BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Car Care
Tips In this issue, we conclude our series of car care tips with a focus on fleet management. Over the past seven issues we have discussed several useful tips for the car owner focusing on a range of topics such as external care, internal care, engine care, tyres and batteries. All of these issues are pertinent to the fleet manager as well. However, the fleet manager has other specific concerns beyond that of the typical individual car owner.
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volatile fuel prices. To quote an old cliché, be wary of being penny wise and pound foolish. For example, many fleet managers are unaware of the impact the type and brand of lubricant can have on a
due to maintenance problems. But just as importantly, a high paid business executive who has to forgo the use of an assigned company car suffers more than just an inconvenience – he/she may suffer
vehicle’s maintenance and operating costs and simply buy the cheapest lubricants available. But, not all lubricants are created equal. Using a high quality, extensively tested lubricant like Valvoline can help to maximise engine durability, extend oil change intervals and save fuel.
an invaluable loss of productivity that will impact on the overall business’ bottom-line.
The term ‘Fleet Management’ refers to the management of a company’s fleet of vehicles such as cars, vans, and trucks. Fleet management is particularly important for businesses with large number of vehicles such as distributors, car rental companies and any business that offers a delivery service. However any business that owns several vehicles, even if it is just a few corporate cars should be concerned about the issues of good fleet management. Good fleet management is important for several reasons. Firstly, vehicles are a significant investment for most businesses. Vehicle purchases represent a significant upfront capital outlay. For many businesses, vehicles may even be their largest fixed asset. It is important to protect and preserve the investment in this asset. With proper care and management, a business can minimize the risks to their vehicle asset, prolong the useful life of the asset and increase the resale value at the end of the useful life of that asset. Secondly, reoccurring operational and maintenance costs of vehicles are likely to be high line items of expenditure. Savings in these reoccurring costs should be a high priority for the fleet manager, particularly in these times of increasingly high and BusinessFocus
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Thirdly, the reliability of the fleet is critical to the ability of the business to deliver on an expectation to deliver a good service to its customers, as well as the ability of the staff to perform at an optimal level. Clearly, repeated downtime can impact on a business’s ability to make on-time deliveries. A car rental company may lose revenue if vehicles are unavailable
In conclusion, more focus on the function of fleet management can save company money, and help it to be more competitive. Given the size of most company fleets in St Lucia, having a dedicated fleet manager may not be practical. Nonetheless, fleet management is still an important function that should not be neglected and someone in the management team should be given specific responsibility for the fleet management function.