Understanding Fleet Managers
The fleet management industry is focused on
oversight of several vehicles that a business uses every day to achieve
their business goals. That could be a number of trucks delivered, or it could be work vans, or a fleet of cars for your sales team.
Whatever the fleet, the aim remains the same, to make sure that your vehicles are ready to go every day, and you
have the vehicles available to complete the tasks your business needs. But there is more than simple reliable access
to vehicles, especially today. As fuel prices rise, and sustainability becomes a value customers actively seek,
efficient operations that minimize fuel and
maintenance costs, is also an essential
aspect of fleet management.
As a team, we work closely with fleet managers, and understand the challenges they face every day. It is this
experience and understanding that shapes the advice we provide, ensuring it is valid and practical, useful for
experienced teams or those new to the job in equal measure.
But what is it a fleet manager actually does?
What is a Fleet Manager?
Essentially, a fleet manager is ultimately the person responsible for the reliability, running costs and
availability of the vehicles that a company uses to carry out their business.
Each fleet vehicle must be safe to drive, run well and be used in the most efficient and effective way possible,
allowing the business to achieve its objectives while keeping operating costs to a minimum.
What Does a Fleet Manager Do?
Maintaining Vehicles : Making sure all vehicles are in good working condition. This includes
scheduling regular check-ups, repairs, and making sure that each vehicle is clean and safe to drive.
Managing Costs : Keeping track of how much is spent on each vehicle for fuel, repairs, and other
expenses. The fleet manager finds ways to cut costs without sacrificing safety or efficiency.
Ensuring Legal Compliance : Making sure all vehicles and their operations meet legal requirements.
This involves keeping up with vehicle licenses, safety inspections, and insurance policies.
Planning Routes and Schedules : Deciding the best routes for travel to ensure drivers get to their
destinations quickly and safely. This also involves adjusting plans as needed based on traffic or weather
conditions.
Having worked closely with fleet managers in all types of businesses, we think that all of this can be distilled
down into a simple concept. The goal of a fleet manager is to keep everything running at its best.
Skills and Qualifications Required to be a Fleet Manager
There are some specific skills and qualifications required to excel as a fleet manager, these are:
Skills
Organizational Skills : Keeping track of
many vehicles and schedules requires excellent organization.
This helps in managing maintenance records, tracking expenses, and ensuring all vehicles are used
efficiently.
Communication Skills : A fleet manager needs to communicate clearly with drivers, mechanics, and upper
management. Good communication helps in coordinating operations and solving problems quickly.
Problem-Solving Abilities : Issues can arise unexpectedly, like a vehicle breakdown or scheduling
conflicts. Being able to think on your feet and come up with effective solutions is crucial.
Technical Knowledge : Understanding how vehicles work is important. This doesn’t mean a fleet manager
must be a mechanic, but knowing the basics helps in making informed decisions about maintenance and repairs.
Qualifications
Education : While a specific degree isn’t always necessary, having a background in logistics, business
administration, or automotive technology can be beneficial.
Experience : Hands-on experience in logistics or vehicle management can be just as important as formal
education. Starting in a support role within a fleet management team can provide valuable learning
opportunities.
Certifications : Certifications such as the Certified Automotive Fleet Manager (CAFM) or similar
credentials can demonstrate expertise and commitment to the field.
Becoming a Fleet Manager
As with qualifications, there are no specific paths to becoming a fleet manager as such. However, in our industry
experience, these are the most common ways in which people get to the position over time:
Starting Out
Entry Level Positions — Many fleet managers start out in logistics support, as fleet
technicians or in the dispatching team, anything where you can gain a good understanding of how fleets
operate day-to-day.
Learning on the Job — Wherever you start out, gaining that hands on experience with logistics,
maintenance scheduling or cost
management is essential, and are the foundation skills for mastering fleet
management.
Career Advancement
Taking on Responsibility — As you gain experience, always push for involvement in larger
projects or seek oversight on more areas of your job. A willingness to take responsibility is essential for
becoming a fleet manager.
Formal Education and Training — While working towards fleet management, think about doing a
degree in logistics or where possible, qualifications in fleet management itself. Not only do they help you
gain the knowledge you need, but also show a commitment to the job.
Continuous Learning
Staying Updated — Fleet management is a technology driven industry, and as you might expect, is
in a constant state of flux as it evolves to embrace new technologies and ideas. Continuous learning and
training help you stay ahead of the game and keep up to date with the latest advancements.
Fleet Management Challenges
Fleet management is an occupation with a single goal, efficient and effective operation of your vehicles, but that
brings with it a variety of challenges you must overcome in day-to-day operations.
These are some of the more common situations you may experience:
Cost Management
Fuel Costs — One of the biggest costs of running any fleet is fuel. As a fleet manager, you
will be constantly looking for ways to reduce those costs, such as fuel-efficient driving practices, or
using more fuel-efficient vehicles in the fleet.
Maintenance Costs — Keeping maintenance costs under control is a challenge, because you have to
balance those costs with safety and reliability, cut maintenance too much as you can compromise both.
Preventative maintenance initiatives seek to maintain safety and keep vehicles reliable while lowering
running costs.
Vehicle Lifecycle Management
Depreciation — Vehicles inevitably lose value over time, but it is the ability to manage that
depreciation effectively that a fleet manager must address. Making the right decisions about vehicle
lifespans in the fleet is just one of the decisions a fleet manager must make.
Resale Value — Ensuring the correct maintenance schedule, with full service records, monitoring
driver behavior to reduce wear and so on are
all good management practices to maximize resale value of vehicles in the fleet.
Adaptation to Technological Changes
Integration of New Technologies — As the tech behind vehicles and fleet management continue to
advance, fleet managers must keep up to date with the latest innovations that can add value to the fleet,
including telematics systems and
electric vehicles .
Training and Implementation — As new technologies are introduced, to maximize their impact,
fleet managers must ensure their team are fully trained with each system and able to extract the best
performance from these new opportunities.
Regulatory Compliance
Conclusion
Fleet management is all about extracting the best performance and reliability from your vehicles while minimizing
operating costs. Today, that involves overcoming significant challenges, with an extended scope of operations that
include new technologies such as telematics , along with
more stringent regulatory environments that continually impose stricter regulations onto your operations.
Whether becoming a fleet manager is something you are just starting out with, or you have achieved that goal and are
looking to enhance your existing skills, success as a fleet manager comes from a mic of education, practical skills
and a willingness to actively seek out new challenges to overcome.
If you're navigating the challenges of fleet
management and need expert guidance, don’t hesitate to contact
us — we’re here to help.
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