GreenFleet 107: Public Sector Focus Supplement

www.greenfleet.net

In association with

PUBLIC SECTOR FOCUS Featuring local authority air quality plans, steps to a better grey fleet, updates from the Crown Commercial Service on procurement, and advice on how to run a mini competition during a tender

ISSUE 107

Public Sector Focus

In association with

www.greenfleet.net

In association with

PUBLIC SECTOR FOCUS Featuring local authority air quality plans, steps to a better grey fleet, updates from the Crown Commercial Service on procurement, and advice on how to run a mini competition during a tender

ISSUE 107

A focus on public fleets The UK public sector fleet is vast and diverse, spanning police, fire services, healthcare, maintenance vehicles, and council fleets. Public sector fleet managers face scrutiny over their spending, and have to demonstrate value for money, whilst making sure vehicles are fit for purpose.

The public sector is also expected to lead the way when it comes to driving greener vehicles. Many public fleets have done this successfully, taking on a range of zero or ultra-low emission vehicles.

Now the public sector faces another challenge. The government’s Clean Air Strategy has made it the responsibility of local authorities to clean up the air quality in their areas. Five cities have been ordered to operate Clean Air Zones by 2020, as well as consider changing road layouts, removing traffic lights and speed humps, and upgrading bus fleets.

Whilst there is a £255 million set aside from the government to help councils implement such plans, environmental law firm ClientEarth has accused the government of “passing the buck” to local authorities. What’s more Council leaders from Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Southampton, Leicester and Oxford have written to environment secretary Michael Gove, calling for specific actions that will allow them to meet the legal limits of air pollution.

Follow and interact with us on Twitter: @GreenFleetNews

This public sector themed issue of GreenFleet looks at what councils are doing to tackle air pollution, how they can reduce their grey fleet, and how they can approach procurement to get the best value for money.

Angela Pisanu, editor editorial@psigroupltd.co.uk

P ONLINE P IN PRINT P MOBILE P FACE-TO-FACE If you would like to receive 10 issues of GreenFleet magazine for £200 a year, please contact Public Sector Information Limited, 226 High Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 GreenFleet® would like to thank the following organisations for their support:

PUBLISHED BY PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION LIMITED

226 High Rd, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 Fax: 020 8532 0066 Web: www.psi-media.co.uk EDITOR Angela Pisanu EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Andrea Pluck FEATURES AND ROAD TEST EDITOR Richard Gooding PRODUCTION DESIGN Jo Golding PRODUCTION CONTROL Ella Sawtell WEB PRODUCTION Victoria Casey PUBLISHER George Petrou ACCOUNT MANAGERS Kylie Glover, Dean Cassar ADMINISTRATION Vickie Hopkins, Charlotte Casey REPRODUCTION & PRINT Argent Media

Printed on recycled paper

© 2017 Public Sector Information Limited. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any other means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the editorial content the publisher cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. ISSN 1471-3713

GreenFleet is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint please contact Michael Lyons or Angela Pisanu on 0208 532 0055. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk

04

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

The last 12 months have been very good xoxoxoxo for FCA within the Public Sector. Indeed, sales have increased by 33.7 per cent and the company is looking to further FURTHER INFORMATION grow this success with a blend of key xxx models offering excellent BIK, whole new life running costs and low CO2 figures, coupled with first class customer service.

We are well aware of the pressures the Public Sector are under when it comes to expenditure, demonstrating best practice and proving that they are spending tax payers’ money wisely as they try to solve their transport issues with economical and money-saving decisions.

And because of this, FCA’s multi-brand fleet packages and support networks are proving to be of real appeal to Public Sector fleets, because they remove the problem of having to find a transport solution that will cover their precise, bespoke needs, at competitive rates in line with their budgets – while always maintaining exceptional value.

With style, world-class design, technology, and no AdBlue required on FCA diesel‑powered cars, the brand’s range has something to offer all fleets, large and small.

