THE majority of UK boardrooms are failing to consider their company’s fleet operations when attempting to improve business performance, new research has found.

With the phrase ‘business performance improvement’ (BPI) commonly used among directors as they look to streamline operations and cut costs, new research has found that up to 90% ignore fleet, which could play a major role in cutting costs band improving efficiency.

The survey was conducted among 20 of the UK’s largest leasing and insurance organisations and companies with fleets of more than 500 vehicles.

Carried out by fleet management company FMG Support, it also revealed that more than half of the individuals quizzed were unaware of the influence and impact that fleet can have on the commercial and operational success of a business.

Ian McKenzie, group business development director at FMG Support, said: ‘Our research clearly demonstrates that fleet is not an issue that features on many boardroom agendas and that in most cases it is still viewed by decision-makers as an inevitable, costly, yet non-core element of running a business.

‘Those responsible for fleet must seize the opportunity to understand and then demonstrate how developing and implementing fleet performance improvement initiatives are direct catalysts for delivering against BPI objectives.’

McKenzie added: ‘At present there is no clear method analysing the true cost of fleet but by initiating cross-party dialogue on the issue, we can begin to establish fleet as a strategic capability rather than as a mere cost.’

The study blames a lack of consistency within the industry in calculating the true cost of fleet and the absence of a robust revaluation method to report, measure and analyse fleet performance in line with overall profitability of a business.