WORKsmart from TomTom Business Solutions claims to help deliver a greener, more efficient and less expensive fleet while improving the mobility of your business.

In a free downloadable guide, experts from TomTom advise employers to insert an appropriate clause in employees’ contracts to ensuring employees are not using their company cars for anything except business.

The guide also outlines how to give employees the tools to report when they are using work vehicles for business or private mileage. This puts a process in place for reporting to the tax man to ensure you and your employees don’t get over charged in tax fees.

You can download the free pdf by clicking here and entering some brief details on your fleet.

Outweighed

“Our feedback suggests it’s also the same for the drivers” comments TomTom WORK MD, Thomas Schmidt.

“They really appreciate how – by subscribing to TomTom WORK – their employer is helping them to satisfy HM Revenue & Customs about their vehicle usage, and so avoid the extra BIK tax and NI charge.

“However, over time this initial benefit is outweighed by the day-to-day work benefits, such as improved safety, reduced stress and enhanced professionalism – ultimately meaning a happy workforce.

“Such systems also bring other benefits in terms of the health and safety of employees,” adds Schmidt. “And it makes it simpler to comply with legal obligations, for example the Working Time Directive and duty of care covering lone workers.”

Jeremy Gould, VP Sales Europe, will unveil TomTom’s strategy on how commercial fleets can minimise their impact on the environment at the Enterprise Mobility Exchange in Brussels next month.

Mr Gould will demonstrate how cost efficiency and an impeccable service quality can go hand in hand with a reduced Carbon Footprint. Three key elements to a successful implementation of a greener fleet will be discussed including how to reduce mileage, how to drive fuel efficient and how to measure and manage this throughout the company fleet.

With around 230 vehicles handled by fleet managers based across several different countries, Control Risks considered Mycompanyfleet’s web-based FleetHR system to be ideal providing one, centralised database for all fleet information.

Andy Amos, Country Manager at Control Risks, said the system fit the bill when it came to meeting their diverse fleet needs.

“Being web delivered, FleetHR allows us to centralise all our fleet data and information more readily, while the powerful dashboard based system highlights any areas we should be investigating, such as cost over-runs, as well as integrating extremely well with services from other suppliers, which is important to us in operational areas such as SMR,” Andy explained.

“The system also allows us to build up data on the cost of various parts and services, and then flags up any overspend against previous invoices. Used in this way, it will allow us to manage our SMR and other costs more efficiently.”

Maintenance of Control Risks’ vehicles will continue to be outsourced to local third parties but the use of FleetHR will ease the process by producing the approval documentation and providing a high level of analysis on the service, maintenance and repair (SMR) transactions through the system’s dashboards.

Mycompanyfleet’s Business Executive Luke Hicks added: “By deploying FleetHR in this way, we are helping Control Risks’ fleet managers to automate the management of their vehicle fleet throughout the UK, Europe and other key parts of the world and helping them measure and control operating costs more effectively.”

By monitoring 30 vans across its fleet, Karomed hope to reduce its carbon footprint, tighten up health and safety and improve overall fleet performance by bringing in the Ctrack Online solution combined with Ctrack cCom in-vehicle consoles.

Via the Ctrack cCom console, Karomed will be able to recognise which vehicle is closest to a job and send the appropriate engineer, quashing any unnecessary mileage and fuel consumption while improving response times.

Reduction target

Steve Buckland, MD of Karomed, said: “We are committed to operating a business that is safe, responsible and efficient.

“We have selected the Ctrack solution to replace an existing tracking system due to its ability to boost fleet performance, reduce accidents and minimise environmental impact.

“By improving asset utilisation and efficiency, we are targeting a reduction in fuel consumption of up to 15%.”

With Ctrack Online, Karomed can keep an eye on the behaviour of its drivers and pinpoint exactly where improvement can be made ie. speeding, excessive braking.

Tailored

Mark Naldrett, Sales Director of Ctrack, added: “Our unrivalled range of advanced tracking tools means we are able to develop standalone and integrated solutions that are tailored to meet the exact needs of our customers.

“As a result, an increasing number of fleet operators are working in partnership with Ctrack in order to reduce costs, increase productivity, raise customer service levels and protect mobile assets.”

Ctrack is the largest vehicle tracking and resource management provider within the UK with more than 3,000 companies now using its advanced technology solutions.

