By Daniela Gamble, Vice President, International Account Management, LeasePlan International

“It has been said that arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.” ~ Kofi Annan

As more companies begin to consolidate globally, it is becoming increasingly important for local fleet managers to have an international perspective. Fleet partners must also keep client’s global needs in mind in order to provide world-class service.

Today, companies expect their vendors to be aware of industry trends – on a domestic and international level – and be able to advise how these trends may affect their business. This includes the ability to provide guidance, best practices and solutions to drive a return on investment on the assets managed in their area.

Fleet managers are also being held to these higher standards.

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NAFA Fleet Management Association (NAFA)  provided strong testimony to the US House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform during the Committee’s hearing on the US Postal Service’s request to acquire 180,000 new vehicles.

Katherine Vigneau, CAFM®, NAFA’s Director of Professional Development, told committee members that best practices should be adhered to during the fleet replacement process and that the Postal Service’s idea of replacing all 180,000 at the same time, from a single source, is not in keeping with best practices.

“In accordance with NAFA best practice, the USPS has a definite requirement to replace a significant portion of their fleet,” Vigneau said. “Lifecycle Cost Analysis has been used to demonstrate that operating costs are rising significantly. Extended replacement also has the disadvantages of not introducing important safety and technological improvements in the fleet. The lifecycle methodology should be used further to analyze custom vs. commercial purchase options and alternative fuel options.”

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Officials in North Caroline Governor Pat McCrory’s administration are looking at privatizing much of the state motor fleet, which has been plagued by misuse for years.

In 2009, WRAL Investigates found plenty of state-owned cars going nowhere and collecting dust. The same situation existed for at least two years, despite WRAL News reports, and state agencies kept picking up the tab for leasing vehicles that weren’t used.

Since then, the state has culled about 2,000 vehicles from the fleet – it’s down to about 6,500 now – and tweaked some usage rules. But thousands of cars still spend most of the time parked.

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Plans are underway for our 2016 Institute and Expo scheduled for April 18-22, 2016 in Austin, Texas! ♦ I&E Is Your Place To Find Solutions! ♦ Let Us Know What Fleet Issues and Problems You Are Dealing With!

NAFA’s I&E Curriculum Committee is now working to identify key topics for this conference. This is your chance to submit program and session ideas that would benefit your fleet industry peers. All are invited to recommend ideas for topics and suggest speakers or panelists for consideration.

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Even though they tend to file significantly fewer claims, a new study says auto insurers typically fail to give discounts to motorists who clock low mileage.

Only State Farm, among all the major auto insurance companies, routinely provided a discount for those who put on about 5,000 miles a year – roughly a third of the national norm – according to the study by the Consumer Federation of America.

“The failure of most large insurers to adequately reward low mileage especially harms lower income and older drivers because they drive the least,” said Stephen Brobeck, CFA’s executive director.

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Researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute reviewed census data from the 30 largest U.S. cities to examine current transit stats.

They learned that, nationwide, 95.5 percent of workers have access to a vehicle for their commute. However, that figure varies substantially from city to city. In Fort Worth, Texas and San Jose, California, the figure is 98.2 percent. In New York City, however, it’s just 54 percent. Washington, D.C. (72.3 percent) and Boston, Massachusetts (78.1 percent) also have relatively large populations of commuters who make do without cars.

READ MORE interesting commute stats.

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles released statistics recorded over a period of eight months revealing that of the 48 licensed, self-driving cars on public roads, only 4 have wound up in “minor fender benders.” Surprised, or not?

The cars in question belong to Google and Delphi, who have a combined amount of 25 (23 belong to Google, two to Delphi) self-driving cars on the road. But don’t be so quick to play the blame game. Each company staunchly denies that the fault should be placed on its super-smart autonomous driving technology, but rather, on silly human error.

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By Wendy Eichenbaum

You have countless ways to interact with your clients.  It’s not just the website or a sales associate.  You have landing pages, emails, blogs, portals, marketing campaigns, print materials, press releases, products, technical support, and even your own website’s search results.  Each time a customer interacts with you, that one interaction is a touch point.  

How consistent is your brand and content for these touch points?  Does it sound like a single voice?  Or does it sound like a different group in your company designed each touch point so that there are multiple voices?

And these areas are not the only touch points.  Let’s say that your customers are looking to purchase the next generation of telematics technology for their fleet. What do they do?

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Why invest resources in customer experience strategy?

By Jeofrey Bean

What is the value of customer experience? Why invest resources in customer experience strategy? Because Wall Street rewards customer experience leaders.

You may recall from reading the book The Customer Experience Revolution – How Companies like Apple, Amazon, and Starbucks Have Changed Business Forever, that one of the pioneers in answering those questions is John Picoult, Founder & Principal and Watermark Consulting. And if you do not recall, that is fine too. Here’s a quick introduction.

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Oregon is changing the way the state plans to raise money to pay for road repairs: by the mile.

The state is enacting a plan called OreGo, where it charges drivers by how many miles they drive rather than collecting taxes on gasoline, which is the conventional method for getting the funding. The idea is helping to raise revenue because as cars are getting better gas mileage and some aren’t using any gas at all, tax revenues are dwindling.

The $8.4 million program could be the model for other states, like Michigan, struggling to find ways to maintain and upgrade sagging infrastructure as tax revenues continue to fall.

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