FleetManagementWeekly AmeriFleet
October 27, 2015

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Editor's Analysis & Top Industry News


Coming Soon: The Automated Fleet

After hearing Bryant Walker Smith’s outstanding presentation ‘Automated Vehicles, Fleets, and the Law’ at the recent AFLA conference, senior editor Mike Sheldrick was keen to learn more. In his interview with Smith in ‘Driving While Automated,’ Sheldrick says, “While it may be a boon to the average commuter, the real benefits would be reaped by fleets.”

In Think Local. Plan Global, Reiner Willems offers us an excellent guide to effective fleet communications. In The Fleet CX Toolkit, Wendy Eichenbaum cautions us on the essentials of usability testing. She says, “A few poor reviews on your hardware, software, or service are enough to send your customers and prospective customers running to your competitors.” Ouch!

There is so much more to enjoy in this issue. Be sure to check in at FleetManagementWeekly.com for daily updates.

Janice Sutton
Executive Editor


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


villano-glen

VIDEO: Privately Owned FMCs are at a Crossroads

Privately owned FMCs are at a crossroads. If they want to grow and thrive, they need to continually invest in people in technology – and that’s exactly what Merchants Fleet Management has done.



VIDEO: Industry Perspectives
holzer-chris
  Transitioning from Procurement to Fleet
 

Industry professional Chris Holzer brings a slightly different perspective – having started in Procurement, and then moving into the Fleet Manager role.


VIDEO: Remarketing Today
banks-jonathan
  October 2015 Used Vehicle Industry Update
 

With executive-level analyses, Jonathan Banks explains how the used vehicle market performed last month, and how the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal affects used vehicle pricing.





The Fleet Spot


phil moser NAFA Announces New Safety Advisory Council Affiliate Vice Chair Phil Moser

In mid-October, NAFA Fleet Management Association President Ruth Alfson, CAFM® appointed Phil Moser as Safety Advisory Council Affiliate Vice Chair. Moser is Vice President with safety training providers Advanced Driver Training Services (ADTS).

Moser, NAFA’s Affiliate of the Year for 2015, said, “NAFA represents organizations that employ thousands and thousands of drivers. It is vital that NAFA is at the forefront when it comes to driver safety. The Safety Advisory Council plays an vital role in making sure that this is accomplished.”

READ MORE

Sara Burnam NAFA Names Sara Burnam, CAFM® I&E Arrangements Committee Vice Chair

NAFA Fleet Management Association President Ruth Alfson, CAFM® has appointed Sara Burnam, CAFM®, Assistant Director of Fleet Management, Palm Beach County, Florida as I&E Arrangements Committee Vice Chair. Burnam will be instrumental in the arrangements for NAFA’s 2017 Institute & Expo (I&E), which will take place in Tampa, Florida.

“Sara brings an innate understanding of what the I&E attendee wants and expects from NAFA’s annual conference, and so much of that is dependent on ambience. NAFA’s I&E Arrangements Committee brings in those elements that make I&E the conference people want to come to.” said NAFA Chief Executive Officer Phillip E. Russo.

READ MORE

frank-dan Client Success Stories Showcased at Fleet Summit

Wheels, Inc.hosted a successful Fleet Summit. The 2015 Wheels Results+ Fleet Performance Summit brought together many Wheels clients to showcase fleet management success stories and network with peers to share ideas.

The well-attended Summit, which was held October 20 in Chicago, recognized 15 Wheels clients who achieved notable recent successes in the five Results+ optimal fleet categories.

READ MORE

LP webinar Webinar: Fleet Planning 101

Wednesday, November 4, 2:30 pm EST

Be prepared for 2016. It’s time to set your fleet goals for the new year and map out how you are going to achieve those goals. Applying a focused strategy is necessary if you want to reduce costs and create efficiencies.

Register today to hear 5 key tasks that you should do now to prepare for next year.

Think Global. Plan Local.

By Reiner Willems, Marketing Director, LeasePlan International

During a recent international fleet management event a Global Fleet Manager commented to me: “Although I am responsible for sourcing our global fleet, my job seems to be more about selling than about buying.”

Interesting notion, and probably not far from the truth for many responsible for an international fleet. But why is this the case?

A structured fleet communications plan will require some thinking and planning upfront, but will pay off during your fleet policy implementation and in achieving the change and results you are aiming for.