Two cars which have particularly caught the interest of the Public Sector fleet managers are the Fiat Tipo and Alfa Romeo Giulia.

Fiat Tipo Tipo’s main business-specific model is the Elite 1.6 120hp. Packed with standard equipment the Elite features alloy wheels, air conditioning, 5-inch touchscreen DAB radio with navigation and Uconnect™ LIVE services.

Its safety credentials are enhanced by six airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control (ESC), and a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS). And with C-segment boot space for B-segment money, it truly represents value for money. Fitted with a 1.6 MultiJet II diesel turbo engine, the Fiat Tipo Elite returns 83.1mpg and has a CO2 level of just 89g/km.

Alfa Romeo Giulia The popular new Giulia range already comes with a business specific model – Giulia Tecnica, which offers a high level of equipment and specification but with excellent fuel economy and overall efficiency. The car’s 2.2-litre 150bhp or 180bhp diesel turbo engine delivers

67.3mpg and a CO2 level of just 109g/km.

Safety is paramount in all Giulia models – the range achieved a top five-star rating in the latest Euro NCAP crash tests with a 98 per cent adult occupation protection score, the highest achieved by a car. The Neil Tecnica is designed McNicholl specifically with business National Public users in mind and has features such as Alfa Sector & Motability Connect infotainment Manager with live traffic updates FCA for long journey-makers.

Alfa Giulia has already proved itself to be a popular and sought-after car, and has received critical acclaim from customers, and the media alike. This year it took the ‘Game Changer’ award at the Autocar Awards.

Emergency services fleets FCA does a large amount of business with the ambulance service both in fast response, front line ambulances and also within the Patient Transport Services (PTS) – we predominantly supply Ducato-based emergency vehicles with the ambulance ‘pod’ already supplied and fitted, ready for trusts and ambulance services to customise to their specific requirements.

We are now starting to lead in the field and have a number of important advantages which make the Ducato a top choice for health trusts and services which are all trying to drive down costs, looking to get as economical and efficient as possible. Fiat Ducato ambulances are all capable of carrying 4.2 tonnes of weight – enough for a fully equipped emergency ambulance and they are AdBlue free, which offers a considerable saving in terms of weight and cost.

Fire and Rescue services have also recognised the benefit of FCA’s 4x4 architecture and several police operations have been looking at using them as covert vehicles as well as more performance models for high speed work, particularly from the Alfa Romeo range.

Written by Neil McNicholl, FCA national public sector & motability manager

As a brand that has enjoyed huge success in terms of private and fleet sales, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is proud to sponsor the first Greenfleet Public Sector supplement. It is, of course, a large and important sector of the market and one in which FCA has not only seen considerable recent success, but has plans to increase its share in the coming months and years

Public Sector Focus ADVERTORIAL

FCA WORD 800 is proudEDIT to sponsor HEADLINE HERE Greenfleet’s Public AS TIGHT Sector supplement AS POSS

demonstrates our commitment to serving fleets of any size and shows how much we care about the environment, green motoring in general, and the advancement of green issues.

Francis Bleasdale, Fleet and Remarketing Director, FCA UK says: “The fleet business is very important to us and we want to ensure that we are always at the forefront of fleet customers’ minds when they are considering their next cars.

“One of the things that we offer is a broad range of vehicles – this has, for some years, helped us to develop our fleet proposition. So whether you are looking for a fully equipped ambulance for front line service, or a city car such as a Fiat 500 for a midwife or district nurse, there will be something in the FCA UK range to satisfy that need. And it will be as economical and as environmentally‑friendly as we can possibly make it.” L FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0808 168 7152 alfaromeo.fleet@alfaromeo.com

Sponsorship of Greenfleet Public Service supplement FCA is delighted to sponsor the first Greenfleet Public Service supplement. It

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

05

Air Quality Written by Andrea Pluck

In association with

Improving air quality across the UK Local authorities across the UK are being asked to produce plans by the end of the year on how they intend to bring air pollution levels down. GreenFleet’s Andrea Pluck looks at the actions council’s are taking in order to comply with the government’s air quality aims The government has released its strategy on how to tackle high levels of nitrogen dioxide in the UK, a pollutant that causes harm to public health. The ‘UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations’, produced

by Defra and the Department for Transport (DfT) outlines how councils with the worst levels or air pollution must take action.

