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Fleet Managers Exclusive FMC Panel Discussion
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All fleet managers, regardless of their industry segment, are facing a sea-change in how they conduct business. And it’s moving at hurricane speed. To keep up, those who never outsourced fleet functions are considering doing so, while those who already have supplier partners are considering expanding their outsourced roles.
During Friday morning's fleet-managers only session Fleet Management Executives Tackle Tough Fleet Issues, I&E attendees heard directly from the leaders of each of the major fleet management companies as they discussed what they see coming in the near future with regard to such important topics as procurement, sourcing, inventory, sustainability, global expansion, and much more.
The umbrella under which nearly all these topics reside is technology, and all the participants of the panel agreed that the influence of technology on fleet will only be greater going forward.
Kicking things off, GE Capital Fleet President and CEO Kristi Webb described the changes occurring with her organization. (You can find out more about this by clicking here for a discussion Webb had with NAFA President Ruth Alfson, CAFM®.)
Tom Callahan, President, Donlen, discussed the "disruptive" changes that drivers will soon be working with, if they are not already. These include mobile Internet applications and the Internet-of-Things, whereby individual parts of a vehicle will be able to report out on their current status. Think about the possibility of getting status reports on each individual wheel of a car, or just the brakes or the bearings. This is the level of connectivity vehicles will have with homebase in the very near future.
Chris Conroy, President, ARI, spoke about globalization. Thanks to technology, fleets are more connected than ever and can span across continents. Conroy said that while there are things that differentiate fleets -- financial and productivity transparency issues, the culture of the company car as compensation -- there are basic needs and expectations baked into every fleet job. No matter where or how far, it will be up to the fleet manager and his or her partners to find commonality.
Safety was predominant for Dan Frank, President, Wheels Inc. Further speaking to the Internet-of-Things, he said that technologies have the ability to make vehicles safer, and influence driver behavior. Therefore it is incumbent upon makers and providers to understand the fleet professional's requirements and expectations for these technologies.
Predictive data, James Halliday, President and CEO, Element Fleet Management asserted, will play a huge role as well. From all the data a car will be able to report out to headquarters, the shop will know more about what the vehicle needs, from oil to tires. Just as important, the shop will know what needs to be stocked high, and what parts will not be called into service as often.
Greg Tepas, President and CEO, EMKAY, Inc., stated that the "fix-and-repair model will certainly change." Big data will allow for the analysis of repair savings and will diminish work done before it is necessary, or is completely unwarranted. Tepas said that predictive information is causing shops to evolve from purely mechanical work into highly attuned data-crunching concerns.
With all the things that technology can do; Mike Pitcher, President and CEO, LeasePlan USA reminded everyone that it is still a dangerous addition to our roads, in the form of cellphones and distracted driving. He described LeasePlan USA's zero-tolerance ban on cellphones -- handheld and hands-free -- and was unequivocal in his assertion that effective policy and a culture of safety is still imperative, no matter how much other technologies offer.
The FMC executives gave fleet managers a lot to consider on the last day of the I&E, and they surely took much to consider back to their offices.
During Friday morning's fleet-managers only session Fleet Management Executives Tackle Tough Fleet Issues, I&E attendees heard directly from the leaders of each of the major fleet management companies as they discussed what they see coming in the near future with regard to such important topics as procurement, sourcing, inventory, sustainability, global expansion, and much more.
The umbrella under which nearly all these topics reside is technology, and all the participants of the panel agreed that the influence of technology on fleet will only be greater going forward.
Kicking things off, GE Capital Fleet President and CEO Kristi Webb described the changes occurring with her organization. (You can find out more about this by clicking here for a discussion Webb had with NAFA President Ruth Alfson, CAFM®.)
Tom Callahan, President, Donlen, discussed the "disruptive" changes that drivers will soon be working with, if they are not already. These include mobile Internet applications and the Internet-of-Things, whereby individual parts of a vehicle will be able to report out on their current status. Think about the possibility of getting status reports on each individual wheel of a car, or just the brakes or the bearings. This is the level of connectivity vehicles will have with homebase in the very near future.
Chris Conroy, President, ARI, spoke about globalization. Thanks to technology, fleets are more connected than ever and can span across continents. Conroy said that while there are things that differentiate fleets -- financial and productivity transparency issues, the culture of the company car as compensation -- there are basic needs and expectations baked into every fleet job. No matter where or how far, it will be up to the fleet manager and his or her partners to find commonality.
Safety was predominant for Dan Frank, President, Wheels Inc. Further speaking to the Internet-of-Things, he said that technologies have the ability to make vehicles safer, and influence driver behavior. Therefore it is incumbent upon makers and providers to understand the fleet professional's requirements and expectations for these technologies.
Predictive data, James Halliday, President and CEO, Element Fleet Management asserted, will play a huge role as well. From all the data a car will be able to report out to headquarters, the shop will know more about what the vehicle needs, from oil to tires. Just as important, the shop will know what needs to be stocked high, and what parts will not be called into service as often.
Greg Tepas, President and CEO, EMKAY, Inc., stated that the "fix-and-repair model will certainly change." Big data will allow for the analysis of repair savings and will diminish work done before it is necessary, or is completely unwarranted. Tepas said that predictive information is causing shops to evolve from purely mechanical work into highly attuned data-crunching concerns.
With all the things that technology can do; Mike Pitcher, President and CEO, LeasePlan USA reminded everyone that it is still a dangerous addition to our roads, in the form of cellphones and distracted driving. He described LeasePlan USA's zero-tolerance ban on cellphones -- handheld and hands-free -- and was unequivocal in his assertion that effective policy and a culture of safety is still imperative, no matter how much other technologies offer.
The FMC executives gave fleet managers a lot to consider on the last day of the I&E, and they surely took much to consider back to their offices.
