By Paul Fortin, LeasePlan USA, and Saskia Harreman, LeasePlan International
Benchmarking your fleet can give you a comprehensive view of your current practices by stacking up your performance data, financial results and other metrics against comparison data to identify areas of improvement or to validate existing practices.
Through benchmarking, fleet managers evaluate various aspects of their company car offering and fleet processes in relation to best practice companies, usually within a peer group defined for the purpose of comparison. This allows organizations to establish plans on how to make improvements or adapt specific best practices, usually with the aim of increasing some aspect of performance.
An efficient fleet strategy based on benchmarking will help develop a fleet that is fit for its purpose, and serve as guidance on how it should be managed.
LeasePlan experts Paul Fortin and Saskia Harreman suggest the following steps to help map out your fleet benchmarking strategy:
Review your corporate fleet objectives
First, it is important to clarify your fleet objectives on a corporate level. Involving all key stakeholders, such as HR, Procurement, Finance, Safety and Environment functions will help prioritize goals.
Collect all relevant fleet data
Collect all relevant quantitative and qualitative fleet data from your fleet management company on a local or entity level, company or group level, industry and global level. This may include active and terminated fleet data, car policy or fleet management processes and practices.
Measure against corporate objectives
Compare your company’s objectives with your fleet objectives and practices to see if they align. From here, you can perform a gap analysis and determine your required actions.
Benchmark your fleet performance
Compare your fleet’s quantitative data – such as cost, safety, vehicle downtime and driver satisfaction – to internal divisions or departments, as well as other fleets. This will help you identify areas requiring attention.
Define your fleet strategy
By conducting these internal and external reviews above, you can identify areas of strength and opportunity and adjust your fleet strategy accordingly. This will help you establish your roadmap for the future and continually improve your fleet’s performance.
Paul Fortin is the economist and vice president of strategic modeling and analytics for LeasePlan USA.
Saskia Harreman is the managing consultant for LeasePlan International.