Public and private-sector organizations of many types and sizes operate fleets of vehicles and motorized equipment to fulfill their missions. Whether to meet the mobility needs of employees or customers; facilitate the delivery of goods and materials; underpin law enforcement or national defense missions; or support manufacturing, construction, utility, public works, or other services, fleet management is a vital but often underappreciated and oversimplified area of endeavor for many enterprises. Nonetheless, much of what passes for management training in the fleet industry consists of thinly disguised sales pitches for goods or services offered by industry suppliers.

In recognition of the need for independent, unbiased information and technical guidance on global trends and best practices in fleet management, Fleet Software & Services Pty Ltd has arranged for Washington, DC-based Mercury Associates, Inc. to join with it this October in conducting two-day seminars on fleet management best practices in Melbourne and Sydney. Mercury Associates, Inc. (www.mercury-assoc.com) is the world’s largest independent fleet management consulting and training firm. Members of its professional staff have conducted numerous training programs for fleet management professionals in North America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia over the last 20 years.

This presentation is in support of these best practices master seminars in Australia covering a broad array of fleet management practices, strategies, and techniques of interest to both newcomers to, and seasoned veterans of, the fleet industry.

Low bid is the mantra of most public procurement managers — and rightly so. However, “low bid” may not mean what you think it means. The question is: are you skilled enough to structure a bid specification and analyze the responses so that they consider lifecycle costs rather than just net acquisition cost? When consider hybrids and other specialized type of equipment the use of lifecycle cost analysis (LCA) is imperative when deciding to if it is worth the investment. This article explains the use of LCA for selecting vehicles during the procurement process.

There are several topics that fleet management professional are being confronted with in 2006, such as vehicle replacement planning, cost reduction and control, managing take-home vehicles and assignment, and purchasing more fuel efficient vehicles. This presentation discusses these major trends and techniques for managing them effectively.

Beyond the supervising operational details, successful fleet managers play a variety of roles to energize, motivate, guide, and work within their organization. This article presents ten methods for vehicle and equipment managers to become influential leaders within their own environment.

Fleet managers are under increasing pressure to lower costs these days. In the difficult economic climate of the past few years this pressure has had more to do with the need to balance the city or county budget than with political agendas or ideologies. However, bad economic times also are bound to increase decision makers' interest in the issue of outsourcing. This double whammy of fiscal imperatives and political scrutiny has caused more than a few fleet managers to go prematurely gray in recent years. This article explores some of the aspects of understanding the costs associated with managing a cost effective fleet.

Nearly every function of fleet vehicle management requires a decision dependent upon accurate odometer reporting. Moreover, major fleet tasks, including vehicle replacement planning, proper vehicle maintenance and repair intervals, and efficiently analyzing data all require accurate mileage. This article discusses proven techniques for capturing accurate meter readings in order to operate an efficient maintenance operation and make reliable management decisions.

To be successful, fleet management must develop a productive relationship with the operating departments, vehicle and equipment drivers, and service and parts vendors. Fleet is the pivotal player in these relationships as it manages vehicles and equipment from cradle to grave, especially for key, specialty operations, like street maintenance.

Fleet operations, even emergency vehicle fleets, are under constant pressure to contain costs of maintenance and operation of equipment. However, there are several proven techniques to increase cost-effectiveness without sacrificing asset reliability and availability. This article highlights ten methods for achieving these often polarized goals.

cost control; fleet management

Many fleet operations utilize a charge-back system to recognize the total cost of ownership for each individual vehicle and the fleet as a whole. Most organizations focus primarily on the development and maintenance of charge-back rates due to their complexity, need for updating, and their use a competitive price comparison. Whereas the customer billing process is the least  area of focus, because it is almost always involves an accounting agency. However, customer billing adds significant value to a fleet operation beyond the simple transfer of funds from one account to another. This article takes a comprehensive look at the value that customer billing brings to a fleet operation and its parent organization.

During a strong economy many organizations increase the size of their fleet. Moreover, many operations also experience dramatic changes in the composition of their fleet during financially healthy times, such as purchasing more sport utility vehicles (SUV) instead of sedans. For many entities these relaxed practices and business decisions have a negative impact when funds dry up during tough economic times. This article discuss the tough choices that need to be made in order to gain control of an unruly fleet operation.

Benchmarking allows fleet management organizations to measure their performance against industry best practices. The process of benchmarking requires specific steps in order to be successful. This article discusses the process for effective fleet management benchmarking and how these measures can be utilized to remain competitive during times of lean budgets and increased performance accountability.

The outsourcing of fleet services is a fairly common activity for commercial organizations and occasionally seen in government entities. However, there are several management functions that should never be outsourced to a third-party, such as business planning and budgeting, establishing policies, and supplier management. This document describes these and other functions that should be the responsibility of an internal resource in order to have an effective outsourced fleet operation.

Managed competition or the outsourcing of fleet services is a common issue for many organizations. However, there are ways a fleet management operation that is internal to an organization can compete with commercial operations to retain the business of their existing customers. This article presents six proven methods that an in-house fleet operation can implement to succeed in a managed competition.