Home topics finance finance-cash-flow Advice Cashflow Advice Managing a fleet in tough times: Expert tips Rory Deegan May 22, 2012 How many times have we heard it: “we need to cut costs”. I’m guessing you may have heard it at least once in the last month. If you’re a business owner you may have thought of it many more times than just the once. The simple fact is that the phrase is now a staple of almost every corporate yearly report or annual forecast. Cutting cost has, in these globally unsettled times, become a business operation in itself. In this sense it should be bought into cautiously and care needs to be taken to cut the fat and not the meat. Like all other business divisions fleet management spending needs to be looked with a view towards reducing wasted spend. Main cost areas (not including staff costs) Maintenance and servicing – the costs for these depend heavily on labour costs. In many cases servicing does not include large parts upgrades. It can be tempting to avoid or skip these. However the cost and risk of disrepair can far outweigh the ongoing cost of servicing and maintenance. Repairs and replacements – this cost will depend on labour and parts transit costs. The key to managing this bill is to appropriately manage the maintenance and servicing schedule. Some repairs and replacements, like timing belts, are unavoidable and need to be done at regular intervals. Fuel – this bill can be managed in