Motoring with Bob Roco ROMEO: For your fleet, you need a manager

By Edmond Nana FLYNT

For most businesses in Ghana, especially small and medium-scale businesses, signing up for a fleet management service is not a priority when setting up their business.

Typically, the owner of the company and the accountant, who may have little to no knowledge about fleet management, are assigned that role because they control the money, leaving the rest to the vehicle operator, i.e., the driver.

In this write-up, we’ll use the example of a new bakery. The first thing the owner purchases is baking equipment, followed by hiring individuals with baking skills and experience. The owner then hires an accountant to help manage the company’s finances. After that, the owner acquires vehicular assets, such as two vans, for distribution and operations.

Employing the services of a fleet manager or management firm is often the last thing on the list, but it is equally as important as hiring an accountant or a marketing manager.

Peace of mind

A dedicated and professional fleet manager, first and foremost, gives you peace of mind—an intangible but priceless asset. This peace of mind allows you to concentrate on your core business while the fleet manager focuses on keeping your fleet/vehicles running, which is the backbone of your business. This benefit cannot be quantified.

Reduces vehicle downtime

Having a dedicated and professional fleet manager helps reduce vehicle downtime—the period when your vehicle is not available for operations. A dedicated fleet manager will properly plan your maintenance schedules through vehicle data collection.

Additionally, through regular checks, the fleet manager will identify issues with your fleet that need immediate attention to prevent breakdowns and unplanned maintenance.

The fleet manager also helps the business make adjustments or provisions for vehicles that will be unavailable due to scheduled maintenance, ensuring that business operations are not hampered.

Saves money

There are several ways in which the services of a dedicated and professional fleet manager can save a business money.

Firstly, through proper planning and accurate data collection, issues with the vehicle/fleet can be addressed quickly before they escalate into bigger problems, saving the business money.

Secondly, when a vehicle breaks down, the business often has to make impromptu arrangements to continue operations, which can be costly. Proper planning by a fleet manager can help avoid such expenses.

Another way a dedicated and professional fleet manager saves money—perhaps the most significant—is through their technical knowledge and experience. They know which services are necessary for your vehicle and which spare parts need replacement during each service.

This expertise prevents the business from spending on unnecessary services or spare parts. Auto dealerships and garages often try to upsell and cross-sell additional services and parts to increase profits and meet sales targets. This is where the skill of a dedicated and professional fleet manager becomes invaluable, akin to having a lawyer in a courtroom.

During the acquisition or purchase of a new vehicle, the fleet manager can make recommendations based on your needs, ensuring you don’t waste money on what you think you need and can negotiate better terms.

Ensures quality of service

It costs a lot of money to acquire and maintain vehicular assets, so the work performed on them should be of the highest quality.

A fleet manager, with their technical knowledge and experience, will ensure that the best quality work is performed on your fleet/vehicles.

Professional fleet managers typically have technical knowledge, having studied automobile engineering at a university or college and gained on-field experience working with automobile companies.

They also possess administrative competencies, including report writing, data collection and entry, record-keeping, appointment scheduling, negotiation skills, and more.

Additionally, they have strong interpersonal relationship skills, which help them manage clients and interact with service providers effectively. For your business, a fleet manager is essential.

 

 

About the author

Edmond is the team lead for Flynt Automobile, a fleet management and automobile events firm in Takoradi. He is also the organizer of the Taadi Street Auto Show.

Tel: 020 9461390 / 0548383591 .  Email: [email protected]

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