FleetManagementWeekly AmeriFleet
July 5, 2017

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Editor's Analysis & Top Industry News


Meet us in Las Vegas!

AFLA has lined up some outstanding speakers for the 2017 Corporate Fleet Conference (Las Vegas, September 17-20), one of whom is Kim Lear who will talk about The Connected Economy. At the recent NAFA International Fleet Academy, Lukas Neckermann’s fascinating keynote about the mobility revolution was a highlight. So, we were very happy to note that he is addressing the AFLA conference on The Future of Mobility. We are enjoying his new book: Smart Cities, Smart Mobility.

If you’re watching interest rates and wondering if you should fix your floating-rate leases, in Fleet Spectator senior editor Mark Boada gives us insight into how to make that critical decision.

Enjoy the issue and check our website FleetManagementWeekly.com for daily updates on the latest news of interest to the fleet industry.

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 for work truck management.

Globally Speaking — Perspectives on the Multinational Fleets

Customer Driven — Engage your organization to create customer loyalty, trust, and superior service

On Fleet Driver Management Solutions to improve your fleet’s accident rate and cut costs on collision repairs

Safety & Risk — Impactful driver safety and risk management tools and techniques.

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

BIG Data. BIG Results. BIG Future– Harnessing big data to achieve big results using cutting edge technology.

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


VIDEO: The Mobility Revolution is Coming Fast

The Mobility Revolution is coming fast, with three key converging trends: Zero Emissions, Zero Accidents, and Zero Ownership. Check out Neckermann’s book “The Mobility Revolution” on Amazon.



VIDEO: Customer Experience

  How to Become a Great Customer Experience Company
 

Is it your company’s aim to become more focused on Customer Experience? If yes, expert Jeof Bean has some fantastic tips to get you started.


VIDEO: Leadership Traits
  There Are Many Types of Leaders
 

There are many types of leaders, but all of those leaders have some things in common. For example: accountability, clarity of vision, and the ability to communicate.





The Fleet Spot


Kim Lear Returns to the AFLA Stage

AFLA is happy to announce Kim Lear will return as a speaker for this year’s Annual Corporate Fleet Conference (AFLA 2017) with a session focused on “The Sharing Economy.”

The AFLA 2017 conference, to be held September 17-20 at the M Resort in Las Vegas, NV, will feature innovative presentations on hot topics related to the fleet industry with a theme of “Your Winning Hand – Align, Advance, Accelerate, Achieve.”

Kim Lear’s session will explore how new technology platforms transform who we trust, what we value and how we work. Attendees will learn the ways “The Sharing Economy” impacts who we trust, what we value and how we work.

Register now to secure your spot at this year’s premier fleet conference!

READ MORE

NAFA’s Next Webinar: The Future of Tolling and What it Means for Fleets

Wednesday, July 19, 2017
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST

Instructor: John Andrews, President & CEO, Bestpass, Inc.

This presentation will cover future trends in tolling, including interoperability between all tolling systems, the inevitable shift to all-electronic tolling, and the increased use of managed lanes. The presentation will also examine how all of these trends will impact commercial fleets of all types and sizes.

READ MORE

Donlen: 5 Critical Issues Facing the Fleet Management Industry

The fleet management industry has always adapted and evolved to find solutions to the problems that challenge fleet professionals.

However, as the industry continues to provide solutions for fleet professionals, it’s only natural that the issues facing the fleet industry would evolve as well.

For as much as they assist managers and professionals in overcoming fleet challenges, advancements in technology are responsible for one of the larger paradigm shifts that the fleet industry is facing, which is autonomous vehicles. Other issues facing the industry include ride-sharing through companies like Uber and Lyft, fleet professionals shifting to the pool car fleet model, increased regulations around carbon emissions, and a rising demand for the industry to put a larger emphasis on fleet vehicle safety.

Let’s explore the issues: http://www.donlen.com/blog/critical-issues-facing-fleet-management-industry

Be A Part Of NAFA’s 2018 Institute & Expo: Call For Presentations Now Open

NAFA is pleased to announce the Call for Presentations for NAFA’s 2018 Institute & Expo, in Anaheim, California.

If you would like your presentations to be considered, please submit your topic and speaker information here by July 30, 2017. Selected companies will be notified using the provided contact information in your submission.

If you have any questions or comments, you can contact NAFA’s Education Assistant Mallory Wymer for further information at [email protected].

Fleet Marketing

If you force your email content on anyone too early, you risk preemptively losing their trust and their future business.

By Ed Pierce, Fleet Industry Marketer

Last month, I wrote about one of the more expensive marketing scams – vanity trade magazine offers by unknown industry publishers that promote glossy publications that none of your target market will ever see (unless you hand them one of your own copies).

This month, let’s review another common pitch that sounds good at first blush, but turns out to be “too good to be true.”

READ MORE

 
Best Practices

Are you aware of the benefits of benchmarking? The best methods of communicating policies and procedures with employees? Ways to reinforce defensive driving techniques?

The Best of the Best

Having worked with some of the world’s most successful fleets for over 20 years, eDriving has garnered 10 best practices to help ALL fleets better manage risk. Refresh your knowledge of essential risk management practices and discover additional opportunities to enhance existing road safety policies.

The eDriving Fleet Driver Risk Management guide will help fleets of all sizes and experience levels to:

  • Create safer drivers
  • Decrease overall fleet risk
  • Track increased driver compliance
  • Utilize telematics to improve driving behavior
  • Reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
  • Predict cost savings for the years ahead

 

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE GUIDE NOW

 
Fleet Spectator

By Mark Boada, Senior Editor

With short-term interest rates rising, fleets have a critical decision to make: whether to exercise the one-time option of converting their floating-rate leases to a fixed rate.

