By Tod Trousdell, Marketing Consultant
June 26, 2024
The folks at Fleet Management Weekly are huge fans of the professional fleet managers who are the core of our industry. Together, we’re producing a series of articles highlighting what top fleet managers think about the state of the industry, where they see fleet headed, and even peek into life away from the desk.
This week we feature Karyna Zarate of Inframark, a water solutions company with over 3,000 employees and a fleet of 1500 light duty trucks. An industry veteran who’s worn many hats, Karyna’s opinion is most valuable. Besides that, she’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet – I’m proud to say we go way back. Currently the vice president of AFLA, I figured it was time to reach out to Karyna and hear what she had to say!
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing fleet in 2024?
Efficient fleet operations are at the heart of what we do, so I would say cost optimization is, and will always be, the biggest challenge. Most of our costs are variable, so things like rising inflation costs, supply shortages, and world events make it very challenging to stay on budget.
Often, we need to problem solve in real-time, which adds another layer of complexity to an already challenging situation. The rise of AI technologies, despite its benefits, also poses unique challenges to security and privacy, data quality, and financial resources required to fund AI projects – all of these things and more are challenges we have to face.
What are the biggest challenges facing your fleet at Inframark?
As we experienced success, acquisitions helped us grow in both scale and revenue. It also increased our fleet footprint. With acquisitions come legacy technology, processes, and people. For us, it meant a diverse range of operations from water infrastructure to automation and intelligence, and from corporate functions to local sales and service.
The organization presented an extremely complex national landscape of plants, offices, and other sites using disparate back-end systems. Although total spending for procurement of vehicles and services needed for day-to-day operations was significant, it was not the focus area and was largely managed in a decentralized manner by individual business units or regions.
These acquisitions prompted the organization to face issues that started small but now are more important. The integrated company needs a way to embed controls, improve compliance, increase spend visibility, and drive savings on a national scale. The focus is on unlocking overlooked value within the fleet in a controlled manner, without disrupting the day-to-day operations.
Looking at the industry today, what excites you most about fleet?
What excites me the most about fleet is that it fosters a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. No matter what challenges we face, fleet embraces the opportunities to develop the necessary skills to overcome them. Collaborating with industry experts and program partners also helps our businesses gain access to valuable data sources and best practices.
What about the fleet industry keeps you up at night?
Protecting our employees is our top priority. There are just so many factors that contribute to the degree of risk when our employees drive, and while I am proud of our safety solution, I am constantly asking if we are doing enough. That keeps me up at night.
How would you compare the industry before Covid vs. today?
While the industry is starting to normalize, the post Covid era is ushering in its own new set of challenges. Prices remain high and new vehicles are no exception. Electric Vehicle prices are even higher than ICE vehicles so while I think there is a strong desire, and a need to regularly replace used vehicles and for some transition to EVs, affordability hinders both right now.
Another difference in the industry before Covid vs. today, is the geopolitical landscape. Current world events are causing substantial issues in oil prices, supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages.
What is the one thing you want us to know about your thoughts on the fleet industry that we haven’t asked you?
This is an amazing industry filled with incredible talent. Whether you are a seasoned fleet professional or brand new to the industry, there is something here for everyone. If you asked me 20 years ago, would I see myself in the fleet industry in 2024, my answer would have likely been no way.
But as I gained experience and knowledge from the people who took the time to mentor me, I realized how special this industry really is. So, ask me anything, if I don’t know the answer, I will help you find someone who does.
And now, Karyna Zarate answers our Lightning Round questions…
Birthplace? Chicago.
Family? My 3 Fur Babies, Luna, Bella, and Butters.
Years in fleet? 20+.
Favorite food? Milanesa (thin cut of beef, breaded).
Favorite music Classic Rock.
Favorite color? Yellow.
Favorite pastime? Crossword puzzles.
Favorite Show? Schitts Creek.
Superpower? Perfect hair even in the strongest of winds.
Dog or cat? Dog.
Fleet Pro Focus is a bi-weekly series compiled by Marketing Consultant Tod Trousdell of RobertsTrousdell Communications who along with his partner Kathi Roberts has been helping customers in the fleet, hospitality, sports, and technology sectors for more than 23 years. He can be reached at [email protected].
