What other methods can reduce costs?

Ian Leonard: In the first year of using telematics we’ve removed 120 vehicles out of our network that were virtually idle. We have conversation with regional managers on a regular basis to see if they had enough vehicles. Telematics proved we had too many and as they were being leased it resulted in a big saving. You’ll normally have a three to five year deal with a telematics company, but you will not repeat the early improvements in year two and year three.

Craig Warburton: We’re likely to get a kick back from our insurance company. We’ve installed forward facing cameras linked to the telematics.

Steve Little: We haven’t got cameras, and the two most costly accidents we’ve had recently were drivers who were not on my radar. On these occasions they were driving too close to the vehicle in front. My message is that telematics has a part to play but it’s not the be all and end all. The drivers I am in contact with regularly because of their behaviour tend not to have accidents because I’m constantly on their backs.

Ian Leonard: It’s a buyers’ market and if you’ve got any sort of contract up for renewal, now is a good time. It’s on the back of the recession. We’re seeing some tiny green shoots of recovery but speaking to the motor manufacturers there’s a deal out there if you want it.

Paul Tate: With telematics our leasing company is providing. If there’s a problem it means the leasing company has to sort it out.

Craig Warburton: A single colour on our vans making them easier to move around in the group.  We are looking at wrapping more. The idea of wrapping a white van and peeling it off afterwards has legs. We’ve also been talking to BCA about remarketing. The auction guys are saying that if the van has fewer than 100,000 miles on the clock and it’s one up from the base model you’re going to get a good price.

Ian Leonard: We’re financially penalised for leasing red vans. And I check with our marketing department every year to find out if they’re happy to pick up the extra cost of £5 a month per vehicle.

Craig Warburton: With white vans we can move them around our business more easily.

John Heussi:  When you saw a few years ago a police vehicle going through an auction it wasn’t presentable inside. Who wants to buy a BMW without a radio, or with a big hole in the dashboard? The difference it makes by non-intrusive commissioning is huge. We will take a particular panel from the dash and replace it. With the BMW 5 Series we put a screen in addition to the iDrive screen but can’t disconnect the iDrive because it’s linked to other systems. We no longer put holes in the roof – light bars fix to the roof rails. When we were buying the Volvo V70 T5 and get £2,500 at 150,000 miles we didn’t care at the time. We’re getting more like £9,000 now on the 5 Series. How do we afford those top level vehicles? By downsizing the less important vehicles. For those it’s basically a box on wheels. It allows me to invest more in the important vehicles. We don’t have income. We start with a budget. If you have a lower budget you’ve got to roll your sleeves up and work out how you can continue to provide the same level of service. The product itself has helped but there’s an absolute real need to be smart, slick and efficient like never before.

Paul Tate: If you have a large fleet there are benefits in splitting maintenance from contract higher. Service inclusive packs. If it isn’t covered you pay a premium.

John Heussi: We don’t lease vehicles but I always listen to what they the leasing companies have to say because I use them as a benchmark for our own costs.

Ian Leonard: Removed elements that I knew I could buy better such as glass and tyres. We have a deal with Michelin. It’s a fixed price no matter what happens. It gives me a direct line and insight to the manufacturer and how the tyres work. Our damage rate is about 35%. It works for us financially. If the price of rubber goes up my rate doesn’t go up.

John Heussi: My workshop in Winsford fits between 70 and 100 tyres a day. Armed response vehicles are serviced every few weeks and have a new set of tyres. On high level vehicles they’re expensive. But with tyres if you buy cheap you buy twice. When we introduce new vehicles we’ll do a component wear survey at specific mileage intervals to set service intervals. We don’t repair punctures for safety reasons.