Available to just iPhone users for now, the Smart MPG Tracker app helps motorists monitor how much fuel their car is supping.

“Once a user has registered a car, they log each fill up into the app. Over time this provides an effective overview of their MPG,” explains Stephen Uprichard, Business Development Manager with Martech Social, the developer behind the app.

“The initial feedback that we have received has been very positive and it is seen as a useful app.”

An Android version will be released in the next few months but before then, non-iPhone Smart car customers can stay on top of their MPG by logging into the official community and add via the web application. The application also integrates with the official Smart Car community at destinationsmart.co.uk.

Developed by TomTom Business Solutions, Active Driver Feedback monitors fuel consumption and informs the driver of how fuel-friendly their behaviour behind the wheel is. The system can also warn the driver of any excessive steering or braking at a glance.

By presenting the driver with live information, Thomas Schmidt, MD of TomTom Business Solutions, says the motorist can adapt their driving method almost immediately to address any uneconomical traits, effectively nipping any cash loss in the bud.

“We believe that empowering drivers is a key success factor in promoting a safe driving policy,” said Schmidt.

“The active feedback functionality truly puts the driver centre stage in the quest by businesses to improve safety and efficiency on the road.”

Overloaded

Fleet managers can see how safe and green their drivers are with Webfleet OptiDrive which provides clear, easy to interpret, visual graphs and reports for individual drivers or across their entire fleet.

Aside from fuel efficiency, they can view how often they are speeding, braking and idling in one easy to read bar.

With Active Driver Feedback, drivers can see their actual and average journey fuel consumption in the TomTom PRO’s status bar. The appearance of a green fuel icon indicates they are achieving below average fuel consumption while a red icon signifies uneconomical, above average, consumption.

Giles Margerison, Director of TomTom UK and Ireland, reckons their system gives fleet managers the right amount of information.

“The difference fleet tracking and navigation systems make in business is well documented but sometimes, fleet managers can feel overloaded by the sheer volume of information the technology can give them,” he said.

“OptiDrive cuts through the information clutter by giving employers an at-a-glance overview of each driver’s performance.”

Thanks to a partnership with CD Auction, the new integrated link means that 1link users can access CD’s full range of back office facilities including vehicle movement, storage, inspections, photography and preparation.

“This represents a key new addition to the disposal routes available to fleets that use 1link for defleeting,” explained Ken Trinder, head of business development at epyx, the company behind 1link.

“CD Auction’s ‘live’ online sales are very popular and are used by many major fleets for selling and by a wide range of dealers for buying.”

Roger Woodard, CD Auction Group’s MD, added: “1link Disposal Network has been rapidly gathering in momentum in the last couple of years and now has a very wide user base among major fleets.

“We believe that having access through the platform to this community of fleet managers will see an increased amount of high quality, ex-fleet stock disposed of through our online auctions.”

The CD Auctions integration follows an announcement in February by epyx that 1link Disposal Network could be used to sell vehicles to dealers at a variety of live independent auctions including Aston Barclay, Fleet Auction Group, Scottish Motor Auctions and Wilsons.

epyx also released an iPhone app in January that enables dealers to buy from 1link Disposal Network via their smartphone.

Mr Trinder added: “The last few months have seen several major advances made on the platform.

“Fleets can now choose to sell direct to traders online at a fixed price, through a timed auction, through a live auction or through traditional, physical auctions.”

Used by major fleets such as leasing companies to sell stock to used car and van dealers, 1link Disposal Network forms a component in the 1link cradle-to-grave e-commerce vehicle life cycle which includes e-commerce platforms covering vehicle procurement, service and maintenance, taxation and rental.

Launched by Fleet Logistics, the cutting edge fleet manager portal will provide international fleet clients with a comprehensive picture of all aspects of their fleet operation wherever they are in Europe.

The portal will go live next month with selected clients before, all being well, a full scale roll out later in the year over Fleet Logistics’ complete client base which covers 80,000 vehicles across Europe.

Thomas Emmert [pictured], Chief Operating Officer at Fleet Logistics, reckons this is just the first step.

“We have responded to demand from our fleet clients for this new, highly sophisticated portal, which provides the fleet manager with far greater control and insight into the fleet than before,” he said.

“We fully expect to add further features, enhancements and reports to the portal based on the feedback we receive from the first wave of fleet users. These will be drawn from those international fleet operators who identified the greatest need for this kind of new functionality in helping with the management of their fleets.”

