“If you can’t find it here, I don’t know where you will find it,” is the confident welcome from Andrew Simms Group Fleet Manager Tessa Menzies.”

Tessa’s positive enthusiasm is catching – and she is being sincere, given the Andrew Simms group represents seven vehicle brands from five Auckland dealerships.
But you will most likely find Tessa with her alter ego Kelsie Vitale, at the ancestral home of Andrew Simms, in Newmarket, surrounded by the latest and greatest from the brands the group represents.
Tessa and Kelsie have been a supportive power duo for some years now, cutting their teeth at a couple of premier dealerships in Auckland before being professionally invited to join the Andrew Simms family.
This has meant quite a learning curve, despite their experiences in the fleet sector. Coming to terms with Mitsubishi, Kia, Haval, Great Wall, Jeep, Fiat and RAM product is daunting enough, but to walk confidently into them all under the lockdown situations of last year, well, let’s just say that Tessa and Kelsie enjoy challenges.
“We have a diverse selection of vehicles here,” says Tessa “but that just means we have a better chance of finding solutions for our clients. It also helps that within our broad product portfolio, we have product available to lease or own now, which if we were in a one or two brand dealership, we might not have.”
Stock availability is an important consideration for many fleet buyers these days, but from Tessa and Kelsie’s perspective, the vehicles are almost a secondary consideration.
“It’s more important,” says Tessa, “to develop long lasting relationships with our clients, both existing and new.
“We’ve come into the role here with an eye to adding value wherever we can for our clients. That’s really our core focus.
“For every client contact we make, we look at what their needs are and how we can build on what we have to offer to improve our solutions for our clients.
 “More than ever, effective, efficient and enthusiastic fleet management is what clients are looking for. At one point it was enough to mostly be an order taker and just get the contracts signed off, but that won’t work with the astute fleet buyers of today.
“By engaging with clients professionally and determining what their business is, how it operates and how a well-managed, considered fleet solution can have a positive effect, that’s the approach we’ll be taking to ensure ongoing success for our clients.”
Once the relationship is established, then Tessa and Kelsie can determine the best vehicles for the client and in some cases, it can be an interesting choice.
“For some, the decision to stay with what they have may well prove to be the best decision, but we have found that fleet buyers often are looking for a little advice and guidance as to what they or their business needs.”
And having the variety offered by seven brands is one thing but helping their clients may mean more than only providing quality and appropriate vehicles.
“Our core fleet brands – Mitsubishi and Kia – have really come into their own over a relatively short space of time and are producing very cost-effective and desirable vehicles well suited to our market.
“Our competitive pricing means that for many of our clients, the ability to – for lack of a better word – accessorise their vehicles is something they can consider, and this adds value to their fleet and makes them feel good about the choice they’ve made.”   
In Tessa’s experience, private buyers do all their research and come into dealerships knowing exactly what they want – a fair consideration as vehicles bought by the private sector are often bought emotionally – reflecting the individual’s personality and paid for with the individual’s hard-earned money.
The fleet buyer is, however, spending company cash and will likely have less emotional investment. “They may not even end up driving the vehicle(s) they’ve bought,” explains Tessa.
“The vehicles then are bought with the head, on a very practical level and it’s for that reason clients are looking for advice. It’s also the reason behind myself and Kelsie getting to know the client and understanding their business, so that we can determine how best we can help.”
For those wanting a little guidance on their choice of fleet vehicles, give Tessa or Kelsie a call to find out which vehicle(s) are right for you and your business.

Tessa.menzies@andrewsimms.co.nz
09 523 1939