A business on the move

Fleet Operations takes a partnership approach to management services, inclding multi-bid procurement

Mitchells & Butlers understands the importance ofbuilding strong working relationships with suppliers. The company’s partnership with fleet management specialist Fleet Operations epitomises its strategic drive to achieving business excellence.

Mitchells & Butlers is one of the largest operators of restaurants, pubs and bars in the UK, with more than 1,700 restaurants and high profile brands including Miller & Carter, All Bar One, Toby Carvery and Harvester. With annual sales close to £2 billion and 43,000 UK employees, the company has remained at the industry’s cutting edge by constantly innovating.

The fleet challenge

Mitchells & Butlers were looking for a fleet management partner, with a transparent business model, to oversee full day-to-day responsibility for all fleet-related matters.

A focus on best practice fleet management and proactive cost control, delivering high value and company-wide service excellence, was considered paramount. In a competitive recruitment environment, the company car continues to play a significant role in the attraction and retention of high-quality staff. An outsourced partner was needed that could also support them in meeting this recruitment challenge.

Action stations: A partnership solution

A wide range of potential suppliers were evaluated before appointing Fleet Operations – the UK’s leading independent provider of fl eet management services – as the company’s management partner for its 550-strong vehicle fleet.

Darrell Wilson, director of procurement and supply chain at Mitchells & Butlers, explains: “Fleet Operations clearly demonstrated how they work solely in the best financial and operational interests of their clients. The business was very professional from the outset, but the gravitas and deep subject matter expertise of the Fleet Operations team is impressive and gives them a level of credibility not attained by other businesses.

“With fleet policy set by the Mitchells & Butlers HR department, a successful, joined-up fleet management approach has now become established between Fleet Operations and the company’s HR and procurement teams.

“As a procurement director, I’m always challenging cost but I’m also a strong advocate of value and service. Fleet Operations delivers against that value criteria, giving us a unique blend of cost efficiency, service enhancement, greater support to our employees through highly personable people and systems, along with detailed and meaningful MI.”

Rasing the bar in multi-bid procurement

Mitchells & Butlers is no stranger to multibid fleet procurement, but the company felt the time was right to move its service provision to the next level and, in so doing, gain greater transparency and an advocate for its business. Fleet Operations’s long-established procurement model, a multi-bid proposition, is underpinned by the award-winning MOVE solution, which interfaces with any UK leasing company or dealer.

For Mitchells & Butlers, this has meant that the multi-supplier procurement process has become fully automated. Drivers can select their vehicles, build them to their exact specifi cations, select optional extras, compare them in a digital showroom and arrange test drives. Benefit-in-kind, P11D declarations and employee contributions are displayed and calculated automatically.

This welcome development has delivered unprecedented levels of continuity, consistency and effi ciency to the ordering process. The MOVE driver portal brings together all the information drivers need in one place, enabling orders to be tracked online, boosting speed and service.

During the first 12 months of its contract with Fleet Operations, 89 vehicles have been ordered, saving the restaurateur £26.16 per vehicle a month. This equates to a lifetime saving over four years of £1,255.68 per vehicle, from the vehicle procurement process alone.

The automated process is expected to deliver further efficiency gains for both the company and its drivers over the coming months. Furthermore, Mitchells & Butlers and Fleet Operations have worked closely to negotiate enhanced manufacturer
support terms, delivering even further discounts. These savings have been passed on to the company’s drivers,offering them a better choice of vehicles.

For short-term hire vehicles Fleet Operations went to the market with an open tender. A resulting contract with Nexus Vehicle Rental has led to a 25% saving on Mitchells & Butlers’s overall rental spend. The hire vehicles have been supplied, utilising a tailored online solution, to both company car and retail employees.

Unlocking maintenance efficience and savings

Although Mitchells & Butlers have used ‘pay as you go’ fleet maintenance services for several years, the company was looking to change supplier. Fleet Operations managed a full RFP for its service, maintenance and repair requirements.

“Underpinning their commitment to independence and transparency, they negotiated a contract with ARI that provides us with a fully disclosed cost and net price on every item of spend,” says Wilson.

“Given the total value of our corporate fleet spend, delivering a solution that now provides us with a full understanding of all costs, without ‘hidden’ margins in the supply chain, has proved an important aspect of the Fleet Operations overall service provision.”

ARI actively manages vehicle off-road (VOR) times, ensuring these are minimised with maintenance ETAs pursued by the provider to ensure that the highest service standards are met.

Spotlight on compliance and safety

With Fleet Operations on board, further administrative resource savings are being realised in the completion of key compliance tasks. Regular ‘permit to drive’ licence checks are carried out, for example, on all company drivers, including grey fleet and occasional drivers. The company has demonstrated an impressive ‘driver status’ compliance record of more than 95%. A review of all criteria, including endorsements and accident history, is now set to be used to categorise drivers as low ,medium or high risk to support a structured driver training programme. This will further improve the company’s duty of care, while helping to control maintenance and insurance costs.

A glance to the future

With a wealth of highly visible brands in its portfolio, being at the forefront of good corporate practice is vital to Mitchells & Butlers. Strong corporate social responsibility values are, consequently, taken very seriously. With this in mind, Fleet Operations is sharing its best practice expertise on sustainable transport as part of an ongoing strategy to develop and shape its future green fleet policies.

“During the life of this contract, the corporate fleet sector is likely to face a number of challenges and opportunities,” says Wilson. “With this in mind, Fleet Operations’s proven ability to provide professional and genuinely impartial fleet consultancy is seen as a major benefit of our evolving relationship.”

For more information, Call: 0844 567 8000, E: info@fleetoperations.co.uk or visit: fleetoperations.co.uk