Inchcape Fleet Solutions has finalised a new five-year deal with British Waterways to supply around 1,000 vehicles.
The contract covers outsourced management of a diverse fleet of 450 company cars and 550 commercial vehicles, building on a partnership established in 2004.
It also includes the outsourced management of the company car fleet, purchasing and disposal services related to British Waterways’ outright purchase of all commercial vehicles – mainly Ford Transits and Rangers – the maintenance management of all vehicles, accident management, fuel card administration and the utilisation of Inchcape Fleet Solution’s Premier Service.
Terry Bartlett, MD of Inchcape Fleet Solutions, pointed out: “A five-year contract continues to be relatively rare in the fleet industry. This is a complex fleet with a multifaceted service agreement led by Premiere Service.”
According to Bartlett, this takes the “hassle” out of servicing. “Drivers access a one-stop-shop booking service accessible via phone or internet to accommodate vehicle service, maintenance and repairs,” said Bartlett.
Furthermore, British Waterways is considering using the fleet provider’s Driver Licence Verification Service and its risk assessment programme, including online driver profiling, to ensure compliance with atwork driving health and safety legislation, and the recently introduced Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act.
The development of a tailor-made extranet and online facility, which is widely used by senior management, employees responsible for fleet management issues and all drivers, is said to have been a factor in the deal.
Rob Williams, British Waterways’ national procurement manager, noted: “The range of flexible solutions and online functionality, supported by a dedicated team, has enabled us to remove a significant amount of the administrative day-to-day fleet issues from our staff, while retaining strategic responsibility. As a result, significant cost savings have been delivered across the business.”
