Derwent Fleet Management (DFM), which manages 4,000 vehicles on behalf of 40 NHS trust fleets throughout the UK, has selected a newly launched fleet management software system from Mycompanyfleet to improve efficiencies and reduce costs on its managed fleet operation.

DFM is the first fleet management organisation in the UK to use the new system, which has been designed specifically to reduce the effort and costs involved in administering NHS car schemes through the increased automation of many standard fleet processes.

Derby-based DFM was established in 1992 to provide fleet management for leased NHS vehicles within southern Derbyshire. It now administers 40 different NHS car schemes in both England and Scotland.

Since 2009 it has been part of Berkshire Shared Services, based in Bracknell, providing it with access to the investment potential of a large and successful NHS Shared Services organisation.

DFM identified a need to change its existing software system, which was approaching the end of its useful working life, and opted for Mycompanyfleet’s web-delivered new system, claimed to be the most complete and comprehensive software solution ever produced to manage NHS car schemes.

Greg Scott, interim director for Berkshire Shared Services, said: "After trialling the Mycompanyfleet system, we were convinced that it offered the best solution to meet our varied and, at times, complex fleet management needs.

"It has the capability to deliver significant process efficiencies and provide a completely web-based service to our many customers and users."

The new system has been estimated to cut down the administrative burden for health sector fleet managers by 20-30%, as well as reducing fleet operating costs through the automation of many standard fleet processes.

It provides full life-cycle management of all vehicles on the fleet from cradle to grave. It can support all NHS Trust car schemes and, through a unique quotation calculation engine based on complex NHS rules, provides drivers with full online details of their available car allowance and the vehicles they can select.

Having helped identify all suitable vehicles, the system then manages all the in-life services, including service reminders, mileage capture, road fund licence reminders, MOTs when due and end of life calculations, through a fully automated letter production and emailing solution.

The system also allows NHS Trusts to identify any drivers that are exceeding their agreed contract mileage and notify them of potential out-of-contract costs. Monthly allowances can be reviewed easily and drivers that might have overestimated their business mileage can be quickly identified.

These features help reduce the administrative burden of running an NHS Trust car scheme, freeing up fleet staff to handle other duties.

The system also includes built-in allowance profiles that allow NHS fleet managers to direct staff into greener cars. This can be achieved by either benchmarking the most appropriate models or increasing allowances on low CO2 vehicles, thus helping reduce the carbon footprint of the organisation.

It integrates with current NHS Trust web portals and also offers the facility to produce driver websites for individual Trusts. The system can also be integrated with back office functions such as payroll and HR.

Jon Tandy (pictured), business development manager at Mycompanyfleet, the automotive arm of HR software giant NorthgateArinso, said: "We are delighted that Derwent Fleet Management has become the first major user of our new fleet software solution for managing NHS Trust car schemes, which we believe is the most comprehensive system of its kind so far produced in the UK and is quite unique in the marketplace.

"The new system been designed specifically to reduce the admin burden involved in running complex car schemes and addresses directly some of the key issues faced by fleet managers."


 

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