FLEET management experts had to come to the rescue after a company found its fleet of vehicles was set to grow 10 times bigger overnight. Softlab, the systems integration specialists, called in Alphabet, the multi-marque fleet management division of BMW financial services group, to try and handle its expansion problems.

The company was facing instant growth from 50 employees and a handful of cars to about 400 people and a fleet of more than 200 vehicles. The expansion came when London-based Softlab acquired an operation being divested by telecommunications giant AT&T and inherited an existing fleet of 190 cars. Softlab now operate a fleet of 225 vehicles, all of which are on contract hire and a one to three year replacement cycle.