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coronavirus

‘The Journey Goes On’ launched to support fleet emergence from lockdown

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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An initiative called ‘The Journey Goes On‘ has been launched by Arval to support customers in its eight largest territories – France, Italy, UK, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Poland and Belgium. 

It sets out to provide a range of safe, sustainable and cost-effective mobility solutions as businesses emerge from lockdown.

Alain van Groenendael, Group Chairman and CEO at Arval, explained: “Now, more than ever, we believe that our mission is to help our customers, their drivers and individuals, to face the new journey in which we are all engaging. They are calling for more flexibility as well as more safety. We want to be there for them, and that’s what ‘The Journey Goes On’ is all about.”

The programme is built on three main pillars to tailor Arval’s leasing operations for businesses as they recover from COVID. Firstly, procedures have been adapted to comply with social distancing and driver safety with car pick-up and delivery at home or to offices, onsite maintainance and increased car sanitisation.

Flexible, shorter-term leasing solutions are also available immediately to help businesses restart, a large range of vehicles are immediately available for leasing for just a few months, aimed at ensuring businesses have the mobility solutions in place to get back on their feet and keep their employees safe. 

Finally, sustainable, alternative mobility options such as EVs and, in the future potentially, e-bikes will help businesses continue to transition to more environmentally-friendly fleets. 

Alain continued: “With the current situation, leasing makes even more sense in this period of uncertainty. Arval believes more people will benefit from these safe, convenient solutions from ‘The Journey Goes On’ for their mobility.”

For more information about the initiative, visit https://www.arval.co.uk/the-journey-goes-on.

Fleets and garages debating cost of car sanitation

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
By:

Fleets and garages are currently working out ‘who pays the cost’ of sanitisation on cars and vans that undergo service, maintenance and repair (SMR).

That’s according to epyx, which says that while there appears to be general agreement among all parties that vehicles will need sanitising thoroughly before they are handed back to their usual driver after undergoing work, who actually will pay for cleaning products, PPE equipment and the time taken is very much open to debate.

Tim Meadows, Vice President and Commercial Director at epyx, said: “This is a development that we are just starting to see through our 1link Service Network SMR platform… Sanitisation is becoming recognised as an essential part of almost any visit by a vehicle to a workshop. The car or van is potentially touched by many people as part of almost any SMR process, and the potential spread of infection needs to be minimised.

“However, that santisation has a cost and is starting to appear as a formal charge on some job sheets. The question is, who pays? Garages see it, understandably, as an additional cost that they shouldn’t have to bear. Their fleet customers, equally understandably, feel the same.”

Meadows said that issue was especially acute where, on lower SMR bills, it could be interpreted as a disproportionate amount.

“If you are having £1,000 of work done, then a potential £10 item doesn’t stick out but, if your car is in the workshop for an MoT test or even just having a small repair, it becomes more noticeable

“Some of the fleets that use 1link Service Network have hundreds of thousands of maintenance jobs every year and adding £10 to each suddenly becomes a very large sum of money.

“Equally, this is a significant cost for garages to absorb. However efficient they become at sanitisation, this is something that takes time and money.

“One thing that we have found during the coronavirus crisis, though, is that a very strong spirit of co-operation has emerged across our industry. Everyone recognises that they are facing the same issues and they need to resolve them together. We are sure that sensible solutions will be found to this problem.”

What coming out of lockdown means for electrification in fleets

 960 640 Guest Post
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By Shaun Sadlier, Head of Consultancy, Arval UK

The moment before lockdown perhaps now seems like a long time ago but, if you cast your mind back to early March, there was much excited talk about the prospects for electric vehicles on UK fleets.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak had just announced a three-pronged commitment from the government to support the EV market – advantageous tax measures for businesses, similar benefits for drivers, and expenditure to support the growth of the charging infrastructure. A whole raft of new EVs were announced that looked set to assist in broadening the fleet appeal of electric cars for fleets and drivers. It seemed as though the moment had come for EVs to become mainstream company cars.

Then coronavirus happened. The question now is, will the lockdown and the “new normal” that follows affect the prospects for electrification?