This is just one part of the government programme to deliver clean air, as next year, a Clean Air Strategy will be released which will address other sources of air pollution.

The government will help towns and cities by providing £255 million to implement plans, in addition to the £2.7 billion that is already being invested.

Actions include changing road layouts to reduce congestion, encouraging the take-up of electric vehicles and retrofitting public transport.

In addition, a £40 million Clean Bus Technology Fund grant scheme is available which aims to limit emissions from up to 2,350 older buses.

Despite the funding available to councils, environmental lawyers ClientEarth, have stated that the government’s air quality plans pass responsibility onto 23 local authorities in England to find a solution to the air pollution crisis, yet offer little detail on how air quality will be improved.

ClientEarth lawyer, Anna Heslop, said that the firm was “extremely disappointed with the plans when they came out” and that the government “pass the buck to local authorities and leave some major questions about process and funding”.

In addition to this, proposals are being made for a mandatory Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in five cities where air quality is the poorest (Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton). The zones are expected to be implemented by 2020.

GreenFleet looks at the actions that council’s are taking in order to comply with the government’s air quality aims.

Leeds Leeds City Council has been implementing many changes to lower levels of pollution.

Since being identified as one of six locations in England that would require a (Clean Air Zone) by 2020, the council has switched 70 of its fleet over to zero or ultra-low emission electric vehicles and have extended its free parking offer to owners of low emission vehicles

06

at all council-run car parks or on‑street parking bays until at least March 2018.

Leeds has also opened the £29m Cycle Superhighway, a cycle route linking Bradford and Leeds, encouraging commuters to cycle rather than drive to work.

In addition to this, the council is currently planning the creation of an alternative fuel station, which would allow them to convert 180 fleet vans to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), including 70 refuse collection trucks.

Furthermore, Cenex and Leeds City Council have jointly launched project ACCRA, which will explore Smart City technology applications

that demonstrate real-time emissions control.

This uses live air quality data to trigger electric hybrid engines to automatically switch to zero‑emission running in heavily polluted areas.

The project will be demonstrated in Leeds and aims to offer cities a way to reduce urban air pollution without additional charges to motorists or businesses.

Plans to improve three key road junctions in the area in order to tackle congestion and improve air quality is soon to be discussed by senior councillors.

The three junctions are all key areas for improving traffic, bus, cycling and pedestrian flow and are also considered important for future housing growth and economic development.

Dundee UK and Scottish air quality legislation place a number of duties on all local authorities.

These include monitoring outside air for

Southampton Southampton is one of five UK cities to implement a CAZ by 2020 to discourage most polluting vehicles entering the city through the levying of a penalty charge.

In addition to this, the council has completed a scrutiny inquiry into Air Quality

Next year, the government will help towns and cities by providing £255 million to implement plans to tackle air pollution in order to develop understanding of the issues of air quality in the area and identify additional steps which can be taken.

The Clean Air Strategy for Southampton 2016-2025 shows that the council plans to improve transport and freight delivery systems through efficient infrastructure; increase the uptake of new and innovative technologies; and increase the uptake of public transport, cycling and walking.

In addition, the strategy reveals that the council plans to develop a Clean Air Partnership with key stakeholders in the city and region; continue to promote sustainable travel through maintaining the “My Journey” campaign; and implement schemes to support taxi operators, other businesses and public services in reducing the emissions relating to their activities.

