Fleet Management Outsourcing – Delivering Results
Since establishing Fleet Advisory in 2020 (a year dominated by the outbreak of COVID19) it’s fair to say that most of the projects undertaken have started with a Strategic Fleet Review.
A Strategic Fleet Review/Audit assesses current practices to determine opportunities for improvement, when compared to industry best practice. Accordingly, it is highly beneficial in developing and implementing effective fleet management strategy.
However, during 2024 we noted an increasing number of clients wanting our assistance in either implementing the recommendations arising from our review or simply taking over the operational/administrative aspects of managing their fleet.
There is growing recognition that an organisation’s fleet is not only one of it’s largest expenses but also represents significant risks. Accordingly, its critical that the vehicle fleet is structured and managed effectively to support service delivery, while maximising Return On Investment (ROI).
Resource Constraints
In most cases the need for outside help is the result of a lack of suitable resources. While it may sometimes be a matter of overall staff headcount, more often the reason is a lack of staff with fleet management knowledge.
This is hardly surprising, as small and medium fleets don’t have the benefit of having a dedicated Fleet Manager with industry expertise to manage their fleet operations. Responsibility for the fleet is often ‘allocated’ to staff in Finance, Procurement, Operations, or Human Resources whose skills are aligned to their core roles, not fleet management.
In a recent case, we noted that a Payroll Manager had been given responsibility for managing the fleet and there were clear gaps in both their knowledge and inherent interest in managing a bunch of cars, along with their payroll responsibilities.

Unprecedented Fleet Environment
Regardless of whether you’re an experienced Fleet Manager or a reluctant part-time Fleet Administrator, it’s hard to imagine a more a demanding time to manage a fleet.
Consider some of the complexities of today’s varied fleet management responsibilities:
- Transition to Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) – the biggest change in the automotive landscape in 140 years, since the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) was patented by Carl Benz
- ‘Fit For Purpose’ Vehicle Selection – aligning vehicle suitability with corporate and operational requirements
- Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Analysis – ensuring optimal cost management through effective vehicle selection, based on whole of life costs
- Risk Management & Compliance – providing a ‘safe workplace’, and maintaining compliance with all relevant legislation
- Fleet Optimisation - ensuring vehicles are being appropriately utilised to meet business objectives, demonstrating a positive ROI
- Data Management – consolidating multiple sources of fleet data
- Servicing & Maintenance, Accident & Breakdown Management – keeping vehicles ‘on the road’ and maintained to a high standard
- Grey Fleet Management – ensuring a ‘safe workplace’ for employees using their own vehicles for work purposes
- Driver Management – managing both the demands and obligations of fleet vehicle drivers
Notably, we see many organisations failing to first consider the relevant infrastructure upgrades and costs associated with the transition to BEVs.
Expertise Delivering Results
Having recently undertaken a specific program of work to implement the recommendations of our fleet review for a client, we were delighted with the results, which included:
- A 40% reduction in overall fleet size, by disposing of under-utilised vehicles
- Halving the average fleet age by disposing of the oldest vehicles and replacing well utilised vehicles
- Implementing vehicle standardisation practices, by replacing a mix of vehicle brands and models with a standard vehicle, based on its optimal TCO
- Increasing Fleet Safety profile by disposing of older vehicles with minimal safety technologies and procuring 5-star ANCAP Safety rated vehicles
- Reducing Carbon Emissions by an estimated 50%, based on the fleet reduction and transition to Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) for the passenger fleet
- Enhancing employee satisfaction through the replacement of vehicles considered beyond their effective life
- Reducing fleet administration by reducing the overall fleet and its age, plus implementing vehicle standardisation, thus reducing administrative burden
- Realising Cost Savings – fuel, servicing & maintenance, registration, depreciation etc.
Providing Staff Support
In many cases we observe that staff just need the right support to provide them with some fleet management training and/or to help them establish sound organisational practices (and corresponding policies) that enable good fleet management.
For more information on how Fleet Advisory may be able to help, go to Fleet Advisory.