FleetManagementWeekly
October 16, 2018

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Editor's Analysis & Top Industry News


Sustainability: Doing Well by Doing Good

FMW congratulates Holman Parts Distribution for its newly-earned NAFA Sustainable Fleet Accreditation. As our nation responds to the dire impacts of client change, this is an opportune time to call attention to the role fleets can play in reducing global warming emissions.

In his video clip, Gary Lentsch, CAFM, speaks about how his agency’s sustainability initiatives also work to contain rising fuel costs.

We have a car with driver assist safety technology and can relate to how easy it can be to rely on certain aspects of it. But texting while driving? Never. Don’t miss Taken for Granted: Driver Disengagement and Reliance on Technology Leading to Increased Road Hazards.

Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief


Thought Leadership

Customer Driven — Engage your organization to create customer loyalty, trust, and superior service

Disruptive Leadership — Master the principles of disruptive leadership

Fleet Asset Management – Best practices for work truck management

Fleet Marketing – Guiding principles for fleet providers to improve marketing and increase sales

Fleet Spectator A 360 view of the fleet industry

Globally Speaking — Perspectives on the multinational fleet

In the Public Interest — Successfully managing the government fleet

On Fleet Driver Management Solutions to improve your fleet’s accident rate and cut costs on collision repairs

Safety & Risk — Impactful driver safety and risk management tools and techniques

Talent Management — Smart guidelines to help you manage the talent in your workplace

Think, Execute, Win!Leadership tips from NBA Star and motivational speaker Walter Bond


VIDEO: Connections, Perseverance, Mentoring and Life Lessons

As part of FMW’s new Women in Fleet Management video series, Diana Holland from Merchants Fleet Management shares how she got into fleet, and how perseverance and mentoring played an important role in getting her to where she is today.



VIDEO: AFLA’s Mini-MBA at Bentley University


 AFLA Announces Mini-MBA Program
 

AFLA just announced its Mini-MBA Program, which is happening in August of 2019 at Bentley University, just outside of Boston.


VIDEO: Fleets and Sustainability

 Sustainability: The Next Wave
 

All politics aside, sustainability initiatives are still very important to a lot of fleets out there – especially government fleets.





The Fleet Spot



Holman Parts Distribution Earns NAFA Sustainable Fleet Accreditation

Holman Parts Distribution today announced the company has been recognized as an accredited NAFA Sustainable Fleet.

“Sustainability is integral to how we operate our business and this accreditation further validates the significance of our efforts to continue to reduce our carbon footprint,” said John Conte, Manager, Logistics and Operations, Holman Parts Distribution. “The transportation industry has the opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale and it is critical we understand the importance of committing to clean driving practices.”

READ MORE

Webinar: Fleet Management in the Age of Electrification

Join Penske, Tesloop and TU-Automotive for an exclusive webinar (Oct 25, 11 am EST) exploring the implications for fleet management solutions as fleet electrification becomes viable.

Better understand the appetite for electric fleets and secure the cutting-edge insights to successfully develop a fleet management product roadmap specific to electrification.

LEARN MORE to discover the necessary steps that will ensure your offering increases operational efficiency and improves asset management within an EV fleet.

REGISTER TODAY

AFLA Panel: Portraits of the Fleet Markets in the UK, Australia and Mexico

They’re all the same, but different, speakers say

By Mark Boada, Executive Editor

Fleet managers around the world share many of the same frustrations, but at last week’s AFLA 2018 Corporate Fleet conference, a panel of fleet management association leaders from three different countries, while agreeing on that sameness, pointed to some marked differences in conditions in each of them.

READ MORE for highlights of the presentations made by each of the speakers during the conference’s session “Understanding the Global Fleet Market.”

It’s Long Past Time to Get Serious About Our Highways and Bridges

By Mark Boada, Executive Editor

Amid all the political brouhaha coming out of Washington, one thing seems to have been forgotten: the sorry state of America’s highways and bridges.

I was prompted to ponder them when the bridge collapsed in Genoa, Italy in August. Signs are that rain-induced corrosion of the bridge’s steel cables that ultimately caused them to snap. 38 people died and another 15 were injured as a result.

The incident reminded me of the collapse of another bridge 11 years earlier, almost to the day. It was the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which killed 13 people and injured 145 more. And that brought me back to a number of sad facts about both the quality and inadequacy of our roadways.

READ MORE

Customer Driven


By Suresh Rajapakse, Vice President of Client Relations, Wheels, Inc.

Years ago I read a book that still impacts my life today. “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferrazi and Tahl Faz centers around two of my favorite things – people and food! And ever since reading it, I’ve tried to stick to this principle of always sharing a meal with someone.

For me, this goes beyond having a meal together. It’s about the human connection and the opportunity to build a relationship. In our ever-evolving world, where we rely so much on electronic means of communication, we sometimes forget that at the end of the day, we are still doing business with people. And as humans, we crave that interaction.

READ MORE

 

Safety & Risk


As technology has become part of our everyday lives we have grown to completely trust and rely on it

By Carl Cormier, Senior Driving Instructor and Safety Consultant for Driving Dynamics

Technology is constantly shaping and changing our world. It is integrated into our daily lives through personal electronic devices, at work, in our homes and also, of course, in our vehicles. Universities are devoting time and resources to studying and developing technology with the hope of educating the driver and ultimately providing a safer vehicle, and we are seeing new and dedicated areas for testing and improvement in the automobile industry.

