The Upside of an M&A
We know that many of our readers are working with FMCs who are currently involved in Mergers & Acquisitions. Contributing Editor Ed Pierce has an excellent piece today on this exact topic, and he acknowledges that fleets’ first concerns might focus on possible disruptions. But he also points out that “often overlooked after a merger or acquisition is the opportunity for a customer of an acquired or merged supplier to improve even a satisfactory relationship.” Read more here.
A Sustainable Future
“Climate change is one of the most important issues of our time,” said Neil Cawse, Chief Executive Officer of Geotab. To this end, the company has set an ambitious target of Net-Zero by 2040 (a full decade earlier than the Paris Agreement) and released its first-ever Geotab Sustainability Report. We hope to see more and more companies do the same.
Ted Roberts
President
RTA Defines How to Achieve Fleet Success at 31st Annual Users’ Conference
Pictured: Scott Devore, Steve Saltzgiver, Jeff Jenkins
RTA CEO Josh Turley started off his keynote at the company’s 31st annual users’ conference with a comforting salutation: “Welcome back.”
After the long pandemic, RTA held its annual RTA Connect conference to bring its clients together – both in-person in Las Vegas, and virtually on Zoom. While the conference has been held each year spanning three decades, this year’s event was different.
Not only was it in a new, three-day format, but it tackled a problem that is not widely discussed in the fleet industry – Fleet Success. More specifically, what does it mean for fleets to succeed?
Turley posed this question to the attendees. Some responses included “up time,” “controlling costs,” and others.
These were aligned with some of the responses Turley and his colleagues received when they asked other fleet professionals throughout the industry earlier this year. What they found was there isn’t a concrete definition for Fleet Success.
So, Turley, his colleagues and other fleet experts developed a definition:
Wheels and Donlen to Merge — Athene is Lead Investor
HAMILTON, Bermuda, Oct. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Athene Holding Ltd. (NYSE: ATH) ("Athene"), an industry-leading financial services company, has closed a transaction in which it is the lead investor in a combination of Wheels, Inc. ("Wheels") and Donlen, LLC ("Donlen").
Merging the highly complementary operations of Wheels and Donlen will allow the combined company to bring enhanced mobility solutions and product offerings across large, mid-sized and small fleets to a broader universe of clients.
Wheels Chief Financial Officer Shlomo Crandus will lead the new company as CEO, and both the management team and Board of Directors will contain representatives from Donlen and Wheels. Donlen CEO Tom Callahan will become a senior executive and board member of the combined company.
AFLA 2021 — Lessons Learned
By Donlen Staff
Life is full of “lessons learned”— hopefully, not acquired the hard way.
Sharing industry wisdom at AFLA is one route to avoiding the fleet school of hard knocks. Being able to finally share in person was like coming home. It was exciting to see everyone in San Antonio and we seamlessly joined back in on exchanging perspectives, research, and experience.
AFLA 2021 revolved around learning, teaching and providing viewpoints on where the industry is headed during these challenging times—if there was ever an era for the need to exchange our acquired knowledge, it is now! And even with the long months away, we didn’t miss a beat! So, what did we share?
Majority of Fleets Are in Market for EVs Despite Infrastructure Concerns
With many fleet leaders replacing their vehicles over the next three years,manufacturers and service providers must address EV adoption hurdles to seize the opportunity
Livonia, Mich., Nov. 2, 2021—Fleet decision-makers are so optimistic about the promise of electric vehicles (EVs) for their fleets in the coming years that nearly two-thirds (65%) are already shopping for EVs. However, underlying operational and infrastructure concerns—including financing for private charging, variable routing patterns, and calculating EV operating costs—remain among the most significant barriers to widespread adoption.
Those are the latest findings from Fleet Advisory Hub™, a platform designed to explore the needs, expectations, concerns and emotions of fleet decision-makers.
