Tony Greenidge's blog: 7 March - Fleet planning in the face of economic uncertainty

Date: 07 March 2016

Tony Greenidge is sales and marketing director at Fleet Operations.

Whatever economic climate lies in wait, with fleet and corporate travel arrangements vital to the cost base and operational efficiency of UK plc, businesses must look to insure themselves against all relevant fiscal risk factors.

Such a common sense approach to cost control management calls for a thorough understanding of a business's capability to withstand an economic downturn - and any subsequent impact on jobs, profits and customer service. The answers to the following 10 key questions can help put this capability to the test.

• How will the current/forecast global economic slowdown impact on my business?
• Shares in the European banking sector are down a staggering 25 per cent since the turn of the year, if there is another financial crisis what might this mean for the automotive leasing sector and how do I ensure my business has ready access to competitive lease rentals?
• Is my fleet purchasing strategy robust enough to withstand a financial downturn, what are my options if I am currently in to a long term sole supply arrangement? Do I have a contingency plan?
• With the used car market seeing increased availability of quality stock, resale values are likely to stall. How will this impact on my future fleet costs?
• How do I identify, control and reduce my total cost of fleet ownership? For example, how much will the government's U-turn on the diesel supplement cost my business over the next five years?
• What is the short to medium outlook for oil prices and how do I budget for this vital element of fleet cost?
• With an increasing number of company car scheme options available, how might UK businesses be affected by George Osbourne's attempts to protect historically lucrative Treasury incomes?
• In-life cost benchmarking on individual vehicles tends to be difficult but l want to ensure my costs are consistently competitive. How can I achieve this regardless of economic conditions?
• The UK fleet leasing sector is a very mature market and there appears to be little to differentiate suppliers. Is there any value in reviewing suppliers and what is the most effective way to do this?
• How do I ensure my fleet maximises the potential of new technologies whilst meeting our environmental objectives?

Responses to these questions will vary from business to business, but each of the topics covered can have a significant impact on fleet costs, requiring close examination, planning and strategic action.

Simple, effective and proven methodologies can help address the complex questions posed. Putting these in place is not as difficult as it can first appear and increasing numbers of UK businesses are already optimising their fleet options with appropriate expert consultancy.

Tony Greenidge is sales and marketing director at Fleet Operations.

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