FMW Editorial Staff
In April 2021, fleet industry veteran Joe Poznick, Agile Fleet’s Senior Director of Client Success, took the helm of the company’s client success group. He succeeds V.P. of Client Success Matt Wade, who is pursuing a well-earned retirement (Wade will continue on with Agile Fleet as a Board of Directors member).
Poznick brings with him over 25 years of experience working with multi-national fleet operations with business process analysis, fleet solutions development, telematics, systems integration, as well as car-sharing and mobility. “I started in fleet in the ’90s and ran a large multinational fleet. My domestic fleet was roughly 4,500 vehicles, mostly light duty. Outside of the U.S., roughly 10,000 vehicles.”
Prior to fleet, Poznick held a variety of finance roles, and even spent time early on as a mechanic: “so I know the finance, operations and maintenance side of the house very well,” he says. Poznick says one of his first forays into vehicle management software was in the leasing segment, later branching into more traditional FMIS type of software. “Ron (Katz, Agile Fleet’s Senior Director of National Accounts) and I worked together and started the U.S. operations of a well-known offshore fleet management software company. We grew it from absolute zero and over 15 years, grew it to one of the more significant software companies in the fleet space.”
After leaving that role, Poznick worked with a telematics and car-sharing technology company, gaining insights into connected vehicles, IOT and how these systems can be used to optimize fleet operations. Poznick says he was pleased to bring his diverse experience to Agile Fleet.
When asked how the transition will play out as he assumes Matt Wade’s responsibilities, Poznick says it will be best defined by two words: “seamless” and “transparent.”
“There is a continuity with the team, how we work, and how we support our clients. My goal is to provide enhanced levels of client interaction building on all our client relationships.”
His goal, as is the overarching goal for Agile Fleet itself, is client success. What does this look like to Poznick? “Client success looks like someone who is effectively using FleetCommander to achieve results,” he replies. “They are leveraging the tools and the technology to drive behaviors and ultimately efficiency and lowest cost. Our systems are easy to use, seamless to the end-user, they are highly efficient and just work. Helping the client achieve results, not only with FleetCommander, but having the conversation about fleet processes, fleet policy, etc., so that they have the parameters of how they can better run the fleet, and get the most value out of it, which is typically the highest utilization and the lowest cost…that’s client success.”
Turning challenges into successes also means changing minds about the processes required to get there. These mindsets have been prevalent in the industry for a very long time, and Poznick states the true turnaround point for a client is when they can use FleetCommander to break from costly habits.
To that Poznick asks: “Okay, but why? Why do you have these? People have false beliefs around this idea. ‘It may be an old vehicle and doesn’t cost me anything. I’ll keep it as a spare.’ or it’s assigned and has limited use. Fleets need to take a step back and rethink why they are keeping or providing vehicles. In many cases, there is a lost opportunity cost, the loss of the benefit that could have been derived if the best alternative was chosen.”
Fleet optimization is, in Poznick’ s viewpoint, the benefit so many operations are forgoing in deference to the costly old-school practices and yet, the present global pandemic, its effects on economies, and the steadily growing drumbeat of “lower costs, save money, or else,” is starting to shake the industry awake.
“It’s been a tough year,” Poznick says. “A lot of people are seeing their fleet utilization down dramatically. A lot of clients we have, both from the government and educational standpoint, have a mix of vehicles. Some vehicles are shared, others are assigned. It is trying to understand the dynamics of the fleet in totality and how the composition can be changed to get improved vehicle utilization through sharing. That’s the challenge and paradigm shift. It means the client has to determine what they’re providing, where, and why.”
He adds, “A big challenge for many fleets is how to manage 1:1 assigned vehicles that are underutilized. Poznick’ s mantra to address that challenge is that vehicle-sharing is the #1 tactic to get the best utilization and lowest cost out of your fleet and must be the starting point driving cost reductions.
The value of Agile Fleet’s solution doesn’t stop at utilization. “Whether it is managing keys, maintenance, parts, risk or simply automating billing, these are also part of our solution.
But at the center of it, our focus is on how you can run a tight, cost-effective, highly utilized fleet. (Agile Fleet) is the prominent thought-leader in the field. Our solutions are designed to help you reduce costs and improve efficiency. That is how we deliver value.”