The portal presents real time reports illustrating every aspect of the fleet from carbon footprint, makes and models of all vehicles to third party suppliers including leasing companies.

Another element of the portal analyses fleets through two distinct data channels, the first looking at the total operating cost of all elements of the fleet, and the other at the composition of the fleet by make and model of all vehicles. Fleet managers can also search for detailed fleet data, such as details of a driver, a contract or a vehicle.

The new portal includes an exception reporting facility which creates alerts to show when certain events have occurred that may need a reaction by the fleet operator. These can be triggered by certain incidents not taking place, such as drivers failing to submit mileage information when required, or by actions taken outside fleet policy guidelines, such as drivers buying premium branded fuel rather than standard.

For more info, visit www.fleetlogistics.com

The British GP had its last hurrah at Silverstone earlier this year, as the powers that be had decided Donington would be a better circuit to hold the GP in the future.

However, there was one major snag, Donington is not up to the standard that is desired at the highest level of motorsport according to the power brokers and its owners needed to reconfigure the track, the pits and the outbuildings. Unfortunately this work and the financial guarantees from the Donington boss Simon Gillett are behind schedule. It now looks as if the 17 year contract that Donington won may be given to Silverstone and the historic track will continue to stage one of the best loved GP’s on the calendar.

Just like Silverstone, the car industry is returning to form. New car registrations were up 11.4% in September to 367,929 units. It shows that many of us are looking to the future and not burying our heads in the sand. The only way out of a recession is to spend.

Fleets are trading well at present in this hard climate and you the fleet manager have been commended for sourcing low carbon vehicles. Not only does this help your fleet and company to show that it has a green heart, it also keeps your costs down in regards to tax and fuel charges. On average new car CO2 emissions have fallen by 4.9% over the year to date to a new low of 150g/km.

The much maligned scrappage scheme has ensured that the car industry has grown in September. For older vehicles that are getting on in years, the scrappage scheme has been brilliant for these smaller fleets as it has allowed these businesses to move into new vehicles, giving better reliability and neater presentation when turning up for meetings.

Registrations rose by 11.4% in September that was a modest 2.5% growth had been forecast, on a weak 2008 outturn. The market was almost 30,000 units above forecast, but still 51,361 units down on the 2007 September market and 9.5% off the average for the month between 1999-2008.

The September market this year is likely to be the largest month of sales in 2009, accounting for almost 20% of annual volumes. The market was 54,017 units up on the volume recorded in March. In the previous five years, March had been the largest monthly market.

Buyers voted with their feet as small car demand continues to grow, with mini volumes up 195.0% and the supermini segment up 21.2% in the month. Alternatively fuelled vehicle registrations rose 45.5% in September, due to new models. The Ford Fiesta (pictured at Dagenham)was the best selling model in the month, for the seventh time in 2009.

So it looks like the fight back is well and truly on, Silverstone is the self-titled ‘Home of British Motorsport’ and looks as if it could be back as a fixture on the F1 calendar. The other return is the car industry, car manufacturing was on its backside but there looks to be light at the end of the tunnel. Car makers are selling more vehicles and fleets are buying more, all in all a good thing.

Top Ten Sellers in September:

1. Ford Fiesta
2. Vauxhall Corsa
3. Ford Focus
4. Vauxhall Astra
5. VW Golf
6. Peugeot 207
7. MINI
8. BMW 3-Series
9. Toyota Yaris
10. BMW 1-Series

Source: SMMT

Simon McBride

1link Hire Network is an e-commerce platform that brings together car and van rental suppliers and purchasers in real-time and has been widely adopted by many major fleets since its launch two years ago. Purchasers of daily rental, such as large vehicle leasing companies, are better able to manage this area of their business though online access to multi supplier quotations and pricing and daily rental suppliers have access to a large pool of customers and the reassurance that invoices are always correct by electronically validating them through the 1link system.

In use, the new module means that the pool or demonstrator fleet effectively becomes an internal daily rental company – with requests for vehicles sent to the fleet manager through the platform from employees who need vehicles.

Other features available include a diary view that lets the fleet manager see all the vehicles currently allocated and in use, vehicle utilisation histories that show details such as past hires and damage recorded, and in-depth reporting across the whole pool or demonstrator fleet.

