Contents
Fleet manager, definition
Fleet management refers to the management of a company’s assets or equipment. We can talk about the management of IT assets, mobile fleets, or vehicles. The role of a fleet manager is to manage all the vehicles of one or several companies.
What is a fleet of vehicles?
Fleets are as diverse as they are complicated. A fleet’s composition depends on many variables, of which the most important ones are the activity of the company and its size. For example, a removal company generally has a fleet of heavy goods vehicles, while a fleet of public rescue vehicles is composed of ambulances or specialized vehicles. In addition, there is the legal and financial aspect of operating vehicles: certain types of vehicles may be tax-exempt, and the use of a vehicle as a service or as a function does not involve the same taxes. It is also possible to rent vehicles on a short, medium, long-term basis, to purchase them directly, or to use other types of financing, such as Leasing with Option to Buy.
As you can see, there is no one type of fleet to be favoured. A fleet is a combination of vehicles that the fleet manager must build strategically according to the activities, sector, and constraints of their company.
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The tasks of the fleet manager
Management, control, optimization: three terms that could summarize the daily life of a fleet manager. A manager must be versatile and extremely organized. Indeed, one of his main tasks is to manage the operational changes of his fleet: the entry and exit of vehicles in his fleet, the inventory of fixtures, the expiration of contracts with his leasing companies, and the anticipation of the order of new vehicles. He is also responsible for the assignment of its employees’ vehicles. It is important to know where and with whom the vehicle is at any given time, especially in the event of a traffic violation committed by an employee.
Fleet managers also monitor the viability of their fleet: manufacturer maintenance and technical inspections must be carried out on time; accidents must be dealt with quickly; tires must be changed according to the season; fuel cards must be renewed, etc. Drivers must respect the company’s charter (Car Policy) and use the vehicles within the framework provided. Given the transversality of fleet management, managers are often required to multitask.
Finally, they are also asked to optimize their fleet, in terms of costs, environmental impact, or productivity, as owning a fleet of vehicles generates significant costs, including:
- car lease rent
- repair costs
- insurance
- car usage by employees
By playing with different fleet variables, a manager can achieve maximum cost reduction while keeping the business running.
A fleet manager’s contacts
A fleet manager manages data from various sources, meaning he has to communicate with different players frequently. We can divide these players into two categories: internal and external.
Internally, the fleet manager exchanges with HR to obtain information on the drivers. He discusses with the accounting department regarding invoices and the various taxes on vehicles. The administrative and financial departments, the purchasing departments, and the general resources department may also contact him. Needless to say, he also interacts with the vehicle drivers and with his superiors to make reports.
Externally, the manager negotiates with leasing companies, dealers, tire manufacturers, telematicians (telematic boxes that receive GPS data as well as all the data related to the vehicle), oil companies and communicates with the State, especially concerning fines.
Of course, these contacts are not an exhaustive list of all the people the manager could talk to, given the range of data he handles.
Fleet manager, a job in its own right?
Despite the many tasks a fleet manager has to perform, fleet management is seldomly their core business. There may be fleet managers whose sole function is to manage the fleet, but there are also people who do other tasks on the side. This may be due to the size of the fleet or the activity of the company.
For example, it is not uncommon for fleet management work to be done by a management assistant or a general services manager. The work can also be divided between several people, with the reception desk handling infractions, while invoices and taxes are managed by the accounting department and operational management by the HR department.
In the case of large car fleets, where management can quickly become complex, the company can choose to outsource this task. It then calls upon a “fleeter”. The latter takes care of the management of the fleet on behalf of a company, either entirely or for specific tasks only.
A great way to become a fleet manager?
There is currently no diploma course leading directly to a career as a fleet manager. Thorough knowledge of the automobile is not mandatory either. Recruiters look primarily at the organizational skills of the candidate. Many fleet managers are self-taught, learning on the job and/or attending training courses over a few days to learn about the job.
What is the salary of a fleet manager?
Here again, it is difficult to give a precise range for a manager’s salary due to the diversity of profiles that can work in the profession. According to the website “Talent.com” based on more than 104 salaries, the median salary for fleet manager jobs in France is 25 100€ net per year and can go up to 33 150€ for the most experienced workers. These figures are however very subjective and can vary drastically from one profile to another.
The tools of a fleet manager
Every human organization has its limits. This is even more true for employees who have several functions within their company. A fleet manager in particular may have to manage substantial amounts of information regarding his fleet. Excel is a powerful software, but it still comes with some limitations. It does not allow to keep files or to historicize flows for instance. Faced with these problems, the fleet manager can rely on specialized fleet management software, such as Notilus YourWay.
Why adopt Notilus YourWay?
Notilus YourWay is a SaaS software (no pre-installation required) allowing:
- Centralization of fleet data,
- Global and quick visualization of the park data via its customizable dashboards,
- To save time by eliminating the risk of data entry errors thanks to its billing interfaces and its connectors with the SIV and ANTAI,
- Automated report generations,
Notilus YourWay supports the fleet manager in all aspects of fleet management, from operations and control to analysis and optimization of the fleet. With Notilus YourWay, the fleet manager can finally concentrate on his core business. Discover 10 other good reasons to use a fleet management solution here.
Our solution is dedicated to the moblity management. In addition to the expense reports management you can plan, book and track your business trips. It is also possible to manage your car fleet.