Southampton City Council also put out a survey to seek the views of taxi and private hire vehicle operators to find out what funding would be necessary to help replace the most polluting vehicles with low emission alternatives.

Air Quality

various pollutants of concern such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10).

The concentrations measured in Dundee means that the whole of the council has been declared an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) for both NO2 and PM10.

Therefore, Dundee has put in place an Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) which aims to improve air quality in the areas of concern.

Measures such as exploring the provision of Park and Ride facilities; developing cycling strategies; installing electric charging facilities in car parks; and developing a fleet management plan to improve fuel efficiency are part of the proposals.

In addition to this, Dundee City Council has implemented ECO STARS Dundee. It is a free environmental recognition scheme which rates individual vehicles and overall fleet operations on their levels of environmental performance.

The scheme has been set up to help fleet operators improve efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and emissions in order to improve local air quality while making cost savings.

Birmingham Birmingham is another city that has been instructed to have a Clean Air Zone. Whilst the planning of how the zone will operate is in progress, the council has put in place other measures to improve air quality. Sixty‑five of Birmingham’s black cabs have been fitted with LPG and are Euro 6 compliant, meaning they will be able to enter the Clean Air Zone without being charged. The council has recently won funding from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) to introduce 197 electric taxi charging points, all of which will offer fast or rapid charging facilities for cabs and private hire vehicles.

Birmingham also aims to make cycling an everyday way to travel in Birmingham over the next 20 years. We want five per cent of all trips in the city to be made by bike by 2023 and to double this again to ten per cent by 2033. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.gov.uk/government/ publications/air-quality-plan-fornitrogen-dioxide-no2-in-uk-2017

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

07

Public Sector Focus

In association with

Removing the grey area of your fleet

Written by Andrew Benfield, director of transport, EST

It is estimated that 1.5 billion grey fleet miles are driven in the public sector each year, at a cost of £786 million. The Energy Saving Trust’s Andrew Benfield shares some steps to a better grey fleet

08

Grey fleets have long been the problem child for many fleet managers. Not only is there an aptly named ‘grey area’ surrounding what constitutes a grey fleet, but there is also the time consuming and sometimes neglected responsibilities associated with their management.

Firstly, what is a grey fleet? Simply, it is any vehicle, owned by an employee who uses it for business travel. It is notoriously difficult to calculate the number of grey fleet vehicles on UK roads because, unlike company cars, there is no requirement to provide records of the

vehicles in which journeys are made.

Getting to Grips with Grey Fleet, a report researched and written by Energy Saving Trust and published by BVRLA in 2016, estimates that 1.5 billion grey fleet miles at a cost of £786m are driven in the public sector each year, and up to 11 billion miles at a cost of up to £5bn in the private sector.

The use of 14m cars in the grey fleet is in stark contrast to the number of drivers paying benefit in kind for the use of a company car in the UK – which is a mere 960,000.

The number of vehicles in the private sector includes cash allowance cars, funded by the employer but often without any

ement Managhave a teams care to duty ofees who employ vehicle for ir use the ss purposes busine safe and to be ure sec

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

restrictions in place. As a result the report found that although younger at 5.3 years than the UK car fleet (7.9 years), they were considerably older than the average lease car (1.6 years) and had significantly higher CO2 emissions, 155g/km compared with 119g/km for the average lease car.

Effective grey fleet management Fleet managers have historically neglected the management of grey fleets.

However, with the increasing concern that they are affecting organisations both financially and environmentally, there is a realisation that effective grey fleet management is absolutely essential.

Effective grey fleet management should cover three distinct areas including, duty of care and health and safety, financial efficiency

A 2016 report by Energy Saving Trust and published by BVRLA, estimates that 1.5 billion grey fleet miles at a cost of £786m are driven in the public sector each year and up to 11 billion miles at a cost of up to £5bn in the private sector and corporate environmental responsibility.