However, cars have been evolving and adding safety features since the first combustion-engine automobiles were manufactured in the late 1800s. By 1968, all cars were required by law to have seatbelts, and since 1995, all passengers—adults and minors—have been required to wear them. Anti-lock braking systems (ABS) became widespread in the 1970s, and the advent of airbags occurred in the 1980s.

READ MORE

 

GM’s Marketplace


The New York Times

GM’s Marketplace is an in-dash, free-to-use system that communicates directly with merchants, enabling a driver or passengers to order and pay for a variety of products and services without a cellphone.

“Marketplace allows drivers to do in their car what they might previously have done on their phone,” Rick Ruskin, a General Motors executive leading the connected customer experience said. “It’s much safer than a phone in one hand and the steering wheel in the other.”

Read the article at The New York Times.









Fleet Trends & Issues


You May Not Realize What’s Come and Gone ‘Til You’re Shopping for a New Car

USA Today

Automakers are continually making changes in vehicles, and most new cars come with a range of connected options, from Bluetooth to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Changes can be technological breakthroughs, such as the automatic emergency braking systems that are increasingly becoming standard on new cars. Some are mandated changes, such as a federal requirement that all vehicles have backup cameras. What are the most popular features in new cars?

Read the article at USA Today.

After Losing $1 Billion to Trump’s Trade Tariffs, Ford Prepares for Mass Layoffs

Fortune

Ford’s stock is down 29%, and the tariffs imposed by President Trump have reportedly cost the company $1 billion, as the company is in the midst of a reorganization. Now, the company is announcing layoffs.

Jim Hackett, Ford’s CEO, is working to engineer a $25.5 billion restructuring, hoping to cut costs and remain competitive. But auto sales are down, and one reason is the trade tariffs that Trump has imposed on metals and other goods. Hackett has said the tariffs could do “more damage” if the disputes aren’t resolved quickly.

Read the article at Fortune.

Self-Driving Cars Need a Common Language

The Verge

Most experts agree: we need a better, more unified way that autonomous vehicles could use to communicate intent to pedestrians, bicyclists, and other drivers.

The five levels of automation as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers, the global standard for self-driving, is being criticized for being overly broad and possibly dangerous.

Read the article at The Verge.

The Best Automotive Brand? Toyota Tops the List

The Detroit Bureau

According to Interbrand’s 2018 Best Global Brands report, Apple was the top company on the list with a valuation of $214 billion.

Toyota was seventh on the list at $53 billion, which was up 6% over last year’s result.

Overall, 15 automotive brands made the Top 100 list. The “valuation brings together market, brand, competitor, and financial data into a single framework within which the performance of the brand can be assessed, areas for growth identified, and the financial impact of investing in the brand quantified.”

Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.

Disruptive Leadership


By John Wysseier, President and Chief Executive Officer, The CEI Group, Inc.

For the past decade or so, the press has been filled with stories about how difficult millennials are to manage.

We’re talking about people born approximately between 1980 and 1996, and the complaints about them are legion: They lack a work ethic, question and disrespect authority, are needy, and want to be pampered.

The description sounds like a nightmare. But as a business leader for a number of years, that negative portrayal doesn’t fit.

READ MORE

 

Cost and Climate


The Washington Post

Historically, corporations have been complicit in the world’s climate problem. One analysis shows that half of the globe’s emissions since 1988 are traceable to just 25 private and state-owned fossil fuel corporations.

With trillions of dollars at stake, corporations have forged ahead to create sustainable businesses. They are taking steps to lower their carbon footprints and overhaul their supply chains in a race against rising seas and temperatures. Others are trying to achieve the ultimate goal: pulling carbon dioxide out of the air and using or storing it.

Read the article at The Washington Post.

 

Gender Inclusion


Harvard Business Review

The evidence shows that when men are deliberately engaged in gender inclusion programs, 96% of organizations see progress, but too many organizations still miss the mark on gender equity efforts by focusing gender initiatives solely on changing women — from the way they network to the way the lead.

Consultant Chuck Shelton reminds men that listening to women’s voices in a way that inspires trust and respect is a fundamental relationship promise you must make, and then keep, with women who invite you to participate around equity. Generous, world-class listening requires focus, sincerity, empathy, refusal to interrupt, and genuine valuing of both her experience and her willingness to share it with you.

Read the article at Harvard Business Review.








Fleet Management Resources
 
AFLA – Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association
Providing the advanced forum for corporate fleet professionals to network with industry leaders.
The CEI Group Inc.
CEI is North America’s largest provider of fully integrated fleet accident management, driver safety and risk management services.
NAFA Fleet Management Association
NAFA is the association for the diverse vehicle fleet management profession regardless of organizational type, geographic location, or fleet composition.
ACERTUS
Offering a nationwide vehicle delivery and relocation service; serving the corporate and commercial fleet industry.
Donlen
Since 1965, Donlen has been the fleet management industry’s leading provider of comprehensive, integrated financing and asset management solutions — and that spirit of innovation continues today.
PARS
PARS' mission is to provide you with high-quality service at competitive prices for all of your transportation needs.
ARI
Driven fleet professionals. Driving results.
Driving Dynamics
Driving Dynamics was established to help corporate fleet drivers develop expert, safe driving skills using proven, advanced driving techniques.
Wheels, Inc.
First in fleet for 79 years. Wheels helps you build tomorrow’s fleet today.



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