FleetManagementWeekly AmeriFleet
February 2, 2016

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Editor's Analysis & Top Industry News


Back to Basics

If you are planning to attend NAFA’s only 2016 live-in-person Essentials of Fleet Management Seminar in Dallas, February 23-25, you have until Friday, February 5th, to take advantage of early-bird pricing. If you are fairly new to the industry, there is absolutely no place better to learn the fundamental principles and practices of successful fleet management.

In his monthly Fleet Marketing column, marketing expert Ed Pierce writes on a subject dear to our ‘business press’ hearts: Media Relationship Building ‘Best Practices.’ In The Sustainable Fleet, ARI’s Brian Matuszewski gives us some thoughtful New Year’s resolutions. He says, “Now more than ever before, opportunities exist for fleet operators to configure smarter, cleaner, world-class fleets.”

Enjoy this issue and check in with FleetManagementWeekly.com for daily updates.

Janice Sutton
Editor-in-Chief


Thought Leadership

Fleet Marketing – Guiding principles for fleet providers to improve marketing and increase sales.

Fleet Asset Management – Best practices around managing material handling equipment.

On Accident Management Learn ways to save money on your fleet’s collision repair costs.

The Fleet Customer Experience – Identifying the practices that define the best customer experience.

Think Global. Plan Local. – Navigating the management of the world-class fleet.

The Fleet CX Toolbox – Solid steps to implementing and improving fleet customer experience.

The Sustainable Fleet – Strategic approaches to bring about a smarter, cleaner fleet.

Talent Management – Smart guidelines to help you manage the talent in your workplace.

All posts from the newsletter reside on our web site, FleetManagementWeekly.com


pinnock-rich

VIDEO: Technology That Gives Time Back to You

AmeriFleet’s technology initiatives focus on being predictive, with the ultimate goal of ‘giving time back’ to the fleet manager.



VIDEO: Smart Remarketing
laskowski-karen
  Remarketing: Getting the Best Price Possible
 

Tapping into its proven network of salvage buyers, The CEI Group works diligently to get the best price possible for remarketed vehicles.


VIDEO: Bringing Great Fleet Stories to Life
mcdonald-joe
  Wheels’ Fleet Summit Showcases Fantastic Work
 

Wheels’ annual fleet summit is a truly collaborative experience. One where clients partner with account managers to bring to life some compelling stories that showcase the great work they are doing.





The Fleet Spot


Donlen lease vs image Lease vs. Reimbursement – 6 Reasons to Lease Your Fleet Vehicles

Are you still reimbursing your employees for business miles traveled using their personal vehicles?

Find out how you can save time and money through leasing, and gain peace of mind — download the new white paper from Donlen.

While reimbursing your drivers may seem easier than leasing vehicles through a fleet management company, leasing may be a better option for your fleet.

READ MORE

Rainer Laber A Year of Consolidation and a First Move Into the US for Fleet Logistics

Fleet Logistics, Europe’s largest independent fleet management provider, closed last year with a contracted fleet of more than 180,000 vehicles and a year-on-year growth rate of almost 25% – and it expects a similar rate of growth this year. That growth should come from existing customers in regions such as Asia and South America, and from new client wins in a variety of new areas.

One of these new areas will be the United States, where the company is making its first tentative move operationally, working with a large international chemical company with a global fleet of around 8,000 vehicles in a first US pilot project.

READ MORE

Jon McNeill Tesla Exec Jon McNeill to Keynote at International Fleet Meeting

Jon McNeill, President Global Sales and Service at Tesla, will be one of the top speakers at the 2016 Geneva International Fleet Meeting.

The event takes place on March 2nd at the Geneva Motor Show and features preeminent speakers along with a panel discussion and a networking platform. Fleet Management Weekly is a media sponsor of the event.

READ MORE

afla-logo Leadership Safety Coaching at AFLA Regional Forum

Join AFLA in Tampa, FL on Thursday, February 25, 2016 for the third annual AFLA Regional Forum — Register Today!

This year’s forum has a great schedule of speakers including, Art Liggio, President of Driving Dynamics Inc., who will present Leadership Safety Coaching.

In this session, Art Liggio will break down the barriers of communication between a supervisor and team member on vital safety issues which directly put the driver at risk.

READ MORE

Fleet Marketing

By Ed Pierce, Fleet Industry Marketer

Traditional public relations practices seem to be considered outmoded in this age of social media, marketing content and digital presence.

However, digital communications cannot replace the effectiveness of personal relationships with those who can influence buying decisions. In a B2B environment, chief among these “influentials” are editors and writers for the various trade and business press.

Joseph Gallo, Vice President at Weber Shandwick, provides five best practices for media relations:

1. Stop emailing! There’s nothing as effective as speaking with and getting to know your editorial contacts. Get on the phone to solicit advice and pitch ideas. Go to conferences and trade shows to meet and greet them! A cup of coffee could lead to your next story!

READ MORE

 
The Sustainable Fleet

By Brian Matuszewski, Sustainable Strategies Manager, ARI

A new year causes many to stop and reflect on the things they would like to improve upon in their life and develop resolutions focused on change. For a fleet manager, this kind of exercise can be just as valuable.

