By Greg Neuman, Senior Manager of Quality Control, CEI

The most common damage to fleet vehicle are dings and dents, things that detract from a vehicle’s appearance but don’t affect its safety.

And while repairing them isn’t the single biggest expense a fleet manager can authorize, if you’re in a money-saving mode and appearance isn’t a priority, you can keep your repair bill down by deciding not to repair them, especially in light of how many appear in a year. But even if your fleet allows you to avoid such “cosmetic” repairs to optimize your spending management, you need to ask yourself several other questions:

Will the damage get worse?

READ MORE

By Mike Cieri, Vice President, Mardac Consultants

“The best way to predict the future is to create it” — Peter Drucker

When we have committed employees, customers, suppliers and/or distributors, we create synergies that enable us to focus our efforts on efficiencies and exceeding customer service expectations, while having flexibility in problem resolution.

There are three categories to focus on that have a direct correlation to developing commitment, thus increasing profits:

1. Mission – The company’s purpose
2. Hiring – Employees & Customers
3. On-boarding – Employees & Customers

READ MORE

The Detroit News

Reuters

Two contractors hired to manage NASA’s vehicle fleet at the Kennedy Space Center defrauded the agency of at least $387,000 for unnecessary tire replacements, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by federal prosecutors in Florida.

The complaint accuses URS Federal Services Inc of Maryland, owned by the global management services firm AECOM Technology Corp, and its subcontractor, Yang Enterprises of Florida, of systematically defrauding the government between 2009 and 2015 by filing more than 1,000 claims for undocumented and unreasonable early replacement of car tires.

READ MORE

Bloomberg

Your next car could reveal more about you than your Facebook profile, promising a lucrative cash flow for automakers and drawing scrutiny from European regulators concerned over who can control that data and make money from it. As increasingly smart mobile devices, cars will be able to track where you go as well as gather information about whom you call or text and what you Google on the way.

That’s valuable information for the likes of BMW, Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG.

READ MORE

PR Newswire

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) released its annual Hot Wheels report which identifies the 10 most stolen vehicles in the United States.

For 2014, the most stolen vehicles in the nation were:

1. Honda Accord
2. Honda Civic
3. Ford Pickup (Full-Size)
4.Chevrolet Pickup (Full Size)
5, Toyota Camry
6. Dodge Pickup (Full Size)
7. Dodge Caravan
8. Nissan Altima
9. Aura Integra
10. Nissan Maxima

READ MORE

Paul Eisenstein/The Detroit Bureau

Wireless updates are commonplace in the computer and smartphone world. It’s the method of choice for distributing everything from anti-virus updates to the latest operating system revisions. But the technology is just beginning to be accepted by automotive manufacturers.

For customers, the use of wireless technology could eliminate the need for some service calls, especially at a time when the number of safety-related recalls has been rising. Some of those could be solved using over-the-air updates.

READ MORE

GHSA News Release

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) presented its 2015 highway safety awards to two individuals who have made a national impact on improving highway safety and five programs focusing on the nation’s most pressing highway safety challenges at its Annual Meeting in Nashville.

READ MORE

By Ed Pierce, Founder, ITA Fleet Communications

Anyone involved with marketing in the fleet industry can’t help but read the news from Europe about “mobility management” despite scant relevancy to North American fleets. Is it a European-only phenomenon? What are the implications for fleet managers? How will it impact fleet product and service providers?

First of all, the term is confusing. Google (yes, used as a verb) “mobility management,” and there are myriad topics, companies and services related to everything from mobile devices to senior mobility. A search of “multi-modal mobility management,” provides a lesson in government transportation planning. There’s very little, if anything, related to North American fleets.

An understanding of the term among fleet people generally is lacking. There is a pervasive misperception that mobility management involves adding bicycles, web-based minicab services, and bus route schedules to a fleet operation. This oversimplification is understandable given the inherent complexity of the topic.

However, by looking at more familiar business trends, the move to workforce mobility management makes sense.

READ MORE

The Economist

Donald Trump cheerfully breaks all the rules of good leadership, as codified in management books and taught in business schools. The modern CEO is supposed to be a consummate team player, modest and self-effacing, committed to equality and diversity, good at handling risk and adept at dealing with the press. But is there a little bit of Mr Trump in all powerful people?

READ MORE