Talking to experts in the field is perhaps the best advice NZ Company Vehicle can give to fleet manager readers when it comes to solving your fleet issues in the current climate.

FleetPartner’s Corporate Business Development manager – Brian Elmes is one such expert.
“Thinking further out is the way to work through the current situation,” Brian suggests.
“If you are in the position of revisiting your fleet requirements this year, don’t plan for the short term. As it stands, vehicle replacements are typically running at eight months from time of order to delivery, so orders in March are likely to be filled by December.”
Brian explains that this is the way it is in a post-Covid world, but in saying this he also points out that it’s not all doom and gloom.
In fact, the challenges faced by everyone in the automotive procurement industry—that’s buyers and suppliers alike – has inspired a little bit of out of the box thinking and the modifying of traditional ideas.
The business of buying or leasing vehicles therefore, is a much more carefully considered and planned process on the part of those procuring vehicles.
“As the automotive industry has had to face its challenges,” Brian explains, “we as fleet providers have had to adapt as well. Being agile and innovative in a demand-rich but supply-poor market are critical survival traits.”
“For smaller fleets, this may result in looking at more readily available models rather than the same models you have used in the past. For larger fleets, where vehicle makes and models are embedded in policy based on employee banding, can often require management approval. This can be more challenging in meeting the ebbs and flows of the current supply chain challenges we are seeing.
“There is a lot that fleet managers can do to improve their situations when faced with super conductor chip shortages, factory and supply restrictions due to Covid-related issues and of course, shipping delays in general. Some of the things to look at now are the products lease companies have actually had available as useful tools for some time.”
We at Company Vehicle have looked at some of these solutions and described some of these products before, so we can assure you these are not things lease providers have suddenly developed out of a magician’s hat – they have been proven by many successful and significantly-sized fleets.
Services such as fleet optimisation reviews and measurements and reporting tools are taking on a more critical role when it comes to running a fleet smarter rather than harder.
“Assisting clients with reviewing and updating vehicle policies based on technology developments is something we’ve been actively engaged in for decades. More recently, we’ve certainly experienced an uplift of enquiry to understand how we as fleet experts can assist businesses with their vehicle policies. This helps to reset how vehicles are allocated and which vehicles can be retired in favour of alternative options.
“Telematics is another significant consideration now,” adds Brian. “In fact, with vehicles being on fleet for longer, making sure their servicing is done and that the vehicles are being looked after while they’re in-service should be a paramount consideration.”
To expand on that, some fleet customers may have a telematics suite at their disposal, but they’ve never actually used the data to their greatest advantage.
This is kind of like having a swimming pool built and then not filling it with water – it’s money that’s quite literally becomes a hole in the ground.
“Be smart with the tools you have available to you through your fleet partner,” urges Brian. If they are a long-standing player in the market, they’ll have what you need to help you manage your fleet in challenging times.”
Implied in that of course, is an invitation to discuss effective fleet management tools with FleetPartners which has recently entered into a vehicle disposal arrangement with Turners.
This has also led to greater utilisation by some fleets of the EzyDrive shorter term car leasing product from FleetPartners.
EzyDrive is a good entry into the world of leasing based on short term fully maintained leases which can be from 12 through to a maximum 45 months on a New Zealand new, 1 owner vehicle. This arrangement can work well while the fleet vehicles you ordered are on their way.
Other solutions may include sale and leaseback. Your company vehicle is bought by FleetPartners who lease it back to you, freeing up your Capex and again marking time while your replacement fleet vehicles come in.     
These are just some options available to the fleet manager wondering what he/she is supposed to do with older vehicles getting older and newer vehicles not arriving in time.
There are, as Brian points out, ways and means to keep your fleet running smoothly even when the road ahead is still a little bumpy.
If you need some help, ask for some good advice from people who have all the tools ready for you. go to the fleetpartners.co.nz website.