Addison Lee has long been an innovator, picking up trophies at the Fleet News Awards in recent years for its commitment to environmental initiatives that focus as much on the use of technology to minimise dead mileage as they do using low emission cars for its private hire and courier work.

With one of the country’s biggest car fleets (4,825, plus 407 vans), small improvements can result in big savings. However, over the past three years, following Justin Patterson’s appointment as head of operations, progress has been substantial and wide-ranging.

From implementing a new funding structure, which pitched the competitive lending rates of banks against the more bullish view on residual values held by leasing companies on a standardised master hire agreement, to writing a four-year environmental strategy that will conclude with a zero emission fleet, Addison Lee is examining every element of fleet policy.

Savings run into the millions with more to come as it tenders for new vehicles following a review of its holding cycles and total cost of ownership modelling.

Replacement cycles have been linked to Cap HPI actual and future monitor values and SMR forecasts, all combined with KeeResources software for a complete overview.

The company has introduced 90% utilisation targets with vehicle-off-road, pool car, hire and accident repair objectives, resulting in a leaner operation.

No stone is left unturned. Grey fleet has been minimised via a travel hierarchy which promotes the use of public transport via business Oyster cards, while Addison Lee is part of a Government-led project to assess the potential for autonomous vehicle technology.

With a mix of self-employed and employed drivers, Addison Lee has taken the decision to manage most of its services in-house, including workshops and driver training, to ensure it has full control over cost, efficiencies and operational effectiveness. It works.

Finalists: Murphy Plant, Schneider Electric, Scottish Water 

Award sponsored by Zenith 

Sponsor's comment

"Zenith is proud to sponsor the Fleet of the Year (1,001+ vehicles) award. We believe it is important that fleets are evolving policies to support their transition to cleaner technologies; we were impressed by Addison Lee’s focus on implementing a strategy to comply with the introduction of Clean Air Zones, mitigate their impact on the business and drive down their CO2 footprint.

The Fleet News Awards highlight the continuous improvements that the industry is making to ensure fleets are fit for purpose, now and in the future."

 

More articles on: