OUTSOURCING: it’s a familiar business practice. Non-core activities are delegated to an outside specialist. Internal resources are focused on the business’s key operation. Which is exactly the idea behind fleet management.
Instead of trying to run a car fleet yourself, you appoint a specialist to do it for you. And benefit from their expertise.
It’s particularly useful for a small business running a larger number of vehicles. Although the business continues to own the vehicles, day-to-day management is outsourced.
The cost of fleet management is a small, monthly sum per vehicle.
What are the benefits of fleet management to a small business?
You should be able to buy vehicles on better terms.
A fleet management company buys lots of vehicles for lots of clients. So it gains preferential terms. It uses this purchasing power to pass on savings to you should you wish to take advantage of this.
But it’s not just the acquisition stage where benefits can be gained. Fleet management companies can look after everything else – all the in-life hassles of running company cars.
There’s the cost of servicing. A fleet management’s maintenance control will ensure you pay the correct rates. They will also let your drivers know when a service is due. So your cars or vans are maintained within health and safety guidelines for your duty of care responsibilities.
Other services include:
- Organising safety checks
- Managing accidents
- Managing the cost of repairs
- Managing insurance claims
- Managing MOT due dates
- Assembling P11D and P46 data
- Managing fines
- Looking after telematics data
- Fuel card management
- Helping you sell vehicles when a replacement is due.
Time saving; cost saving; and business focus – it all adds up for busy small companies that want to stay successful. That’s the benefit of fleet management to small businesses and SMEs.