Fleet News Awards 2010: Fleet of the Year

VIDEO EXCLUSIVE - Fleet News Awards 2010: Fleet of the Year - 501 Plus Vehicles

22 March 2010

Barclays Bank was named Fleet of the Year in the 501-plus vehicles category at the 2010 Fleet News awards.

Barclays, like its peers in the banking sector, has been through arguably the toughest 12 months in its existence. Stripping out cost at all levels of the business put a lot of stress on the fleet function.

The bank held a series of meetings with suppliers to explore all potential areas for savings, creating a shortlist of the most viable. It led to 17 core ideas – and significant savings. Those projects – and the savings – will continue into 2010 and 2011.
Fleet manager Caroline Sandall co-ordinated the effort, which saw the creation of teams to track savings initiatives from set-up through to achieved savings. It was a company-wide effort which brought together senior Barclays management from HR and sourcing, and liaison with experts in tax and Treasury.

Key to implementing the changes was communication with staff, keeping them updated on developments and sharing with the some of the factors that were influencing costs, such as residual values and interest rates.

Barclays continued investing in its Safe Driving programme launched in November 2008. More than 12,000 employees have been invited to join the programme, and compliance is above 90%.

Judges’ comments
"During a hugely difficult year for the banking industry Barclays has achieved some impressive savings. In bringing together its key suppliers to discuss cost cutting initiatives and implementing the best suggestions, the fleet has become the beacon for operational excellence."

Alliance Boots was highly commended in the awards.