“They are sought after and attract a premium. This is reflected in our lease rate and we also have a profit share with Lex on the re-sale value.”

Binks leaves no stone unturned in the search for savings and efficiency. As an example he points to van livery.

Quotes are obtained for each individual panel’s livery which Binks passes to Lex Autolease “so that they know where to get the livery from and the price to pay”.

More recently, he negotiated a fixed-price glass contract for repair and replacement.

Previously, the company paid for glass at the time of the repair but Binks analysed the cost of screens and what he could buy them for and agreed a price with Lex Autolease per vehicle per month.

“This is saving us a lot of money,” he says.

Company-wide buy-in to new initiatives is facilitated by a fleet steering group which includes Innserve’s two joint managing directors, HR director, supply chain director, operations managers and fleet.

The agenda includes topics such as vehicle suitability, driver training, accident reporting and leasing company performance, plus updates about ongoing projects.

“The steering group determines the policy,” Binks says. “It has also helped with buy-in from the board.”

Buy-in from drivers is achieved by going extra lengths to meet their needs. Innserve honours all quotes given to a driver for a new car even if the leasing rate increases in the time it takes them to order it, for instance.

“We pay the difference,” Binks says. “It creates goodwill with our staff and that’s important – they genuinely are our biggest asset.”

It’s yet another policy that he has introduced during his four years with Innserve, and another illustration of how the modern fleet manager needs to constantly come up with new ideas and a fresh way of thinking.

“Fleet managers have to be financially savvy and in doing that they have to add value to the fleet operation and demonstrate that they add value – and that’s not necessarily monetary value,” Binks says.

“You have to control costs but without encroaching or interfering with the operational needs of the business. You need to take a broad view.”

How van replacement programme became ‘a non-event’ for Innserve

Simon Binks has introduced a number of cost-saving initiatives to the Innserve fleet which have reduced accidents, cut the fuel bill and lowered the cost of funding its vehicles.