Senior management teams have a duty of care to employees who use their vehicle for business purposes to be safe and secure on business related journeys. Similarly, firms should conduct regular driving licence checks and monitor driving offences to ensure their drivers are both qualified to drive their vehicles and are not at risk of losing their licence. Understanding the conviction rate of drivers is essential to managing on-road risk.

The financial impact of grey fleet from both an organisational and public spending point of view is estimated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to be in the region of £2.7billion per year from ‘at-work’ traffic accidents.

Simply putting in place a mileage management system to accurately record

business mileage usually pays dividends, for example if a driver rounds up a claim from eight to ten miles, this increases the cost of the journey to the organisation by 25 per cent.

If 50 employees driving an average of 2,000 each year exaggerated claims by 25 per cent it would cost an organisation an additional cost of £11,250 per year in unidentified miles.

In the public sector this cost can be even higher, with organisations often paying over the recognised Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) rates of 45 pence per mile (ppm) for the first 10,000 miles and 25ppm thereafter. AMAP rates cover fuel, depreciation, maintenance and insurance costs to an employee using their own car for business purposes.

Steps to a better grey fleet The Energy Saving Trust recommends that grey fleet managers take the following steps. Firstly, they should assign the responsibility of the grey fleet to someone within the fleet management team; meaning one individual is accountable.

Secondly, they should identify the current impact that the grey fleet is having on the organisation, in other words, benchmark the grey fleet. This will allow the newly appointed manager of the grey fleet to recognise the current position of the grey fleet and take steps to improve it.

The third step is to improve the accuracy of the data gathered from the grey fleet drivers.

By reviewing the mileage claiming process and tightening up on the prerequisite information required in order to submit a claim, this encourages a change in driver behaviours and transparency which can significantly reduce the financial implications placed upon a business due to mileage claim inaccuracies.

The Energy Saving Trust recently worked alongside the Derbyshire Community Health Service NHS Foundation Trust (DCHS) to introduce a new way of managing its grey fleet.

At the time of the study there were 4,500 employees at the DCHS, with 2,500 of these people submitting mileage claims for using their own vehicles for business purposes.

The grey fleet solution included a pool car fleet, revision of expenses policies, introduction of alternative communication methods, and the promotion of low emission lease cars. This pool fleet has benefitted DCHS by transferring almost 75,000 miles per annum during 2015 to these cars and is currently saving over 6.5 tonnes in CO2 emissions.

Public Sector Focus

Case study: DCHS

Another way to travel Another step should be to offer alternative transport methods and incentives as a matter of course for employees; public transport, opportunities to walk and utilising pool cars where required.

Equally, encourage the use of telephone meetings and video conferencing thus reducing the requirement to travel to meetings.

Fleet consultancy support is available for public sector organisations through the Energy Saving Trust; organisations can receive a Green Fleet Review, ULEV Review or Clean Air Fleet Review depending on their needs and objectives.

The report, Getting to grips with Grey Fleet, is a great place to start, providing best practice guidance and examples of the savings possible in emissions and cost; and including best practice examples from organisations that have successfully introduced processes and policies to manage their grey fleet. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.energysavingtrust.org.uk

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

09

Public Sector Focus Written by Kim Harrison, fleet team category lead, CCS

In association with

Procuring in the public sector The Crown Commercial Service’s Kim Harrison discusses the organisation’s recently launched Dynamic Purchasing System, which enables public sector fleet managers and buyers to access a wide range of vehicle conversion services Crown Commercial Service (CCS), the UK’s largest public procurement organisation, has just launched its first Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) – enabling public sector fleet managers and buyers to access a wide range of vehicle conversion services.

Having previously managed a framework agreement for these services, CCS has created the DPS to more closely fit with the conversions market, populated as it is by many small, local businesses and a customer base with specific demands on flexibility and simplicity.

The DPS is the latest innovation in CCS’s fleet offering.