To answer, we need to ask what has changed for fleets over the last few months? Initial feedback from businesses suggests that there is a refocussing of priorities. While few are signalling any reduction in numbers of vehicles, many will be putting a focus on costs. With this in mind, we at Arval UK see no reason why fleets should waver in their drive towards EV adoption. Indeed, there are factors that may make corporate commitment to zero emissions vehicles even stronger. 

Firstly, the tax incentives and other measures that the Government announced pre-crisis remain in place and are still highly attractive from a financial point of view.

Secondly, while the purchase price of EVs are generally high compared to petrol and diesel cars, our experience at Arval UK is that the total real world running costs are highly competitive and, in some cases, better than internal combustion engine alternatives. This is something that may not yet be widely understood but we are planning wider education to make this point explicit.

Lastly, the desire for businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and work towards reduced emissions is unlikely to be changed by coronavirus and there may even be a shift towards placing greater emphasis on these areas as a result of the crisis, to come back better than before – an intention we’ve heard from many of our customers.

So, overall, while there may be a slight delay in the drive towards electrification, the direction of travel hasn’t changed at all, something that we very much welcome. Our view is that electrification is good for businesses, their drivers and the planet. The current crisis hasn’t changed these facts.

DriveTech is offering online essential driver training guide free to help during the COVID-19 pandemic

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
By:

As part of DriveTech’s commitment to road safety and to help during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have created a new online course available free to any business operator where ‘other than normal business drivers’ are being called into essential action.

The online course takes around 20 minutes to complete and helps provide a backdrop to why driving for work needs serious focus and is even more important in time of crisis response.

The course covers everything in an easy and quick to digest format; from why driving for work is so important, to legal obligations, driver health and wellbeing, the vehicle in use – in particular driving a private vehicle on business, the journey and tasks involved, mitigating risk, and a specific section on Coronavirus official guidance and behaviours.

DriveTech recommends that any driver volunteering or being asked to help out in these unprecedented circumstances should be asked to complete this course – it should help keep people safe, stay the right side of the law and save lives.

The course can be accessed free from this link:

https://rise.articulate.com/share/vYV6Iynj7VBVB1MZDwcS14Yb2Akd168y#/

This commitment from DriveTech fits well alongside its support of the Road Safety GB campaign, “TAKE EXTRA CARE”, launched earlier in April, and of course also complements the DriveTech range of professional driver training and driver risk management programmes designed to help businesses reduce costs associated with vehicle collisions helping to save money, reputations and lives.

Find out more from DriveTech here: Web: www.drivetech.co.uk.

Tel: 01256 610907

Email: tellmemore@drivetech.co.uk

Free route optimisation tool from Trakm8 during crisis

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
By:

Trakm8, the UK’s recognised leader in the field of telematics, is making its Insight Optimisation platform free for as long as the Government lockdown persists, to support fleets of all sizes during the COVID-19 crisis. Trakm8’s solution is a British designed and built SaaS product, developed to support British business and is aimed at small and medium sized enterprises (SME).

The global pandemic has resulted in demand spikes throughout a number of supply chains, from personal protective equipment to grocery items; once commonplace but now scarce. 

In such an environment and with demand at record levels, maintaining and improving the efficiency of operations through AI based route planning becomes paramount.  The task is increasingly complex as deliveries have to respond to obscure and localised spikes in demand that are hard to predict. Furthermore, as economies across the globe artificially slow down to halt the spread of COVID-19, Trakm8 wants to support transport providers through this challenging period by providing free access to its latest optimisation tool.  This will ensure that business are best placed to bounce back when the market restrictions are lifted. 

Insight Optimisation is Trakm8’s intuitive route planning solution which uses big data to handle even the most complex fleet requirements. It’s proven to cut fuel expenditure by up to 20% and increase productivity by up to 33%. Maximising the concept of useable data, rather than planning a simple A to B route, Insight Optimisation takes into account the size and capabilities of your fleet and applies them efficiently to the task at hand, whether that’s five or five thousand deliveries a day. 

