Businesses running fleets of sub 100 vehicles across multiple suppliers frequently pay well over the odds for their services because many of the major contract hire companies classify them as small. Whilst those on sole supply are missing out on market price variances of as much as £80 per vehicle per month on some very standard fleet vehicles.

The upshot is that this places the sub 100 market between a rock and a hard place when it comes to establishing the most competitive and efficient approach to fleet management.

According to Jayne Pett, operations director at Interactive Fleet Management, many companies that run ‘what the industry would class as smaller fleets’ could comfortably reduce their vehicle costs between £600 to £700 per vehicle per year.

“Within the fleet sector, fleets of this size that opt for multi-supply are classed as being at the smaller end of the market,” said Pett, “however if I was the managing director of a company running, let’s say, 50 vehicles I would see myself as an important customer to anyone supplying my company with fleet Services.

“Yet, from a contract hire industry perspective, if shared across 3 suppliers a 50-strong car fleet only equates to 5 or 6 orders per annum – or 1 vehicle every other month.
“But by opting for sole supply means these fleets are missing out on market pricing which can lead to savings of almost £3000 on just one vehicle across the period of the contract.”

Pett also explains that fleets of this size face the dilemma as to how to manage their vehicles internally.

“For these businesses, there is no justifiable reason to employ a full time fleet manager,” she continued. “As a result, the job of managing the fleet is often handed to someone who works in HR, operations or is often the director’s PA.

“They have so many other areas to focus on within their job that it is extremely hard for them to monitor market trends, benchmark prices and determine what other cost saving measures exist that could help them.

“The outcome is that over time the whole fleet becomes inefficient and the provision of services over priced, costing the company dearly.

“However there is an alternative, and at Interactive Fleet Management we act on behalf of these fleets as their fleet manager, working closely with contract hire suppliers, benchmarking prices, driving down costs and ensuring their fleet is efficiently run; all in a way that offers the price benefits of multi supply and the operational ease of sole supply.”