Case study: Scottish Ambulance Service

The Scottish Ambulance Service has used fleet management software for nine years to run its 1,400 vehicle fleet.

Before that it had an in-house system which Michael Ahmed, the service’s national fleet manager, says was “very labour
intensive” and “cumbersome”.

A change in management led the service to consider dedicated fleet management software.

The business case was based on “driving admin efficiencies across the organisation”, being able to generate reports for senior managers, highlighting cost savings and being able to make more informed decisions.

IT, finance and fleet were involved with the executive management board approving the final decision.

An IT change prompted the service to switch software providers last year, moving from CFC’s Fleet Plus to Civica’s Tranman.

“The service had established a Structured Query Language platform and the software supplier was unable to supply a package that met this requirement – hence the move,” Ahmed explains.

Again it was a lengthy process choosing the supplier and implementing the software.

Shortlised suppliers were asked to supply ‘flagship sites’ for their system so that the service could visit them and ask about their experience with the software.

Ahmed says that cost, level of support and being established in the market were key factors.

The service also had some bespoke requirements such as reports to match its KPIs.
 

Case study: Marie Stopes International

Humanitarian sexual health charity Marie Stopes International switched to dedicated fleet management software last year.

The organisation has nearly 600 vehicles, providing health outreach services in 33 countries. Most of the vehicles are based in remote areas, some of which are high risk.

Vehicles are also used to transport team members to clinics in countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Kate Jarman, the charity’s senior logistics manager, says Chevin’s FleetWave software was introduced “to take tighter control of fleet spend”.

It is used in conjunction with vehicle tracking, provided by Novacom.

“Part of our criteria was an integrated system, either coming from one supplier or supplier suggesting a partner to offer the management and tracking in a single system.

"We wanted to get a full picture of our vehicles, not just where they are and what the costs are.

“We also wanted a supplier who works worldwide with experience of working in rural areas in the developing world.”

Shortlised suppliers took part in a month-long trial in Madagascar and Tanzania.

The procurement and logistics team led the initiative, although a number of other people were involved in the final sign off.

Implementation was a lengthy process as the vehicles are based in different countries. “We had to travel to each country to train the teams,” Jarman says.

However, it has proved worthwhile as the system is contributing to the charity being able to reach more clients on the same budget.

“It gives you a full picture of the needs you have for vehicles, service delivery models and running costs, and allows you to be fully accountable and easily auditable around vehicles.”