GoFibre outsources maintenance and switches to contract hire

Just over a year after joining GoFibre as its fleet manager, John Fraser is relishing the opportunity to reshape the company’s fleet operations.

An initial focus has been on the financing of the fleet, switching to contract hire through a single provider and ensuring maintenance is included.

Telematics have also been introduced to the van fleet, bringing fuel savings, reducing penalties and fines and driving down insurance costs.

“Fleet has always been my passion,” he says. “I have been in the fleet Industry for 35 years, working as a fleet controller at Ford Motor Company, fleet manager at the Bank of Scotland and, prior to joining GoFibre, fleet manager for Standard Life, controlling the fleet for the UK, Germany and Austria.”

Having the ability to effectively start from scratch in his current role, Fraser says he was “delighted to be given this exciting opportunity by GoFibre”.

GoFibre is the trading name for Borderlink Broadband, a Scottish independent broadband builder and provider founded in Duns in the Scottish Borders in 2017.

With rural areas, like Duns, being largely underserved when it comes to digital connectivity, GoFibre was born out of the need to solve this issue.

It is on a mission to ensure that rural and harder to reach communities are not left behind.

At the moment, GoFibre broadband mainly covers underserved areas in the south and east of Scotland, but it is growing fast.

Fleet make-up

Fraser is a one man fleet team, reporting into the operations director and handling all items fleet-related.

The GoFibre fleet is predominantly made up of commercial vehicles, with 106 vans from a mix of manufacturers, including Peugeot, Citroen, Ford and Vauxhall.

It also operates around half a dozen Suzuki Swifts which are used by company’s field-based sales team and has a number of cash-allowance drivers.

All the vehicles are financed on a hire purchase basis and Fraser has struck a deal with Arnold Clark Vehicle Management who will supply GoFibre with a bolt-on fleet maintenance package for the existing fleet.

“Not having a fleet maintenance package wasn’t ideal,” explains Fraser. “The new agreement with Arnold Clark, however, now means instead of us going all over the place looking for service and repairs, because we had multiple accounts, we will now have one provider, with one consolidated monthly invoice.”  

“It will also help us improve our vehicle uptime,” he adds.

As existing vehicle contracts run out, GoFibre will also be sourcing its new vans through Arnold Clark on a four-year contract hire deal, with an annual mileage of approximately 20,000 miles.

Having benchmarked the fleet with three top FN50 providers in deciding to choose Arnold Clark, Fraser says: “I feel it is best to deal with a traditional, established contract hire company where everything is in-house. That way you can be sure of the required customer service levels.”  

With sourcing new vehicles a problem for many fleets, as a result of the semiconductor shortage, Fraser also hopes vehicle supply will be improved by choosing a major leasing company.

Vehicle replacement timelines have been an issue,” says Fraser. “As with all fleet managers, we are all in the same position with these excessive lead times being quoted, however certain manufacturers seem to be doing better than others.

“I continue to look at lead times with my national account manager and as they are a major provider, they can supply vans with a slightly shorter lead time which is a great benefit to the business.”

Fleet decarbonisation

While the business is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, its carbon reduction plan aims to deliver the environmental target by 2041.

That will be achieved through a range of measures, including the sourcing of 100% renewable power, choosing sustainable travel options within the UK and, where possible, to Europe, transitioning its car and van fleet to electric power, and using contractors who have also made the switch to zero emission vehicles.

The GoFibre fleet is currently 95% diesel, but Fraser is investigating alternatives, including fully electric, hybrid and hydrogen, in an effort to decarbonise the vehicles it operates.

“We have secured a rolling electric vehicle demonstration programme with Renault of which we intend to issue to selected drivers to basically give them an understanding and in-depth knowledge of how living with an electric van would work for the business,” says Fraser.

“It is a real opportunity going forward to be as environmentally friendly and fuel efficient as possible, but we are only at the start of the journey.”

Vehicle safety and compliance

The introduction of telematics has brought several benefits to the fleet. Fraser says that insurance costs have been reduced, while the business has also been able to get a better understanding of vehicle usage patterns.

The Inseego system also monitors driver behaviour which Fraser expects to deliver savings in terms of maintenance and repairs as new vans join the fleet.

He adds: “We will also be looking to potentially work with RoSPA and Logistics UK to see what additional benefits and training they can offer us as a business.”

FACTFILE

Company: GoFibre
Head office: Edinburgh, Scotland
Fleet manager: John Fraser
Time in role: 1yr 1m (as of May 2023)
Fleet size: 106 vans and 6 cars, plus cash allowance drivers
Funding method: Hire purchase but moving to contract hire