And, although we are a ways into the new year at this point, taking some time to consider your fleet and any changes or improvements you might be able to make can very possibly lead to increased efficiency and lower total cost of ownership, which in turn improves your sustainability.

In addition to considering the practical aspects of your fleet – fuel, maintenance, etc. – it is also helpful to take a longer, more strategic view of your operations to ensure you are maximizing the potential of your vehicles and equipment.

READ MORE

 
Transformative Telematics

Company uses telematics solution to reduce labor, fuel costs by minimizing idle time and total mileage for a lower total cost of ownership/operation.

By Michael Loo, Senior Marketing Manager, Telogis

Technology has caused a shift in business. The availability of data provides companies large and small with powerful tools to make smarter business decisions. Technology may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of an organic food distributor, but Global Organics has transformed its fleet activities with the power of Ford Telematics.

READ MORE








Fleet Trends & Issues


CEI Adds ‘Rearview Defensive Driving’ Module to DriveCare

Rearview mirrors, appropriate head movement, and active visual scanning of the road environment: use them all to your maximum advantage as defensive driving techniques to reduce the likelihood of side and rear collisions.

CEI has added a new online fleet driver safety lesson to its DriverCare accident prevention application. Entitled, “Rearview Defensive Driving,” its goal is to help fleet drivers avoid rear-end and lane-change collisions, which remain among the most common kinds of traffic accidents.

The five-minute module comes with a five-question test, and covers the following topics:

READ MORE

Work Truck Solutions Approved for Ford Auto Claim Program, Eases Billing for Ford BPN of Dealers

Work Truck Solutions, the first online platform that enables commercial inventory searches by body type and chassis, recently announced they have been approved to provide automated claims as a part of their Ford Motor Company co-op program.

Those dealers already utilizing the Ford co-op program with Work Truck Solutions will now find it even easier to submit their claim. It only takes four steps for dealers to “opt-in”, which enables Work Truck Solutions to submit the claims to Ford on the dealership’s behalf. Ford will then automatically reimburse the dealer, so they never have to file for co-op reimbursement again.

READ MORE

GM Creates Specialized Autonomous Vehicle, EV Team

The Detroit Bureau

General Motors is realigning critical areas of its business to create, effective Feb. 1, a dedicated Autonomous and Technology Vehicle Development Team.

GM said in an internal announcement the combined team will focus on accelerating the company’s technical capabilities and create the future direction of GM vehicle programs in the autonomous and technologically advanced vehicle space.

READ MORE

DMV Begins Public Hearing on Self-Driving Car Rules

San Jose Mercury News

California regulators deciding how to permit the future rollout of self-driving cars were told Thursday by consumer advocates that their cautious approach was right on, and by companies developing the technology that the state’s current course will delay deployment of vehicles that promise huge safety benefits.

The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles heard the comments at a workshop held as it wrestles with how to keep the public safe as the imperfect technology matures — but not regulate it so heavily that it stifles development of the vehicles.

READ MORE

Think Global. Plan Local.

By Reinier Willems, International Marketing Director, LeasePlan International

In our last blog post, we talked about how data-driven insights help drive global fleet management value. But getting a hold of those insights is only the first step.

To actually start getting value from them, you need to turn this knowledge into action. So what skills do you need to do this? And what’s the best way to get them?

Turning insight into action
When we talk about fleet value, we’re not just talking about direct savings. Putting your insights to use can help you improve productivity, increase vehicle and driver uptime, and keep valued employees on board. That’s real fleet and business value.

READ MORE

 
New Hires at Element

Element Financial Corporation announced new leadership roles for Bill Cieslak and Paul Seger on its fleet management remarketing team.

“Service and growth are top priorities for Element,” said Tom Keilty, senior vice president, operations for Element’s North American fleet management business. “Having Bill and Paul in these key roles allows us to take a a multi-channel approach to our U.S. remarketing services, combining auctions with a number of strategic sales channels, which helps to maximize returns for our customers.”

READ MORE

 
Preventing Crashes

Forbes

One of often-touted advantages of self-driving cars it will dramatically increase safety and nearly eliminate crashes. However, we don’t need fully-autonomous vehicles to make a significant improvement with that goal. In fact, progress is already being made with forward collision warning and automatic braking systems.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a study on these advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and found that if all vehicles were equipped with forward collision warning (FCW) and automatic braking (AB) that 700,000 collisions in vehicles in 2013, which is 13% of all reported crashes.

READ MORE








Fleet Management Resources
 
AFLA – Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association
Providing the advanced forum for corporate fleet professionals to network with industry leaders.
The CEI Group Inc.
CEI is North America’s largest provider of fully integrated fleet accident management, driver safety and risk management services.
PARS
PARS' mission is to provide you with high-quality service at competitive prices for all of your transportation needs.
AmeriFleet
Offering a nationwide vehicle delivery and relocation service; serving the corporate and commercial fleet industry.
LeasePlan
LeasePlan is the world's leading high-touch service provider for vehicle leasing and fleet management.
Wheels, Inc.
First in fleet for 76 years. Wheels helps you build tomorrow’s fleet today.
ARI
Driven fleet professionals. Driving results.
NAFA Fleet Management Association
NAFA is the association for the diverse vehicle fleet management profession regardless of organizational type, geographic location, or fleet composition.



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