FleetManagementWeekly AmeriFleet
March 7, 2017

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Editor's Analysis & Top Industry News


Staying Safe, Cutting Costs

This week we feature our first column from Element Fleet’s Eliot Bensel, who adeptly outlines many of the safety technologies that are currently available.

We’ve also got a nice piece from Shell on how to improve the fuel management practices of fleet managers and drivers, with the aim of cutting costs.

At The Work Truck Show Next Week

Next Tuesday through Friday (3/14 – 3/17) I will be at The Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, and look forward to a flurry of meetings and on-camera interviews. If you’re going to be there and would like to meet up (and/or filmed), please email me at [email protected].

Ted Roberts
President


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 servic

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

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: How Will the Mobility Revolution Impact Fleet Management?

Technology and innovation are speeding up, and the next generation doesn’t value personal transportation as much as previous generations. How will these factors impact fleet management?



VIDEO: Customer Experience Tips

  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: Safety Tips
  Parking and Backing Safety Tips
 

Parking lot accidents account for over 20% of auto crash claims, and over one-fourth of all accidents involve backing. Watch these safety tips from Driving Dynamics, and learn how to minimize your risk.





The Fleet Spot


LeasePlan’s New Sales Vice President Talks Total Cost of Ownership

Fleet expert Michelle Davis becomes newest member of LeasePlan USA’s client acquisition team and offers practical advice on fleet cost savings.

LeasePlan USA has announced Michelle Davis as new regional sales vice president for the Southeast.

Davis has more than 12 years of successful fleet experience, including 11 years at Enterprise Fleet Management as a senior account manager. Most recently, Michelle was the district sales manager at Supreme Corporation, helping clients find solutions to improve their driver experience. Throughout her career, she was repeatedly recognized as a sales leader and fleet expert.

READ MORE

NAFA Announces 2017-2018 Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of NAFA Fleet Management Association (NAFA), operating under new bylaws and election procedures adopted in 2016, recently elected the first slate of Officers under its new guidelines. 

The new rules saw four new Directors elected to the Board in January, joining nine Directors whose terms were continuing.  Then, in February, the full Board of 13 Directors elected from among themselves NAFA’s new President, Senior Vice President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer.

READ MORE

ARI Highlights the Trends Impacting the Vehicle Life Cycle from Start to Finish in its 2017 Industry Outlook Publication

ARI® announced today the publication of its 2017 Industry Outlook.

Unique to this year’s publication, ARI’s subject matter experts examined each step in the vehicle life cycle process to determine where the most significant trends will impact fleet professionals’ business operations in the next twelve to eighteen months. Advanced technology applications, data analytics and data integration impact every topic discussed in this year’s publication.

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Lukas Neckermann to Keynote at NAFA International Fleet Academy

NAFA Fleet Management Association (NAFA) announced that author and strategic advisor Lukas Neckermann will be the Keynote Speaker for the International Fleet Academy (IFA) on April 24 in Tampa, Florida.

“NAFA is pleased to have Lukas present at our international pre-conference event taking place the night before our annual conference,” said NAFA’s Chief Executive Officer, Phillip E. Russo, CAE. “Lukas’ presentation focuses on the ’three zeroes’ that will redefine both the automotive and fleet industries: Zero Emissions, Zero Accidents, and Zero Ownership. This is a must-attend event for all fleet professionals with an eye to the future.”

READ MORE

Fuel Management

Fleet managers keeping pace with a changing world face three stark new realities: tighter margins, stricter CO2 emissions legislation, and a growing need to prove environmental credentials during customer transactions. This has put greater pressure on fleet managers and changed the nature of the role they perform.

Thanks to independent research from Shell, we have a better view of the fuel management practices of fleet managers and drivers in the U.S. Our research gives us insight into what impacts fuel consumption, the greatest barriers to managing fuel more effectively, and solutions for how managers can manage fuel consumption more efficiently.

The Shell Fleet Navigator Card delivers fuel savings that allow fleet managers to drive smarter and improve bottom lines along the way. To learn more about the unprecedented control and customization that the Shell Fleet Navigator Card offers call 888-212-8916 or visit www.shell.us/fleetnavigator.

READ MORE

 
Fleet Asset Management

by Eliot Bensel

It’s an alarming statistic. According to the CDC, each day over eight people are killed and 1,161 are injured in crashes that reportedly involve a distracted driver. In an effort to combat these staggering figures, more fleet managers are looking to acquire vehicles with advanced safety features. Automakers acknowledge that technology previously reserved for more expensive vehicles is now becoming widely available across less expensive models; and how we keep drivers safe is continuing to evolve.

Advances in Overall Vehicle Safety

Because of advancements in technology, today’s vehicles and drivers are much safer than ever before. Safety-related technologies include emergency braking and collision mitigation, automatic tire pressure monitoring, blind spot detection and side assist, rollover mitigation and even occupant sensitive seats.

READ MORE

 
Fleet Marketing

The business social network offers user experience enhancements while bolstering tools to help amplify company brands

By Ed Pierce, Fleet Industry Marketer

According to a recent article by writer, editor, and marketer Kyle Harper, LinkedIn began rolling out a new, updated interface for its business-oriented platform in January, and it just beginning to gain the attention of B2B marketers and sales people.

