GLASGOW-based broker, Fleet Alliance, has just won a 620 car fleet from Cox Automotive, owners of auction company Manheim.
Fleet Alliance won the tender process ‘by a significant margin’.
The company has 545 company cars are on contract hire, with a further 50 owned cars and around 30 grey fleet cars for staff who receive cash allowances. Fleet Alliance will manage all cars within the fleet.
Most Cox Automotive’s company cars are run by staff at Manheim which has 16 auction centres and online auctions throughout the country. The remainder are operated by employees at the group’s other UK brands: Motors.co.uk, Dealer-auction.com, Movex, Modix and NextGear Capital.
Cox Automotive said it decided to switch from its previous fleet management supplier because it wanted greater transparency and openness in the running of its vehicle fleet.
Following a tender process, Fleet Alliance was chosen from a shortlist of three because of its outstanding scores in all qualifying criteria. The company recorded an astonishing 545 points out of a possible 600. The nearest competitor scored just 368.
Alan Barratt, Head of Supply Chain for Cox Automotive, said: “Fleet Alliance was head and shoulders above its competitors in the selection process and, since their appointment, they have shown themselves to be outstanding in every way.
“We now see them as a strategic partner which is very important to us, as we wanted a partner not another supplier. They are also very flexible and have been able to act quickly, moving all our fleet across within a tight 12-week deadline.”
New competitive tendering process introduced
Among the initiatives that Fleet Alliance has introduced is a new competitive tendering strategy for all new vehicles to be added to the Cox Automotive fleet, employing a panel of four preferred contract hire funders. In addition, and with the funding panel’s full agreement, all company cars will now be de-fleeted through Manheim Auction centres.
At the same time, the Cox Automotive fleet policy has been completely refreshed with a premium brand car in every job grade category, an SUV in every category and a choice of at least one ULEV (Ultra Low Emission Vehicle) for every job grade.
“This was an important consideration for us as it is the start of the process to migrate our currently all-diesel fleet across to a number of lower emission alternatives,” said Alan Barratt.
To help manage the Cox Automotive fleet more effectively, Fleet Alliance has also implemented its cloud-based fleet management and reporting suite, e-Fleet, which contains full details of all vehicles on the fleet, including the grey fleet vehicles.
Alan Barratt said: “The e-Fleet dashboard and reporting suite is absolutely world-class and I do not say that lightly. I have been around the industry for some time and the MI reporting is absolutely second to none – it’s outstanding,” he said.
Integrating seamlessly with the e-Fleet platform, is the award-winning web-based app, e-Fleet Mobile, which will allow Cox Automotive drivers to access key support services and electronically complete vehicle inspection reports.
“Although this is still the start our strategic partnership, we feel that we will see more long term benefits from the measures we are now introducing, with Fleet Alliance acting as a one-stop shop for all our fleet needs and providing us with a far more in-depth level of MI reporting than we had seen previously,” added Alan Barratt.
Martin Brown, Managing Director at Fleet Alliance, said:
“We are delighted to welcome such as world-class operation as Cox Automotive to our portfolio of corporate clients. We will be working closely with them to help meet their corporate objectives and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the running of their fleet going forward.”
Fleet Alliance is the current Leasing Broker of the Year, and winner of Best Large Leasing Broker and Best Large Leasing Broker Customer Service Awards.
Cox Automotive is one of the world’s leading providers of automotive solutions and services, with a physical presence in 30 countries, a digital presence in 70 and employing over 32,000 people in more than 200 locations worldwide.