The DPS also supports contracts for standalone vehicle design and consultancy, meaning better access to specialist services for those fleets who may be stretched for internal resources.

Using the DPS as a contracting vehicle, opportunities have been opened up to the wider supply chain, who have previously only indirectly provided services as subcontractors.

Vehicle telematics In addition to the new DPS, CCS offers a framework agreement for vehicle telematics.

Whilst it’s an area of relatively low‑cost investment, vehicle telematics are viewed by the CCS fleet team as A new way to buy – and sell the key enabler to understand where The DPS works in a very different way to the areas optimise utilisation within a traditional framework – with changes fleet, and to identify opportunities for affecting both customers and suppliers. cash-releasing and other benefits.

Customers have been demanding the CCS research suggests that, for every ability to make simple, compliant transactions £1 invested in vehicle telematics, a return with suppliers in specialist areas. of at least £3 can be achieved through a They can use the DPS to access an online combination of reduced fuel costs, decreases search function to identify those suppliers in insurance premiums, a reduction in the that offer the services and specialism they frequency and cost of vehicle damage, require. Search filters include geographic and improved risk management in location, customer sector, vehicle type, service support of an employer’s duty of care. types (including conversion, decommissioning The CCS Vehicle Telematics agreement and design) and detailed products. has multiple suppliers appointed with a Suppliers in the market can apply to range of specialities. In a fast developing, join at any time during the term, and to innovative market, the framework update their service offerings in a is deliberately flexible for ‘live’ environment as they change the suppliers to adapt n and evolve their skills. their offerings, and for o i s The DPS makes use of customers to determine Convers are e c i existing systems for supplier which area of fleet v r se suit o registration and the t e l b completion of selection availa ea of the questionnaires, allowing each artor, whether suppliers to reuse their ec company information for public s emergency future applications and it be s or local self-certify their status until service orities the point of contract award. h

aut

A wider scope The scope for this agreement is significantly wider than its predecessor, with services ranging from simple vehicle signage or internal storage, to full conversion into emergency vehicles or specialist communications equipment.

Conversion services are available to suit each area of the public sector, whether it be emergency services, local authorities or central government operations.

10

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

management they wish to target with their telematics, and the contract model they prefer.

The future The existing CCS Vehicle Purchase and Vehicle Lease & Fleet Management frameworks will be expiring in the coming 18-24 months, and will be replaced. Analysis shows that both frameworks provide excellent value, especially where customers have aggregated their requirements for vehicle purchase via the CCS eAuctions. CCS baseline the framework performance against other large UK fleets using a market comparator methodology which is currently demonstrating average savings of 11 per cent across both frameworks.

CCS is planning its next frameworks. In the coming months, the fleet team will be securing customer, supplier and general market feedback, and starting to draft future agreements.

A combined customer stakeholder group will meet in Autumn 2017 to discuss future requirements and options for contractual models. It is anticipated that the frameworks will further widen the scope of vehicle types available.

Get involved Fleet are keen to hear from its customers on any of the existing agreements or wider fleet requirements.

The team operates a Fleet Customer Forum, bringing together fleet and commercial experts from across the public sector three times a year to understand best practice, identify market trends and seek areas to deliver savings. The forum provides debate and networking opportunities, and enables the CCS Fleet team to share their market insight and to focus on key areas of interest for operational fleets.

About Crown Commercial Service CCS is tasked with ensuring that the UK public sector realises the maximum commercial benefit when procuring common goods and services – to support efficient and effective public services. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.ccs-agreements.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Top tips for running a mini competition If you work for a public sector organisation and looking to buy a single minibus, fleet of vans, specialist vehicle or other fleet services including repair, tracking and hire purchase, you’re likely to be faced with a complex and lengthy tendering process. Using a public sector framework – like those provided by YPO, a publicly-owned buying organisation – can save you significant time and money. It will also make sure you’re fully EU compliant and be tailored to your requirements.

