With more than 50 years in the fleet industry, Ed Bobit, Automotive Fleet editor and publisher, reflects on issues affecting today’s fleets. Drawing insight from his own experiences in the field, Ed offers a perspective similar to that of a sports coach guiding his players.
It’s not in any study book; you won’t earn a certificate to verify your status from any NAFA test. You may not even realize how you are finally recognized and honored to join that special group known as professional fleet managers.
Everyone has a budget these days. Everyone has a CFO or boss of some kind who wants you to do more with less. You’re expected to defend your turf. Here’s how to become a star.
Maybe “yes” if you believe the experts who say that up to 30 percent of a vehicle’s efficiency is impacted by driver behavior. Maybe “no” if you are not influencing your drivers.
With no apologies to Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman who starred in the movie, I present my own (fantasy/real-life) wishes. They reflect reader feedback on associations serving fleets.
In today’s cost-conscience fleet industry poor performing fleet managers don’t last long. It’s a job-health exercise for each of us to regularly stop and check the fleet orchard for low hanging fruit. We should all be in the habit of stepping back every quarter and searching our entire agency for fleet related deficiencies, fix the easy ones first and form strategies to address any others.
Factory leadership and training, thin profits vs. retail, and the sheer systemic “retail orientation” at all marketing levels makes “fleet” a near orphan.
I worked for a fleet manager once who believed if anyone else in the organization knew what he knew, he would no longer be needed. When he left the organization and I was chosen as his replacement, I didn’t have a clue what he did or how he did it. I thought I did but hind-sight is 20-20. Because of his unfounded fear, I was doomed to make countless mistakes, costing the agency significant capital, which could have prevented if my former boss had been willing to share his knowledge.
A number of firms have attempted to eliminate their entire fleet department in favor of outsourcing. There are sound reasons why these companies inevitably reinstall a fleet manager.
The old cliché of “the more things change, the more they remain the same” doesn’t fit anymore. The birth was of ingenuity and necessity. Today, it’s efficiency, economics, and increasingly high-tech.
These scenarios are real-life fleet situations from fleet user customers. Sometimes fleet policy does not address ways to deal with these unplanned challenges. I’ve scaled down the details to keep the blog short. Please suggest a possible solution as though it was a request from one of your fleet’s user departments.
Your test score depends heavily on whether you have set and implemented multi-faceted policies and strategies to reduce fuel costs. Today, it calls for a critical approach, ranging from vehicle selection to modifying driver behavior.
These scenarios are real-life fleet situations from fleet user customers. Sometimes fleet policy does not address ways to deal with these unplanned challenges. I’ve scaled down the details to keep the blog short. Please suggest a possible solution as though it was a request from one of your fleet’s user departments.
Your key corporate responsibility is your competency to view, analyze, evaluate, and report on industry forces that affect the fleet operation.
These scenarios are real-life fleet situations from fleet user customers. Sometimes fleet policy does not address ways to deal with these unplanned challenges. I’ve scaled down the details to keep the blog short. Please suggest a possible solution as though it was a request from one of your fleet’s user departments.
While attending the Green Fleet Conference in Chicago on 10/3/2012, I had the privilege of hearing Mr. John Davis give the keynote address (the creator, producer and host for the weekly TV show MotorWeek). Mr. Davis spoke on electric vehicle (BEV) technology and hybrid vehicle (HEV) technology and ultra low emission vehicles (ULEV). John is a dynamic speaker and literally erupts with enthusiasm about cars.
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