Fleet News readers recommend their top suppliers The Fleet News Reader Recommended programme is now in its fifth year. Once again, fleets have been voting for their top suppliers across key industry segments. A business may have excellent products, but ultimately referrals and recommendations are given as a result of outstanding customer service. Reader Recommended allows fleets to have their say about the companies they believe offer the best service. We have received hundreds of opinions via an extensive
research programme conducted among our readers. The fleet business sectors highlighted in Fleet News for 2013 are telematics, fleet management software, and contract hire and leasing. Details of the companies recommended by Fleet News readers in each of those three fleet sectors are covered over the next few pages. The software section saw Jaama recommended by Fleet News readers.
FLEET NEWS READER RECOMMENDED
Software
Software takes central role in fleet operations Controlling costs and managing compliance among its benefits
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oday there are very few companies that do not use some kind of fleet management software on a daily basis. From helping to reduce fuel costs to increasing pool car utilisation rates, fleet management software is designed to help fleet managers control costs, manage compliance and improve operational efficiency. It can also reduce the administrative burden on fleet managers, as software can be integrated with other corporate systems such as HR and payroll to carry out tasks such as licence checking and calculate tax liability for P11D. Fleet software has evolved over the years and the latest developments can deliver a real return on investment and transform the way a fleet operator works. Integration and interfaces Fleet software acts as a central point to collate all your fleet data and gives you the tools to monitor and manage the fleet to potentially save thousands of pounds in operational costs. However, manually collating and entering data into a fleet management system can be an expensive and timeconsuming activity. At a time when businesses are reviewing their cost bases, consideration should be given to the type of information being recorded and the value of the data to their organisation. Technology can assist in removing some of the more mundane processes in fleet administration. Electronic interfaces to service providers can drastically reduce administration time and effort, prevent double entry of data and provide increased visibility of key fleet data to fleet decision-makers. Fuel Fuel remains one of the biggest costs for any organisation running a fleet of vehicles, so it is important to develop improved strategies to keep fuel budgets under control. The management of fuel data in fleet management systems has been improved to use fuel data in more creative ways, to identify fraud and trends and to enforce advisory policies, such as advising drivers to buy fuel from supermarkets or cheaper retailers.
Other corporate systems An often neglected area of system integration is integration with other corporate systems such as HR and payroll. Fleet management systems contain a lot of information pertaining to employees and this data is often manually keyed into several corporate systems. For example, fleet management software needs to perform driver licence and grey fleet checks, calculate company car entitlement and tax liability for P11D. Accurate and up-todate information on employees ensures none are missed, guaranteeing compliance and preventing unnecessary checks being performed which can be costly. Fleet management software is also capable of managing training records for employees which, when coupled with information on an employee’s vehicle accident history and driver licence endorsement, builds a comprehensive profile identifying high-risk employees. Telematics Suppliers of telematics and fleet software systems have been working much closer together over the past few years to ensure their systems are compatible so information gathered by telematics systems can be easily collated with other fleet data in one place.
Continuous improvement keeps Jaama at cutting edge of software C
ost control remains the number one issue for organisations across the public and private sectors and many have discovered that embracing sophisticated online technology can help to meet their fleet budget targets while simultaneously reducing administration. Spend to save has been a campaign message from Jaama for almost 18 months and with the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne forecasting in last year’s Autumn Statement that austerity measures are likely to remain in place until 2018, it has led to fleets, leasing and rental companies becoming increasingly receptive to such a strategy. Jaama sales and operations director Martin Evans said: “Our customers are cutting fleet operating costs through the effective use of software to manage vehicles. They have realised the importance of investing in modern technology that will deliver significantly enhanced benefits across the business, including lower operating costs and improvements
Employee buy-in is critical Acquiring fleet management software is not the same as buying a tin of beans off the shelf. Sometimes procurement departments drive the process and will choose the cheapest solution that appears to tick all of the functional requirement boxes. But the important question that should be asked is: what quantifiable benefits to the business can the different software systems deliver? Return on investment falls typically falls into two areas – fleet operational benefits that will include financial savings, improved compliance, greater vehicle utilisation etc, and savings in administration time as processes are automated. It is also critical for businesses to obtain buy-in from the employees who are going to be using the system. Jaama sales and operations director Martin Evans said: “This should be done to both utilise their knowledge and experience to ensure the technology is fit for purpose.”
in fleet administration.” The majority of Jaama’s new business is the result of referrals from existing customers and it is that confidence in the company’s well-established, multi award-winning Key2 Vehicle Management system that is one of the key reasons why the organisation has achieved Fleet News Reader Recommended status for the fifth consecutive year. Evans said: “The return on investment generated from Key2 – both financial and administration/time savings – means that our software is a ‘must-have’ for fleet managers who want to streamline and improve their operations.” As a result, Jaama is the UK’s most recommended fleet management software company and its continuing success has led to an increase in staff to develop and deliver solutions and has required the relocation to larger premises this year. Following fleet implementation of the cutting-edge online Key2 system, Jaama continues to work with customers in both developing new initiatives and providing user support.
Web: jaama.co.uk Call: 0844 8484 333 Email: enquiries@jaama.co.uk