Once you’ve decided that using a framework is the best way for you to renew or set up a new contract, you have a few tendering options open to you. One of them is to run a mini competition (also known as a further competition), between a set of pre-approved and pre-vetted suppliers.

Stage 1 – get prepared Do your research on the market or the services or goods you’re looking to source. For example, look at what’s currently available, what’s the average cost, and if there are any new innovations or changes to industry standards.

Build up a detailed description of everything you’re looking for. For example, if you’re looking to buy a fleet of mini buses, your specification should include details such as engine size, number of seats, CO2 emissions, and livery.

You also need to decide how long you want your contract with the supplier to last. Is

it a one-off purchase or are you looking for a long-term arrangement such as a four-year contract, calling off vehicles year-by-year. Remember you can include your requirements for four or more years within a single mini-competition (you’re not mandated to call-off all the vehicles).

Finally, make sure that all your stakeholders are on board – do your finance team or legal team need to be involved? If they do, it’s better to involve them as early as possible.

Stage 2 – get your documents ready As a starting point, speak to YPO. We might have a mini competition template that you can use and should find useful.

You’ll need to work out how you’re going to evaluate all the submissions from the suppliers. This is called the award criteria.

This will involve coming up with questions that will allow the suppliers to demonstrate how they’ll meet your needs. For example, questions could be tailored around quality aspects of the organisation or products or how the supplier will deliver the service to you. Try and avoid closed questions and allow the supplier to tell you how they will meet your requirements – this will allow you to award scoring that better reflects their ability to provide your needs.

To evaluate the questions, you’ll need to decide how you’re going to score them. Add a weighting which will help you identify the most important points to you.

And make sure your

One ng tenderi o run is t option mpetition o a mini ceen a set betw pproved of pre-ae-vetted and pr under a rs supplie ework fram

Stage 3 – issue your documents There’s a number of ways you can issue your documents to the suppliers: on the YPO portal; on your own procurement portal; or on email.

Send all the documents to all the suppliers on the framework that meet your requirements. This means all suppliers who are on a ‘lot’ or have responded to a ‘expression of interest‘. Please don’t assume some suppliers can or can’t meet your needs. Make sure you give the suppliers enough time to respond to your mini competition. The more time the better – as you’ll get better responses.

Give the suppliers an opportunity to ask questions. But give them a deadline to get their questions to you – usually one week before the deadline for submissions.

Stage 4 – evaluation Don’t open the submissions before the closing date – it needs to stay fair and equal. Using your own portal or the YPO portal will help with this, as it can lock them away until the deadline has passed.

Don’t deviate from the award criteria that you previously set – you could face legal challenges.

Have at least two people evaluate the answers then agree on a final score. If you can, use a moderator to review and balance the scoring.

Keep detailed notes during your evaluation and reasons for the final score so you can give feedback to the suppliers.

Written by David Nichols, procurement manager for fleet services, YPO

Running a mini competition during a tendering process can be a good way to successfully match your contract requirements with a supplier. David Nichols from public sector buying organisation YPO shares his tops tips on how to make this a success

documents or questions aren’t too long – that’s why it’s called a mini competition.

Public Sector Focus

In association with

Stage 5 – contract award You’ll now be able to identify a winner from the scores you’ve given at the evaluation stage, and it’s now time to notify all the suppliers of the result. The best way to do this is by letter. This might include details of the winner, feedback and the scores. YPO should be able to provide you with a template.

If a supplier asks for more feedback, you can do this but only if it’s related to their submission, and not any commercial details of the winner. It’s recommended you allow a 10‑day standstill period before entering into a contract with the winning supplier.

