STRATEGIC FOCUS …. KEY TO FLEET MANAGEMENT SUCCESS
WORDS BY PAUL OLIVER
Have you ever seen images of a sporting team ( often footballers ) ‘ piling on ’? While it ’ s usually part of a celebration , if you ’ re on the bottom I doubt you would be it .
When I consider the additional challenges that the last couple of years has brought to Fleet Managers – I often envisage them at the bottom of one of these piles .
The way I see it , prior to COVID , Fleet Managers were already facing numerous operational challenges ( people piling on ) – budget constraints , WHS requirements like driver safety , changing Vehicle Specifications challenging ‘ fit for purpose ’ criteria , multiple databases and suppliers , Grey Fleet , accidents … the list goes on .
While it ’ s always been a multi-faceted role , I reckon many were staying on top . But then along came COVID and new challenges starting piling on – pool vehicle operating changes , vehicle under-utilisation , changing work practices and ultimately the unprecedented supply chain issues that followed .
It seems at the same time , the argument for change in environmental sustainability picked up pace and the replacement of the internal combustion engine that has been with us since 1886 escalated . Accordingly , Fleet Managers are having to consider and embrace the transition to electric vehicles .
Then to ‘ top it off ’, the war in Ukraine has delivered not only untold human misery , but contributed to soaring fuel prices — the likes of which we have never seen .
So perhaps you may now see the analogy , why I envisage Fleet Managers at the bottom of this unruly pile struggling to breathe .
4 ISSUE 35 JUNE 2022 / WWW . AFMA . ORG . AU