READ MORE

 
The Fleet CX Toolkit

By Wendy Eichenbaum

Usability testing is not a nice-to-have option. It’s a necessity to ensure customer satisfaction. A few poor reviews on your hardware, software, or service are enough to send your customers and prospective customers running to your competitors.

Frank Lloyd Wright said, “You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledgehammer on the construction site.”

So how do you figure out what to erase so that you don’t have to resort to a sledgehammer? Your target audience can tell you when you run a usability test.

READ MORE

 
Anywhere, Anytime

By Michael Sheldrick

Automated Driving is often touted as the next big thing, even the next really big thing. While it may be a boon to the average commuter, the real benefits would be reaped by fleets.

What fleet manager hasn’t dreamed that the company’s mobile workforce could be working anytime, anywhere? I mean, really anytime, anywhere.

Imagine the company’s top salesperson zipping along at 80 mph, merrily chatting and texting, setting up new sales calls even on the way to visit an existing account.

Not to worry. She won’t hurt or kill herself, or others, exposing the company to huge liability costs. She may have been habitually in last place when the antiquated drive-behavior teams were in vogue, but now, she’s safely cosseted inside her new automated…..

READ MORE







Fleet Trends & Issues


Tech Companies Face Rocky Road to Making Cars

Detroit Free Press

Silicon Valley may think it can build a better car. But should it?

As tech giants like Google and Apple look to automobiles as the next frontier for innovation, they face a looming reality: Cars are a lot harder to manufacture and sell than smartphones.

Industry veterans and critics warn that the auto business is a different animal. It’s fraught with massive costs to erect auto plants, complexities in developing new sales and service systems, and daunting liabilities involved when human lives are at stake.

READ MORE

To Connect or Not to Connect? Federal Regulators Disagree Over New Car Tech

Paul Eisenstein/The Detroit Bureau

Maybe they need a better connection. Several senior government regulators have taken what appears to be opposing positions on the need to mandate connected-car technology in the next few years.

While the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this week said he favors the use of the technology, believing it could reduce accidents, injuries and fatalities, a senior official with the Federal Trade Commission warned Congress this week that rushing connected cars to market could compromise privacy.

READ MORE

Pot Holes: Another Thing To Blame On Millennials?

Samantha Sharf/Forbes

One in nine bridges in The United States – about 70,000 of them — are structurally lacking, according to a 2012 report from the Building America’s Future Educational Fund. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives roads in this country a D grade. And the World Economic Forum ranks U.S. infrastructure 25th out of 144 countries.

A new report from Standard & Poor’s Rating Services links these startling facts to, you guessed it, Millennials.

READ MORE

Fleet Press Releases

Safe Driving Simulation

A Driving Dynamics innovation, the DrīvActiv simulator system has been designed to enhance and support the company’s advanced performance, instructor-led safety curriculum and will be initially offered as a key component of the company’s updated Level II driver safety course.

In Driving Dynamics’ simulator-based courses, four students working with two instructors will each be assigned his or her own simulator to engage in a segment of active practice coupled with feedback. The software component of DrīvActiv training will include scenarios that adapt-on the fly, street level and overhead views, drive-time playback and real-time performance analytics designed to diagnose driver errors, provide immediate feedback and further facilitate personal coaching opportunities.

READ MORE

 
Smart Online Training

NAFA Fleet Management Association understands that shrinking travel budgets and increasing responsibilities create barriers that make it difficult to get out to CAFM® Boot Camp events.

Now students of the Certified Automotive Fleet Manager (CAFM®) program can get the assistance they need, along with their individual preparation efforts for the CAFM®/S exams, thanks to NAFA’s online CAFM® Boot Camp, a series of webinars that dig deep into the program’s eight modules.

The CAFM® Boot Camp is targeted to help increase student study power for the exams. NAFA’s CAFM® program is the industry standard for the fleet management profession.

READ MORE

 
Distracted Driving

The Detroit News

Car infotainment systems that use voice commands may let drivers keep their hands on the wheel, but they’re still highly distracting.

It takes drivers up to 27 seconds to return to full attention after using voice commands to make a hands-free call, turn on the radio or perform other tasks, according to two studies released Thursday by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Traveling at 25 miles per hour, that would equal the length of three football fields.

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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