Floating rate leases are the smart choice when interest rates are falling, as they did during the Great Recession. The one-month London Interbank Offered rate, or LIBOR — the rate that many leasing companies use to set their floating rate interest charges — dropped precipitously during the Great Recession, plunging from more than 5.00% in 2007 to less than one of half of one percent by April 2009.

After that, in the face of continued global economic weakness, the rate drifted even lower, bottoming out in March 2014 at 0.15%, the lowest level in its 28-year history. Even with the addition of leasing companies’ typical quarter-point spread, the rate prompted comments that loans were like getting “free money.”

READ MORE









Fleet Trends & Issues


Brown Goes Green – Fleets Push High Tech Envelope

Detroit Bureau

UPS boosting use of alternative powertrains; fleets also explore driverless tech.

UPS has experimented with a variety of powertrain alternatives, and now wants more on the street.

United Parcel Service says it wants more of its big, brown trucks to go green, the company planning to use alternative fuels and other clean, energy-saving technologies in about a quarter of its trucks by 2016.

READ MORE

Meet the Newest Recruits of Dubai’s Police Force: Robo-Cars with Facial-Recognition Tech

Washington Post

Mini autonomous police cars paired with companion drones and facial-recognition technology will begin patrolling the streets of Dubai by the end of the year to help identify and track suspects.

But don’t expect a high-speed chase out of the little cars. In demonstrations, the robot never appears to move beyond a stroll’s pace. But the four-wheeled security vehicle comes with a built-in aerial drone that can be deployed to surveil areas and people that the robot can’t reach.

READ MORE

Ken Washington: Ford is Making ‘Great Progress’ on Driverless Car

Detroit Free Press

Ford is making “great progress” towards its goal of deploying its first fully autonomous car in 2021, says Ken Washington, Ford’s vice president of research and advanced engineering and chief technology officer.

But Washington said Ford’s development team, which is working alongside start-up artificial intelligence company Argo AI, isn’t caught up in the race to be the first automaker.

“I think we are extremely well-positioned because we’ve got a technology company working with us that understands how to build the robot,” Washington recently told the Free Press. “And we’ve got an automotive manufacturer underneath us ….with more than 100 years of experience of systems integration.”

READ MORE

Volvo to Only Make Electric-Powered Cars From 2019

Detroit News

Volvo will begin producing electric motors on all its cars from 2019, becoming the first major automaker to forgo traditional engines that rely exclusively on internal combustion.

The Swedish company, which has been making cars since 1927 and in recent decades became famous for its station wagons and safety features, said Wednesday that the decision was prompted by the wishes of customers, describing it as “one of the most significant moves by any car maker.”

CEO Hakan Samuelsson said the shift to electric motors would “strengthen our brand image, which is a lot about protecting what is important for you (customers).”

READ MORE

Diesel Emissions Cheating

Wired

The most immediate impact of the emissions cheating scandal that has engulfed Volkswagen and may be spreading to automakers like Fiat Chrysler is an environmental and public health crisis.

Worldwide, diesel vehicles are producing about 50 percent more nitrogen oxide than regulations allow, according to a new study, which links those emissions to 38,000 premature deaths in 2015.

But, in the long run, the diesel fallout could reach further, helping set up carmakers as the next industry to be upended by Silicon Valley. As shifts like autonomy, electrification, and shared ownership change the way people use and buy cars, these companies will have enough trouble navigating the coming decades.

READ MORE

 
The Fleet CX Toolkit

How do you connect with millenials?

By Wendy Eichenbaum

There are over 80 million millennials in America, one-fourth of our population. They have $600 billion in buying power according a recent Accenture study.

And they were the first generation to grow up with instant and constant interaction with technology. When developing your CX marketing strategy, it’s critical to consider what makes a great experience for millennials.

Millennials typically perform their own research when shopping for products. They use an average of three devices, so they expect an omni-channel experience with companies. At a minimum, your website should be responsive. And they will look at multiple sources for information. Social media is a primary source. An Elite Daily report showed that nearly half of millennials used social media to influence buying decisions. Only 1% of millennials said that traditional advertising influenced them.

READ MORE

 
The Tesla Model 3

The Verge

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the first production model of the hotly anticipated Model 3, the company’s attempt to bring an electric car to the masses, is expected on Friday.

The first 30 Model 3 customers will receive their new Teslas on the 28th at a handover party, according to a second tweet from Musk. Production is then expected to grow exponentially: 100 cars in August, more than 1,500 by September, and then 20,000 per month by December.

News of SN1 (Serial Number 1) came in a tweet on Sunday night.

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.
NAFA Fleet Management Association
NAFA is the association for the diverse vehicle fleet management profession regardless of organizational type, geographic location, or fleet composition.
AmeriFleet
Offering a nationwide vehicle delivery and relocation service; serving the corporate and commercial fleet industry.
Donlen
Since 1965, Donlen has been the fleet management industry’s leading provider of comprehensive, integrated financing and asset management solutions — and that spirit of innovation continues today.
PARS
PARS' mission is to provide you with high-quality service at competitive prices for all of your transportation needs.
ARI
Driven fleet professionals. Driving results.
Driving Dynamics
Driving Dynamics was established to help corporate fleet drivers develop expert, safe driving skills using proven, advanced driving techniques.
Wheels, Inc.
First in fleet for 76 years. Wheels helps you build tomorrow’s fleet today.



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