Friday, 7 September 2007
Fleet buyers want more than just competitive finance from their fleet managers says Dennis Kelly, Managing Director of FleetPartners New Zealand.
New Zealand fleet companies must become more leaner, greener and more strategic if they are to meet the changing needs of business, says the Managing Director of FleetPartners New Zealand, Dennis Kelly.
With so many leasing options available, the choice of fleet company was no longer just about finance, Mr Kelly said.
“The fleet industry has changed shape radically in recent years. Historically the banks approached fleet with a very narrow, commodity-focussed mindset. Now, we are starting to see a much more strategic approach to fleet management that looks at how the asset impacts on the customer’s operations, and in particular carbon emissions.”
Mr Kelly said growing interest in environmental impacts and fuel efficiency, coupled with greater choice in fleet vehicles, emphasised the need for a more strategic and “whole of business” approach to fleet management.
“At FleetPartners we take a bigger view of the fleet manager’s role. Fleet management has a much wider footprint in organisations than many people might imagine. In a mid-size company, for example, decisions about the nature and operation of a fleet can directly impact on human resources, operations, branding and marketing, OH&S and sales.”
The problem, he said, is that strategic fleet management is often overshadowed by the day-to-day business of operating vehicles.
“The real value of a fleet management company like FleetPartners, therefore, lies in our ability to work strategically with customers, to help them address business-critical issues like residual values, carbon emissions and change management,” Mr Kelly said.
One of New Zealand’s big three fleet companies, FleetPartners has more than 14,000 vehicles under management and a national network, including regional offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Specialists in the provision of fully maintained operating leases, FleetPartners’ products are structured to meet customers’ specific requirements and cover all passenger, light and heavy commercial vehicles. Terms begin at six months and extend up to 45 months for passenger, 60 months for light commercial and 84 months for heavy commercials.
As a full-service fleet management company, FleetPartners offers a comprehensive range of finance including fully maintained and non-maintained operating leases.
Also popular with New Zealand fleet buyers is Econolease, a fully maintained operating lease for pre-leased vehicles and Multilease, a flexible lease that enables companies to alter the size and/or composition of their fleet on annual basis.
FleetPartners services range from procurement and maintenance of vehicles, to breakdown and accident management, driver training, fines and registration, insurance, fuel cards, replacement cars and fleet disposal.
These are backed by sophisticated back-office functions and an experienced team of business development managers who work closely with customers to optimise their fleet performance while reducing costs.
“A well-managed, carefully selected fleet can make a big difference to a company’s overall performance. At FleetPartners we do more than simply monitor vehicle costs – we’re about making business more efficient through economies of scale, reporting on better utilisation of fleets and providing customers with ways to save time and money,” Mr Kelly said.