BRS's road ahead
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IIDLANDS British Road Services ons for fleet management as part Nn-account sector.
The booklet, entitled The Road head, is being issued free of large, and outlines the advanig es and disadvantages of utright purchase, hire purlase, leasing, contract hire, ontract distribution and antract fleet management.
It is aimed at all levels of mangement, and is intended to unerline the company's total conultancy approach, rather than n the basis of MBRS having ne particular axe to grind. Introducing the booklet, MBRS lanaging director Alan McPheron said: "No two companies rill have exactly the same transion requirements. Many factors influence the choice of a transport solution such as the type of business, product, distribution, management resources, fleet size and industrial relations record."
He said that there is a misconception that his company is interested only in larger fleets, and pointed out that 30 per cent of MBRS' customers are small operators, some of them with only one vehicle.
Hardly surprisingly, only outright purchase, hire purchase, leasing, rental and contract hire are listed as having disadvantages. BRS lists only advantages for contract distribution, and its own contract fleet management service.
It lays particular stress on the disadvantages of outright purchase, saying that purchase of vehicles from surplus funds is a luxury that few companies can afford today, and that purchase with an overdraft is "a gamble unlikely to be worth the risk."
It says that hire purchase offers the advantages and disadvantages of ownership, but that the high fixed interest rate is the biggest deterrent. Leasing, according to MBRS, offers more advantages to the leasing company than to the customer, and rental can be an expensive solution to a long-term problem.
The MBRS booklet says that contract hire can provide a convenient service, while easing budgeting problems, but points out that capital allowances cannot be claimed on full capital value. It says that contract hire may also be more expensive than own vehicle operation, although the difference can be recouped through reduced downtime costs.
The hard sell approach comes only with contract distribution and fleet management. It describes the distribution service as "the ultimate step for companies which wish to divest themselves of transport responsibilities, but decide also to pass on total distribution responsibilities to a professional distribution company."
MBRS offers a wide range of contract fleet management services, with various forms of fleet acquisition and/or replacement, maintenance being provided either by BRS or at the customer's premises, with drivers employed either by BRS or the custorner, and with a BRS manager working either on the customer's premises or from BRS premises.
According to the booklet, the contract management approach matches increased efficiency with reduced costs, removes a threat of industrial discord being generated among drivers, and provides management expertise at all times.