The free period of Trakm8’s incredibly simple to use tool can be redeemed at any point during the government lockdown, with no contractual obligations thereafter. Insight Optimisation works with almost every available computer system – all you need to get started with its web-based portal is an up-to-date internet browser. The only file a fleet manager will need to upload is a csv, which you’re able to open in any text editor or spreadsheet tool. 

Commenting on the offer, Peter Mansfield, Group Sales and Marketing Director at Trakm8, said: “At critical moments like these, it’s paramount that supply chains keep moving and goods get where they need to be. Supply chains and the logistics professionals are just as integral as our treasured NHS staff in keeping our country moving, and they need extra support. 

“By making our market-leading route planning product free to anyone who needs it, we hope to provide some extra support to those on the front line.  We are proud to be a British business supporting our country in these difficult times” 

To learn more about Insight Optimisation, please visit https://buy.trakm8.com/insight/optimisation/. For the full terms and conditions, please visit:  https://buy.trakm8.com/insight/optimisation/free-trial-terms-and-conditions/ 

Keeping Britain moving through COVID-19

 960 640 Guest Post
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David Brennan, CEO of Nexus Vehicle Rental, discusses the need for flexible vehicle rental options to support the retail and logistics industries, as well as key workers, throughout this period of unprecedented demand and uncertainty…

Many UK businesses are facing continued economic uncertainty and the spread of COVID-19 is presenting unique challenges for communities up and down the country. Retailers – particularly supermarkets – are experiencing unprecedented demand for home deliveries and require room to flex their fleets to ensure the mobility of their supply chains throughout this rapidly evolving situation. 

Key workers across a myriad of industries, including retail and logistics, now urgently require access to flexible mobility supply networks to serve distributed communities across the country. The UK’s vehicle hire industry is already a vital part of the supply chain for these businesses and an ideal solution for those that need to rapidly scale-up their fleets whilst mitigating costs.

The Government and the British Retail Consortium continue to communicate that the UK does not have a shortage of essentials like food, toiletries and medicines, but the challenge is actually sourcing the ‘people and lorries’ to get these items on supermarket or pharmacy shelves, as well as delivered to consumers’ homes. In these difficult and demanding times, vehicle rental companies can help retailers and those in the logistics industry find the right solution for their mobility needs.

Flexible, on-demand support 

Nexus has built up the UK’s largest supply chain and its pioneering technology, IRIS, connects businesses to more than 550,000 vehicles across 2,000 locations, including EVs, specialist and commercial vehicles and HGVs.

As additional safeguarding measures and restrictions are put in place across the UK, Nexus can continue to provide cars, vans, trucks and HGVs to ensure the UK’s key workers are mobile and essential services such as food deliveries are able to continue.

Flexible rental gives businesses the freedom to adapt their fleet size depending on demand and other requirements. Nexus customers can benefit from not being tied into long-term contracts and, thanks to fixed rates, customers will never pay more than they are originally quoted, even if supplier costs fluctuate substantially. Put simply, Nexus mitigates any uncertainties in the market when there is increased demand, and ultimately provides businesses with the reassurance that rental is a continuously financially viable option to keep operations moving.

Since launching 20 years ago, Nexus’s proposition enables it to meet ever-changing industry trends and customer demands; and this remains true for supporting its customers through the COVID-19 pandemic. As supply chains change daily, Nexus continues to have great visibility of the availability of vehicles nationally, so can identify most viable options for its customers at any given time.

In these challenging times Nexus, like all businesses, has the wellbeing of its workforce, customers and suppliers at the centre of its operations and is prioritising delivering excellent service and keeping people and essential goods mobile, wherever and whenever it is safe to do so. 

Now more than ever, Nexus understands the need for flexibility to support key workers and industries throughout this period of unprecedented demand in order to keep suppliers and essential services moving throughout the whole of the UK. Whether its supermarkets and online retailers looking to scale-up their fleet for the next quarter, or businesses looking to support their employees by providing vehicles for their commutes, Nexus offers full flexibility for its customers throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

To find out more about Nexus’ flexible vehicle rental options, visit: https://www.nexusrental.co.uk/