Ken Trinder, head of business development at epyx, the company behind 1link, said: “There appears to be a gap in the market for a product that handles management of demonstrator and pool fleets in this way, and the design of 1link Hire Network makes it entirely suitable for the task.

“We envisage that customers will include motor manufacturers who run demonstrator fleets and also companies that run pool fleets, an area that may be undergoing a revival thanks to the difficulties surrounding grey fleet management.”

Jaama managing director Jason Francis said: “The ability to send data online is an important part of the Government’s strategy of delivering ‘joined up’ government, enabling people to communicate and make transactions with departments from a single point of entry.

“The new facility expands Key2’s existing capacity to generate P11D and P46 forms. Key2 users also benefit from the cross-referencing of the HMRC’s guidelines within the application, to assist with the accurate entry of expenses and benefits received by employees.”

He added: “Complimenting this functionality, is an expense/benefit validation system to highlight incomplete or invalid information before the data is submitted. This allows Key2 users to swiftly correct their employee data and guarantee only the correct records are sent.”

It is unique selling points,such as Key2’s ability to link in to a wide cross-section of systems operated by departments such as payroll, finance, HR and legal, which has significantly contributed to the system becoming the fleet management solution of choice for hundreds of businesses as well as Jaama continually  updating functionality and working to ensure an increasing amount of web-based contact can take place with Government departments.

Mr Francis concluded: “New modules and functionality that we are adding to Key2 are all designed to make fleet administration and management easier and ensuring maximum legislative compliance.

“As the Government encourages more online contact, Jaama’s software experts are working to ensure our systems integrate with more Whitehall departments. Already, our customers are submitting reports and receiving information from the likes of the DVLA and VOSA and our latest update will improve existing links with HMRC. We expect that list of departments to increase in the future.”

The new software has been chosen to streamline processes and provide greater reporting capabilities as well as providing mapping facilities for the entire Kwik-Fit Fleet centre network. More importantly, however, the software will help enhance driver support services to UK leasing companies through its new Service24 proposition where it will handle and co-ordinate driver bookings for vehicle servicing, glass replacement, breakdown assistance and vehicle recovery for all Kwik-Fit Fleet’s leasing customers.

Kwik-Fit Fleet provides call centre-backed driver support services to the overwhelming majority of the UK’s leading contract hire and leasing companies as defined by the FN50 league table of leading companies.

Simon Lucas, Kwik-Fit Fleet operations director, said:”We felt that the Mycompanyfleet solution was the perfect fit for us and the ideal solution to help provide enhanced driver support services to our major corporate customers.”

Mycompanyfleet provided an extensive demonstration of the system’s capabilities that completely met Kwik-Fit Fleet’s exacting and demanding specification and requirements.

“By being able to demonstrate the full capabilities of our solution, we were able to convince Kwik-Fit Fleet that it was the correct one to meet their customer service requirements,” said Andrew Leech, business manager at Mycompanyfleet. We are delighted to be providing Kwik-Fit Fleet with the means to enhance their driver support services in this way. We hope to be working with them on a number of projects in the coming months,” he added.

The YourAcumen CRM system integrates fully with the company’s FleetAcumen software system and is the ideal solution for fleet operators that provide services to customers through delivery fleets, such as couriers, fast-fit companies, air conditioning and other service engineers, as well as those involved in multi-disciplinary activities such as facilities and maintenance management.

“We believe YourAcumen to be a unique proposition as there is no other system that allows the seamless integration between fleet user and customer in this way,” added Andrew Leech.

“YourAcumen can capture every aspect of interface with the customer to help assess customer satisfaction, productivity, vehicle utilisation and business efficiency.

“Many companies have service standards and rules they want to meet for either new or existing customers. YourAcumen automatically polices those standards to ensure that pre-set levels are being reached and not exceeded,” he said.

Visitors to the EcoTrak stand, the driver management tool which provides fleet managers with key information to ensure a fuel efficiency across the fleet, were invited to take advantage of a free fuel saving consultation and find out how EcoTrak fuel saving technology could help them to reduce their organisation’s fuel costs and lower vehicle carbon emissions with live EcoTrak demonstrations given throughout the event leading to many private and public sector organisations, including a number of local authorities expressed their interest. 

Organisations already using EcoTrak are recording fuel cost savings of up to 20 percent as a result of installing the fuel saving solution.

More information about EcoTrak is available at www.supatrak.com and www.ecotrak.co.uk