Chevin Fleet Solutions says that with today’s computerised systems – such as the ones it produces – companies are increasingly taking their fleets away from separate fleet management firms. But an industry body contends that software is only as good as the operator and that many fleets still need outside expertise.
Chevin’s sales and marketing manager Gavin Clark said: ‘There’s an old adage ‘if you want a job doing well, do it yourself’.
‘Trusting outside companies, with their own agendas and profit margins, to manage something as important as your fleet has always seemed to us a questionable idea. No-one can look after your business as well as you.
‘Which is why it’s so good to see this quiet revolution, putting power back in the hands of the in-house fleet manager through advances in technology.’
Clark said that the advantages of outsourcing had traditionally been the suppliers’ buying power and efficiency. ‘But these days many fleets can achieve exactly the same buying power by joining forces with one or more other organisations,’ he said. ‘Meanwhile modern fleet management systems hold the hands of users, even novices, guiding them through a number of important areas including compliance and duty of care.
‘When properly set up, a good system will passively, without further effort by the operator, gather together all the necessary facts and figures in one place, and create the reports they need, when they’re needed.’
But the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) disagreed. A spokesman said: ‘Software, no matter how good, only captures information.
‘It then needs to be analysed, turned into useful management information and applied. This is not a core competence for the great majority of companies.
‘There is no substitute for the constant development of skills and competencies of specialist fleet management companies and also bear in mind that the weakness of any software programme is that it will never underwrite the cost of risk.’
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