And that’s it! Once the standstill period has passed you can begin your contract with your supplier. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.ypo.co.uk

11

Industry Comment Advertisement Feature

The challenge of running a public sector fleet Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Neil McNicholl looks at how today’s fleet tender looks at more than just discount levels and vehicle specifications, to consider whole-life costs, the environmental credentials of the company, and compliance with codes of practice In today’s public sector, the demand to provide the very best return on investment has never been so focal and the implementation of more commercially focused objectives are now common place. Running a fleet in the public sector is especially challenging given this requirement coupled with the levels of scrutiny every area of public sector is subject to.

Tendering for supply remains the required method for acquisition within public sector but over recent years, the criteria on the supplier selection has changed dramatically.

Historically the discount levels and specification of the fleet vehicles won the day, but today the tender document can take into consideration not only the hard upfront financials, but consideration of the whole life costs of the vehicle, the corporate philosophy of potential suppliers, investment strategies into green manufacturing and technologies, compliance with codes of practice and even employment policies.

How has FCA responded to this challenge?

Representing five major vehicle brands under the FCA Fleet and Business banner, we can offer a ‘one stop shop’ fleet solution, backed with a sustainable global corporate philosophy committed to a balanced approach that contributes to the environment and society as a whole.

At a global level, our efforts have been recognised by the world’s leading sustainability ratings agencies with over 4,400 environmental projects implemented in our factories worldwide in 2016 alone, putting FCA at the forefront of sustainable manufacturing.

At a local level within the FCA Fleet and Business department, we have a dedicated public sector team working with major health care trusts, emergency services, government, military, local governments, education authorities as well as all of the public sector supply chain.

Our team are able to respond to and support all your needs through our multi brand approach to the market.

Within the team is a dedicated TCO manager, who was appointed to scrutinise the whole life costs of every FCA vehicle.

This means working across all of the departments to ensure the specification of the products are optimised for our customer to deliver the best value in their class whilst making sure price of parts and servicing schedules are optimised and that our key partners in product valuations are

12

Neil McNicholl, FCA

Neil McNicholl is the national public sector manager at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles UK (FCA). Prior to joining FCA in 2015, Neil spent 15 years with Motability in various commercial roles. Neil has been leading the public sector team for the past two years, making significant progress in building strong partnership-based programmes with public sector bodies.

kept informed and involved in new product launches and changes to the existing range that might influence the residual value.

All of these factors combined ensure that we can build financial solutions that offer exceptional returns on investment over the life time of our products.

The results of this are evident where the Alfa Romeo Giulia – launched in late 2016 – sits within the top three in its sector for lowest total cost of ownership, above many of the market leaders.

Furthermore, the Fiat 500 has enjoyed a sustained run of being one of the lowest depreciating in its class for almost a decade making it a very sensible fleet choice. Another example is the Fiat Tipo Elite, which comes with eco pack as standard creating 89g C02/ KM but retaining a low P11D. Our progress made recently has earned FCA Fleet and Business two major industry awards, including Most Improved Fleet Manufacturer of the Year in 2017.An unprecedented achievement and one we are exceptionally proud of.

to offer a unique service of covering all of your needs through one supplier.

From the iconic Fiat 500 city car to the outstanding and award-winning Alfa Romeo Giulia through to the rugged, yet luxurious, Jeep Grand Cherokee to the hugely versatile range of Fiat Professional commercial vehicles.

FCA has a solution for every segment through five vehicle brands including Fiat, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Abarth and Fiat professional. These brands are supported with financial solutions through Leasys and our branded Mopar aftersales support network of dealers.

Our comprehensive approved used car programmes, Found for Fiat and Abarth and Selected for You for Alfa Romeo and Jeep also supports our residual values.

Let us show you how you can demonstrate a strong return on investment through the selection of FCA as a robust and versatile supplier. L

The FCA Advantage Having one department managing a portfolio of brands allows FCA Fleet and Business

For more information please call the FCA Business Centre on 0808 168 6796 www.fcagroup.com

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

FURTHER INFORMATION

THE ONLY FLEET PUBLICATION DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT

www.greenfleet.net Published by

020 8532 0055 www.psi-media.co.uk