leasing is one option for fleets that need more flexibility and services than are provided by a rental company.

Tags: contract, Leasing

By Cindy Brauer

Policies limiting company driver cell phone use and banning texting must be clearly defined and include specific consequences.

Tags: cell phone, Driver Safety, policy, texting

By Cheryl Knight

During the past two years, several Pfizer initiatives have led to significantly reduced total cost of ownership; improved colleague safety and productivity; and significantly lower environmental emissions.

Tags: communication, Driver Safety, Global Initiatives, Online Fleet Management, Pzifer Inc.

By Cheryl Knight

Mike Lahr, director of Logistics for LKQ Corp., is Fleet Financials’ 2010 Fleet Executive of the Year. In 2009, Lahr led his team in boosting efficiency, reducing costs, and improving customer service.

Tags: Best Practices, collision repair, Fleet Executive of the Year, Lowering Costs, Purchasing Program

By Cindy Brauer

To effectively cut the rate of preventable accidents, fleet safety efforts require senior executive engagement in program development, funding allocation, communication, and leadership.

Tags: Driver Safety, Leadership, Preventing Accidents

By Mike Antich

Following its sale, Volvo Cars will remain an independently run company. All U.S.-bound Volvos will continue to be built in Europe to maintain current order-to-delivery times. The promise is to retain Volvo’s “Swedish heart.”

Tags: Ford, residual values, Volvo

By Grace L. Suizo

Controlling fuel costs through hedging is an option for fleets looking to gain budget stability. As with any strategy, fleets must weigh the pros and cons to determine if a fuel hedging strategy is suitable to their specific needs.

Tags: Fuel Hedging, Fuel Prices

By Cindy Brauer

Recent National Safety Council figures reveal the alarming incidence of crashes caused by cell-phoning and texting drivers. Companies have begun to recognize the liability of such behaviors.

Tags: distracted driving, Driver Safety, Liability, NSC, Preventing Accidents, texting

By Cheryl Knight

This 100-year-old global company streamlined fleet operations, reducing costs of the targeted passenger fleet, trimmed dealer out-of-stock purchases, lowered acquisition costs and accident rates, and decreased greenhouse gas emissions.

Tags: consolidation, efficiency, fleet operations, Green Fleet, KONE

By Cheryl Knight

LKQ Corporation keeps fleet operations lean and uses telematics to increase daily fleet delivery stops, dramatically reduce overtime costs, improve driver safety, and trim fuel costs.

Tags: LKG, Telematics

By Chad Simon

Since implementing Toyota Camry Hybrids in 2007, Toshiba America Medical Systems’ fleet has burned 117,000 fewer gallons of gasoline, saving approximately $352,000, based on average mpg, and reduced CO2 emissions by 2.1 million lbs.

Tags: Dodge Grand Caravan , Green, Toshiba, Toyota Camry Hybrid

By Thi Dao

One element of Frito-Lay’s safety program recognizes over-the-road drivers with clean records, and a growing number of drivers are hitting the 1-, 2-, and 3-million mile mark accident-free.

Tags: Frito-Lay, Million-Milers program

By Cheryl Knight

Through its GreenFleet Initiative, Abbott improved its average domestic vehicle fuel efficiency by nearly 20 percent compared to 2006 and reduced gasoline consumption by more than 600,000 gallons per year.

Tags: cost savings, fuel, Green

By Mike Antich

This article explains how to prepare a fleet budget in three easy steps. Step one, develop cost assumptions. Next, determine line item expenses. Finally, correct the variances between budgeted and actual costs.

Tags: budget planning, budgets

By Lauren Fletcher

From simple routing and vehicle tracking to preventive and predictive maintenance, telematics experts share their thoughts on where the future of telematics is headed.

Tags: Telematics

By Gary Scanlon

While owning vehicles offers some advantages, leasing vehicles can provide cash flow benefits, reduce administrative headaches, and make available a variety of fleet management tools.

Tags: benefits, Leasing, maintenance

By Lauren Fletcher

Featuring four models, the 2010 Mercedes-Benz C300 brings sportiness and luxury to executive fleets.

Tags: C300, executive fleets, Mercedes-Benz

By Cheryl Knight

Leading nutrition, health, and wellness company Nestlé saved more than 300,000 gallons of fuel, reduced emissions by more than 15 percent, and produced an annual savings of $1.2 million.

Tags: cost-saving initiatives, Green, Nestle, reduced emissions

By Mike Antich

Since the early 1990s, LIBOR has been used as a fleet lease funding index. However, recent financial market turmoil prompted governments to “backstop” bank borrowing, which caused LIBOR to no longer correlate to fleet lessor costs.

Tags: funding, LeasePlan USA, leases, LIBOR

By Lauren Fletcher

Telematics solutions have come a long way since the beginning days of simple vehicle tracking. With a multitude of capabilities, such as remote vehicle diagnostics and routing/driver productivity tools, finding the right solution can be a daunting task.

Tags: GEOTAB, Networkfleet Inc., ROI, Telematics

By Cindy Brauer

Once hampered by a legacy, DOS-based data system, Crop Production Services' fleet operations improved efficiency and productivity with an advanced enterprise system providing seamless multiple data stream integration.

Tags: CPS, Crop Production Services, DOS-based data system, FleetWave

By Richard Alaniz

Every employee harassment claim must be handled properly or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may be called in to investigate. As part of company management, fleet managers must also be aware of the issue and how to handle complaints.

Tags: complaints, EEOC, harassment

By Cheryl Knight

Right-sizing vehicles, utilizing technology, and employing an alternative-fuel vehicle fleet, where appropriate, allows AT&T’s Fleet Operations to cost effectively manage its fleet of more than 85,000 vehicles.

Tags: alt-fuel, AT&T , CNG

By Staff

It is no longer unusual for a fleet manager to see the fleet function move from one area of the company to another, and each organizational shift brings a new boss with different priorities. Here's how to deal with such changes.

Tags: cost, revenue, Training

By Staff

Fleet management requires a skill set that is a unique combination of technical, communications, and personal qualities and experience. Here are 10 ways to elevate those skills to the next level.

Tags: communicatiion skills, fleet management, negotiation skills, technology skills

By Richard Alaniz

Every employee owes his or her employer a fiduciary duty, a level of responsibility and obligation to promote the company’s well-being and long-term success.

Tags: fiduciary duty

By Staff

Whether dealing with one fleet supplier or several, a fleet manager's actions are directly impacted by supplier performance. Here are some tips on how to get the best in products and service.

Tags: accident management, fleet suppliers, leasing programs, maintenance, service

By Cheryl Knight

Satish Natarajan, senior director of Fleet Operations for ARAMARK Uniform and Career Apparel, is Fleet Financials’ 2009 Fleet Executive of the Year. Natarajan’s leadership helped his company better leverage people, processes, and technology.

Tags: Aramark, award, Fleet Executive of the Year, reorganization

By Cheryl Knight

According to Wayne Smolda of The CEI Group, fleet executives continue to help mentor and guide fleet managers, promoting policy streamlining and strategic initiatives.

Tags: Aramark, award, cost-cutting, Fleet Executive of the Year, The CEI Group, Wayne Smolda

By Staff

Few management positions are better suited to moving up the career ladder. Fleet management contains all the key elements of responsibility and experience the company looks for in an up-and-coming manager.

Tags: Career Advancement, career building, executive level, fleet management, senior management, strategies

By Grace Lauron

Staying true to the Volvo brand’s reputation, the XC90 provides safety, durability, and functionality in a comfortable, refined package.

Tags: 2009-MY, vehicle review, Volvo, Volvo XC90