EASY SWITCH

Changing contract hire providers has never been an easy switch. With replacement cycles on company cars and vans varying between two to five years, and leasing companies also using their own preferred network of partners for ancillary services, moving can result in fleet managers adding to their workload with multiple funders and suppliers for many years.

But what options exist to make the switch smooth and stress free?

One of the most important questions you should ask a potential new supplier is how they will manage the onboarding process.

There are some very significant differences in how contract hire or fleet management companies manage the onboarding of a new client. At one extreme, the customer remains responsible for continuing to manage the outgoing relationship with their incumbent contract hire provider, as well as any other suppliers that they may be using.

As each vehicle comes to the end of its contract, it is then replaced with a car or van supplied and funded by the new provider, which in turn comes with a potentially new support network as well. For example, a different breakdown company, accident management provider etc.

That transition can take up to three years or more before the entire fleet has been completely transferred into the hands of the new leasing or fleet management company. During that time the fleet manager is dealing with multiple funders, as well as a much wider range of support services. The fleet operator may also have some of their own, nominated, partners as well, (for example, local garages, or a specialist vehicle livery provider) that they are then integrating across a fleet of mixed funding and supply.

As a result, there is not only a significant increase in workload for the fleet manager, but there can be inconsistencies in service levels and support depending on which supplier a driver has their vehicle from.

At the other end of the spectrum, there is ‘what’s called’ a legacy fleet management solution.

As part of the legacy approach, from the moment a customer appoints a new contract hire or fleet management provider, the new supplier takes full management control. As a result, they manage all funders, suppliers, vehicles and drivers across the entire fleet from day one, delivering a centralised solution to the customer regardless of who owns or leases each vehicle.

At IFM, we have always believed this model offers the optimum approach for customers because the entire fleet can be managed on one single fleet management software platform, and channels of communication can be created to smoothly manage the entire fleet supply chain. The best suppliers can also be quickly consolidated into a tailored, and fully managed solution, making the transition not just simple but highly effective too – from an operational and a cost perspective.

This form of legacy fleet management is provided at a very detailed level, as the new provider will handle all aspects of in-life management, such as direct involvement in maintenance, downtime management, contracts and actual vs budgeted mileages, as well as end-of-life management.

Through this approach, they can also overlay key support services across all vehicles. A good example is at IFM where, as part of our legacy fleet management, we can add all vehicles into our Advanced Remote Connectivity (ARC) solution, whereby we connect our fleet management system to each vehicle’s onboard diagnostics (OBD) system, giving us a real-time feed of true odometer readings, service and maintenance countdowns, fuel or EV battery levels, and vehicle dashboard warning lights. As a result, we can be truly proactive with every vehicle – not just the ones we have supplied.