Kitchen manufacturer Nobia has seen the fuel bill for its 480-strong UK fleet fall by 9.8% since 2015 over and above pump price changes.

Nobia, whose UK and European kitchen brands include Poggenpohl, Sigdal, Magnet and Rixonway, introduced a new fuel management solution in October 2015.

The solution, from the Miles Consultancy (TMC) and Barclaycard, covers all-brands fuel purchasing, mileage data capture, analytics and streamlined, HMRC-compliant, private mileage reimbursement.

The Barclaycard Fuel+ fuelcards, which are accepted by 98% of UK fuel retail sites, delivered cost-saving for Nobia from day one as there are no transaction charges, unlike the cards previously used by the company.

TMC audits data both from fuel transactions and the mileage reports it receives from drivers. Together with inbound and outbound driver contact by TMC’s customer service team, the ‘active fuel management’ approach has increased the accuracy of private fuel reimbursement by 16% since implementation.

Not only have fuel costs fallen but the time burden of administering fuel and expenses is also much lighter than before, said Nobia’s fleet manager Tracy Barker.

 “TMC and Barclaycard have made a tremendous difference to our fuel management,” she said. “Their solution delivered a saving straight away. There is much less administration for us thanks to their outbound driver support. We’ve completely changed our expectations in this area of fleet management.”

She continued: “The solution gives us more complete data, which ranges from exception reporting right down to individual trip detail if required. We get more of it on time and we have to do far less data manipulation at our end.”

TMC also provides consultative advice on issues including NIC, BIK, VAT and CO2. As some Nobia drivers receive BIK Fuel benefit, TMC used real world information it holds on mileages, mpgs and fuel prices to analyse the perk’s real value to the company and drivers.

Barker said: “On top of the other savings, TMC have identified a potential net saving of £51,000 by withdrawing BIK Fuel benefit from some fully-expensed drivers without leaving them any worse off.”

Paul Hollick, managing director of TMC, said: “Raising fleet’s expectations of service and results is what TMC is all about. Our approach combines mobility expertise, technology and ‘big data’ analytics in a comprehensive management system.

“The results we achieve for our fast-growing, international client base speak for themselves. That’s why we offer an unequivocal money-back guarantee that we will deliver cost savings.”

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