Mobility is fast becoming the buzzword of the moment for many suppliers in the fleet industry, as the number of ways that companies can move staff around continues to grow.

As well as the traditional company car, public transport and flights, suppliers are launching an ever-growing range of transport options into the fleet sector, such as corporate car sharing, car pooling and electric vehicles.

In some European countries this has gone even further, with the launch of mobility cards which give employees a travel budget and the freedom to choose which transport methods they use.

These developments are set to change the way employers approach staff mobility, according to Sarwant Singh, senior partner, Frost & Sullivan, as the focus moves from the total cost of ownership of fleet to the total cost of the mobility.

Research from his company found that, across Europe, around one in 20 companies already employs a dedicated mobility manager, while 22% believe their fleet and travel management departments could merge.

“We see in the future there won’t be three different people within an organisation doing fleet management, travel management and expenses management, but one person,” says Singh.

The mobility movement is gaining traction in the UK, with many new products launched in this sector.

Leasing and fleet management company Alphabet, for example, now describes itself as a ‘mobility provider’, and offers products such as corporate car sharing and a specialist electric vehicle department for fleets interested in e-mobility.

Nigel Trotman, who retired as Alphabet’s strategic fleet consultant at the end of March and was  previously fleet manager at Lex Autolease, says: “In my opinion, the time has come for a new role to rise to the fore: the mobility manager, a position that is responsible for cars while connecting all the dots of employee travel to create  a more economical, efficient, streamlined and cost- effective service.”

So what does the concept of the mobility manager mean to UK fleet operators? The continued evolution of a fleet manager’s role has already been happening for many years, according to John Pryor, chairman of ACFO.

“At face value, mobility manager may better describe the job of today’s fleet manager,” he says.

“After all, many of us while managing a fleet of vehicles are also responsible for employees moving around the country by other means – bus, train and plane, for example, as well as by car.

“‘Fleet and travel manager’ may not be as succinct a job description as fleet manager or mobility manager, but it does more accurately describe the job I and colleagues fulfil.”

He adds: “Years ago, the traditional fleet manager could recite the power output of every company car they managed.

“What’s important today is to know the total cost of an employee making a journey, including parking, taxi fares, hotel accommodation etc., how that journey will be made or whether an alternative to travel is more viable.”

Pryor himself has embraced the evolution of fleet management in his role as fleet and travel manager at Arcadia Group.

“I went to my boss and asked to take on travel because  I saw the synergies,” he says. “Amalgamation of roles  will increasingly happen, with facilities, risk, travel and procurement.

“It’s about processes and managing contracts that are less specialised than vehicles.

“Fleet managers should embrace the other areas; it helps them to make a much stronger case of why the business needs that role.”

While the role of fleet managers has evolved to take into account new technologies and transport methods, suppliers are increasingly offering new products to win a share of  the mobility market, with Frost & Sullivan estimating that, around the world, companies annually spend $1.2 trillion (£768bn) on business travel.

Companies from many different sectors are looking to win a greater share of this market.

Peter Bridgen, managing director of Fleetcor’s fuel card operation, last month announced that added services to its Allstar One card in 2016 will include a range of mobility products. “Next year we will be able to deliver mobility cards, with customers able to pay for flights, hotels, car rentals and trains,” he says.

Another company which has recently made inroads into the mobility sector is Europcar, which this month announced it has acquired a majority stake in E-Car Club, an entirely electric pay-per-use car club.

This acquisition is part of Europcar’s search for new mobility solutions, says Fabrizio Ruggeriero, member of the Europcar Group management board and head of mobility.

E-Car Club currently operates across a number of UK sites including London, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Oxford-shire, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire and Fife.

“We look forward to accelerating the development of E-Car Club’s electric vehicle car sharing solutions,” adds Ruggeriero.

Apps such as Uber, which allows users to book taxis, and ride-sharing schemes such as BlaBlaCar are becoming increasingly used by consumers in their private lives.

Matt Dyer, managing director of LeasePlan UK, says fleet managers need to be aware of these initiatives while planning travel.

“It seems increasingly likely that we are about to enter a new era of personal mobility,” he says.

 “Organisations must be prepared to react quickly to the impact that this will have on their employees and wider  business operations.

“Mobility needs to be thought about in more holistic terms and leasing companies remain in pole position to advise employers about the best solution for their business.

“Managing transportation for an organisation will no longer simply be about running a fleet of vehicles; it will be about finding the best way for employees to make particular journeys – and customers will look to their leasing provider for more support as mobility solutions become more journey oriented, complex and technical.”

Case study: ABB

Combining the role of a fleet and travel manager is not a new concept for automation and power technology company ABB: the organisation has adopted this approach globally for many years.

“They are two completely different commodities, but very similar from the management side of it, certainly from a duty of care and health and safety point of view,” says Lisa Jones, who has been the fleet and travel manager for the company’s UK operation for the past 11 years.

“I am more hands-on with the fleet than the travel side: I would say that 60% of my time is dealing with the fleet, with the other 40%  on the travel side.”

ABB, which has just under 900 vehicles in the UK, has around 60 travel bookers who look after travel arrangements for staff:  Jones holds the relationship with the travel agency, airlines, car rental companies and charge card provider.

The method of transport used depends on the journey and the  traveller’s judgement, says Jones, but ABB’s main consideration is for the welfare of its travellers.

“Duty of care and health and safety are our priorities, first and foremost,” she adds. “If our staff are travelling in the UK within a certain parameter we would expect them to take a company car, but our busiest route is between our sites in Manchester and Aberdeen and we would not want our staff to drive it.

“It’s a six- or seven-hour drive, so I would expect them to fly.

Even if it was going to cost less to drive there is an issue with the length of time they are in the car.

“Obviously cost is still important,  but for me health and safety is  paramount and nothing will get in the way of that.”

‘A thirst for knowledge is essential’

The Institute of Car Fleet Management is seeing four main trends when it comes to mobility, says its chairman, Paul Hollick.

■ Members are more accepting of technology within fleet and see the major role that new technologies will play in shaping the industry.

■ There is an acknowledgement  that this is a world of big data. For those that embrace it, it helps shape fleet policies (from business trip  dashboards, to supplier management, to real-world fuel consumption figures and occupational road risk). But there are challenges with personal data that always need to be addressed.

■ There are concerns over  deployment, suitability and  sustainability of new technology,  especially ultra-low carbon solutions, automated vehicles and the suitability of car sharing.

■ Members are seeing low carbon strategies become nearly as important as physical cost savings.

Hollick adds: “What we have seen is that knowledge is the key, and a thirst for knowledge is essential.

“Our advice to fleet managers  is to keep well networked, attend conferences and get up to speed  on new innovations, especially  from those fleet managers that  have led the charge over particular topics and have very much been  early adopters.

“Also, keep up-to-date on continuous personal development. The industry, including the ICFM, has various refreshers and updates that keep  fleet managers’ skills completely  up-to-date.”