Specifically, marketers and sales people now have access to expanded tools for improving their skills. For example, LinkedIn is conducting new research and making it available to members. Better yet, articles and posts coming through one’s news feed are easier to navigate.

A More Rewarding User Experience

Harper reports that LinkedIn has been subtly tweaked to make it more rewarding for users to share their thoughts and experiences. For example, tips for a profile offer quick descriptions of ways one can augment his or her profile (and, in some cases, explain how certain actions will help get more views, connections, and messages), while the content one shares is now given a prominent counter right next to the number of visits to the user profile. It’s clear that LinkedIn is interested in engaging more actively with the individuals on their platform, not just the companies they represent.

READ MORE









Fleet Trends & Issues


Are Europe’s Roads Getting More Deadly?

For fleet managers in Europe, as elsewhere, the easy gains in safety performance are over

By Mark Boada, Senior Editor

While Europe’s roads remain among the world’s safest, the latest figures show that the European Union’s goal of cutting traffic fatalities in half by 2020 is at risk of slipping away. Worse, the underlying causes indicate that, as in the United States, traffic fatalities and accidents may be poised for a dramatic increase.

In 2011, the 28-nation European Union, in concert with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, formally adopted the goal of halving the E.U.’s motor vehicle deaths from 31,500 in 2010 to just 15,750 by the end of the decade. Considering that fatalities had been reduced at nearly that rate over the prior 10 years, the goal seemed reachable.

From 54,900 in 2001, over the first decade of the 21st century, E.U. road fatalities declined by 43%, an average of 5.4% year. A number of factors contributed to the trend, including advances in road design and repair, traffic enforcement and automotive safety technology. But it’s apparent now that another factor made a healthy contribution: fewer people on the road due a slower economy.

READ MORE

China Is Replacing 70,000 Taxis With Electric Cars

Futurism

Electric vehicles have been growing in popularity among fleet operators, and soon, Beijing may find itself earning a reputation as the hub of the electric taxi.

The Chinese city is home to one of the most important taxi fleets in the world, numbering around 70,000, and under a new program for air pollution control that will begin implementation this year, those taxis will be going electric.

According to a report by National Business Daily, the transition to electric cars will cover all new taxis registered in the region.

READ MORE

More Cars, Less Gas? U.S. Set to Hit Peak of Oil Consumption

The Detroit Bureau

Americans suck down a lot of oil, a large share of it to fuel the 260 million vehicles on U.S. roadways. But demand for gasoline is expected to start declining by 2019, according to a new study.

And the U.S. isn’t unique.

The study by Scottish research firm WoodMackenzie predicts that even with global car sales on track to set new records well into the next decade, global oil demand should also peak as early as 2021.

READ MORE

Building a Road Map for the Self-Driving Car

The New York Times

How do you create a map showing every road in the United States, with the precise location of every stop sign, all the lane markings, every exit ramp and every traffic light — and update it in real time as traffic is rerouted around construction and accidents?

That’s a challenge that automakers and technology companies are confronting in their race to develop self-driving cars, the kind that someday will let you sit back and read or watch TV on the way to work each morning.

The need for highly detailed, three-dimensional, computerized maps — which pinpoint a car’s location and understand its surroundings — is often overlooked amid all the hype about autonomous vehicles.

READ MORE

Managing Traffic

Wired

For all the mishegas about self-driving cars in the sunny, techie Silicon Valley, the future of the automobile may still live in a colder clime. At least, the Wolverine State hasn’t loosened its grip on the future of traffic.

Ann Arbor plays home to the University of Michigan, and with the football games, Kid Rock concerts, and daily commuters comes traffic, and lots of it. On the average weekday, the 125,000-person town swells to hold 200,000 people, most of whom travel in by personal car. The city is exploring buses, commuter rail, and carpool options to clear up its roads, but knows it can’t drive the car out of its home state anytime soon.

So it turned to tech to manage its streets.

READ MORE

 
The Fleet CX Toolkit

A needs analysis is a crucial step to understanding where users have problems performing a task, and which problems are most aggravating

By Wendy Eichenbaum

You’re at the grocery store walking to your car. It’s drizzling. Your hands are full of groceries. You can’t reach your key or press the button on the trunk that syncs with your key. We’ve all experienced this pain point.

But what is the primary pain point for you? Is it that you have to put the groceries down, often where there is little room and cars are circling for a space? Or is it that the ground is wet and dirty, so now you’ll get the car’s interior dirty? The answer to that question will affect your design need.

You need to understand the root of your customers’ pain before you design a solution. You can find this root by conducting a needs analysis with your target audience.

READ MORE

 
Stopping Drunk Driving

Car Connection

Utah may be the first state to lower its drunk-driving threshold below .08 BAC—and for the tl;dr crowd, yes, your state probably is next.

A Utah State Senate committee forwarded a proposal that would lower the state’s threshold for adults from .08 blood alcohol content (BAC) to .05, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

For an average-size male, the difference would be three or fewer drinks in an hour, and for a female it would be two or fewer drinks. For some women, the lower limit could be only one drink.

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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