The role of the van fleet manager is making a comeback in companies across the country as the recession continues, according to the latest Company Car Trends survey from the fleet division of GE Capital.
The quarterly research shows that fleet managers have regained the lead role in how company vans are run in 41.4% of organisations – up from 30.4% a year earlier.
The change is part of a swing towards fleet decision-making being based more on cost – those in purchasing roles have also seen a rise in influence from 1.7% to 9.6% in the same period. Conversely, human resources has fallen away from 8.1% to 5.2%.
Gary Killeen, commercial leader for the fleet division of GE Capital, said: “The story of fleet in 2009 is that the human resources-based company car and van policies of recent years, based heavily on attracting and retaining the right employees, have rapidly given way to cost concerns.
“The fleet manager is making a comeback. Companies are redrawing their policies with a strong bias on containing costs and increasing operational efficiency and they need someone to implement those policies.”
on a daily basis – a fleet manager.”