Arval: a calculated approach

Date: 20 August 2014   |   Author:

"We're now talking to purchasing directors and HR, not necessarily a fleet director," explains Arval consultant Paul Marchment. "Some are very knowledgeable and know what their vehicles are being used for; some do a bit but don't have the capacity to challenge operators; and some don't understand what they do and come at it from a purely financial perspective."

He says HR people are focused on keeping drivers happy, while purchasing departments have a sole focus on cost.

"It's about right-sizing the fleet - do you need 24 heavy vans when you could get away with 15 heavy and some medium vans?" he says. "You can right-size the fleet and then rent with the savings on the occasions when you need a larger van."

"We're helping the customer make an informed decision on what they run on their fleet, based on what they need it to do," adds Arval's senior insight and consultancy manager Mike Waters. "It can have a big impact if you don't specify a van correctly; for example, if the loads are too heavy then running costs increase as well as the corporate social responsibility issues."

The LCV calculator sorts vehicles by load length, load height and payload parameters, and Arval has also built in a list of the kind of equipment different tradesmen would carry, with weights and dimensions, to help non-frontline staff judge the type of vehicles they need if they don't have that information to hand.
"All vehicles are fit for purpose and with one click it brings in the fuel savings," declares Marchment.
Arval is already working on version two, which will add vehicle specification, although Waters says whole-life cost has been deliberately sidestepped to try and open customers' eyes to the options available across different brands."

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