Conventional fleet wisdom is that small companies don’t need dedicated fleet managers. Decisions usually fall to a managing director or a manager with another job function, typically HR or finance.

Name Hannaford
Business Project management and construction
Fleet manager Leigh Stiff
Size of fleet 29 vehicles, 50/50 vans/cars
Brands Citroën, Ford
Grey fleet 20 vehicles

Hannaford, a project management and construction company based in Hertfordshire, takes a different view. It recently appointed a full-time fleet manager, Leigh Stiff, after accountant Matt Vier struggled to cope with the growing demands from legislation and fleet responsibilities.

“Four years ago, I went on a Fleet 21 seminar – it scared me into using their services for running our fleet,” says Vier. “Fleet 21 set us up with ALD and that’s where the relationship started with Leigh.”

As an account executive at ALD, Stiff was managing the fleet operations for a number of companies, small and large. Vier approached him to join Hannaford last November.

“I couldn’t dedicate the time that the fleet needed regarding duty of care,” says Vier, who took over fleet duties from Fleet 21 two years ago. 

“We wanted the company to be protected 100% but I wasn’t able to spend that much time on it due to my other responsibilities.”

With a fleet of 29 vehicles, split 50/50 between cars and vans, and almost as many greys, Hannaford is an archetypal small enterprise. 

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