The news has been awash with downbeat commentary on the prospects for the UK economy.

With GDP flat-lining and market confidence fluctuating by the hour, it is essential that businesses have a robust plan in place to help them survive and thrive in the months ahead.

In uncertain times, scenario planning is one useful technique that can help businesses determine what course of action they may need to take to protect the bottom line.

The basic concept involves starting with known facts about the future and then adding a variety of plausible, positive and negative alternatives that may occur in the near future.

The objective is to find a solution to each eventuality, ultimately ensuring the business can take quick and decisive action when needed rather than wasting precious time-deliberating options.

Fundamentally, in times of economic uncertainty the technique is as much about highlighting a business’s weaknesses as its strengths. ‘Knowledge, after all, is power.’

Whether you have two or 200 vehicles, evaluating present and future fleet management needs should form a part of any scenario planning exercise.

Ensuring that you have fleet availability during peak business times is crucial but equally, when business is a little slower, maintaining a non-operational fleet can be expensive.

This is one of the main reasons why businesses are looking more and more to rentals.

Rental provides fleet operators with the flexibility to accommodate changing business needs.

With fixed costs associated with fleet rentals, businesses can plan ahead and budget for those costs and with the additional benefit of a reduced risk in residual values, it’s not hard to see why it is becoming a popular choice.

Ultimately, it seems, the only certainty in the prospect for the UK economy is for more uncertainty.

We can predict with some confidence, however, that those businesses operating fleets that plan for the future stand to be best prepared to ride out the choppy waters, whatever they may bring.
 

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