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The start point for the best source of fleet information |
Now a leading global provider of dedicated fleet management software, Chevin Fleet Solutions has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1990. Still based in a small Derbyshire town in the heart of England, the company's enterprise-level software, FleetWave, is now used in more than 180 countries, supporting more than 300 clients and one million vehicles.
Over the past 12 months, the company has gone from strength to strength, reporting global business growth of 21% and the launch of two brand new fleet-specific products. As we progress through 2018, it shows no sign of slowing down.
A strong representative of this success is David Gladding, Chevin's global sales and marketing director, who has led the company's team of sales professionals since 2014. Tasked to coordinate sales operations in all territories - including the UK, US, EMEA and APAC - he has spent the past four years increasing customer numbers and staffing levels to maintain Chevin's local, regional and global success.
We managed to catch up with Gladding on a break between his busy business travel schedule to Australia and the Philippines, where he spoke to us about Chevin's recent fleet successes and future plans.
"Over the past few years, we have worked hard to put a well-defined fleet programme in place and our brand value is significantly increasing because of it," Gladding says.
"After almost three decades of dedication to the industry, we're taken seriously as a global player and, as we move forward, we pride ourselves on listening and responding to our customers' needs - and the industry as a whole - to positively contribute to the future success of fleet."
The company has some ambitious goals in place for the rest of this year, but continues to focus on three primary fleet management goals: cutting costs, increasing efficiency and automating
the workload.
"When looking to invest in fleet management software, these are the three most important things to consider and as experts in this field, that's exactly why existing and potential customers continue to come to us," adds Gladding.
He explains that FleetWave, Chevin's software, is a bespoke offering that allows tailor-made solutions to be built around each individual company's business processes and goals.
"Specifically, we start by building an 'is map' that looks at what the client is doing right now, followed by a 'should map' that addresses the business improvements that are needed in order to achieve further success. Our bespoke system is then designed and built around these factors," Gladding says.
"Ultimately, our software helps businesses to streamline processes, tackle inefficiencies and improve performance, as well as ensure compliance, reduce cost and mitigate risk."
He further explains that Chevin customers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including large-scale customers with complex fleets, their own workshops, fitters and engineers, and smaller fleets that need help with best practice. To ensure that FleetWave is still accessible to SME operators, Chevin has recently launched a new 'software-as-a-service' (SaaS) package called FleetWave Core that is designed to support essential fleet, maintenance and
compliance responsibilities.
"FleetWave Core is a preconfigured version of FleetWave and presents itself as an out-of-the-box solution that contains all of the fundamental tools needed for best practice fleet management," says Gladding. "The software can still be extended with a huge range of additional modules, tools, reports and configuration options, which is something that other SME packages simply cannot match."
Whether in its original form or purchased as a SaaS package, the FleetWave software acts as a central repository for all fleet-related data for Chevin's clients. Importantly, the system provides real-time visibility via FleetWave's unique dashboard, so the fleet manager is always in control. "If you have a system which acts in a visible way like ours, you can manage your fleet by exception - ensuring compliance, keeping vehicles roadworthy and gaining visibility of costs," says Gladding.
An overriding trend in fleet at the moment, according to Gladding, is the use of mobile applications to manage the day-to-day activities of field workers.However, he explains, the market has become "saturated with rigid tools that restrict users in terms of data collection and scope".
In response to this, Chevin developed FleetWave Forms, a flexible fleet-specific mobile app that allows users to custom-build data collection forms and send tasks to workers in the field. Used to replace any manual and paper-based data collection, the app can even be accessed offline, facilitating automatic uploads into FleetWave as soon as an internet connection becomes available.
"Relying on manually intensive processes can expose an organisation to risks - not to mention the actual cost and resources involved in managing," says Gladding. "However, FleetWave Forms helps to improve the management of remote workforces, while at the same time reducing administrative tasks and
increasing productivity."
The app ensures fleet data is delivered in a timely manner to the relevant personnel and is accurate. These are very important benefits, according to Gladding. "To be able to bring all the data together in one place with minimal errors is the power of our system,"
he says.
Looking to future challenges, one big issue for fleet data collection is compliance, which will be even more challenging with the EU's impending General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules coming in. "Not analysing data can be detrimental to fleets, so we ensure and will continue to ensure, that our clients - new and existing - have access to the very latest in fleet management technology and are fully prepared for the changes ahead," concludes Gladding.
"No one can be sure of what the industry will look like in ten years' time, but what is certain is that it is facing phenomenal changes. At Chevin, we have adapted our system to enable us and our customers to manage these changes as effectively and proactively as possible, now and in the future."
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