Ed Bobit's Publisher's Page

The closest perfection a person ever comes is when he fills out a job application form.-Stanley J. Randall

Bachelors' wives and old maids' children are always perfect.-Nicolas Chamfort

There are no perfect men of course, but some are more perfect than others, and we can use all of those we can get.-Merle Shain

"Managing a fleet" means something different to almost everyone in our business. Typically, when we talk about fleet managers, we think of the guy or gals who are responsible for 700 or 1,700 cars, who are NAFA members, and who are highly visible to the factory fleet directors and the major leading companies because of the sheer volume of purchasing that they do and the heavy corporate responsibility they bear.

Fleet management may have a slightly different meaning to the lessors because they have an arsenal of experts in each phase of vehicle control and their perspective is an overview. The local city manager of a daily rental fleet is surely a fleet manager, but one whose problems do not parallel, and whose objective differ from, those of a commercial fleet manager. The manager of a government or utility fleet may have to cope with the problems of-election, maintenance, and replacement of a myriad of light and medium trucks - a challenge the commercial fleet manager may not have to deal with.

There are the managers of the "smaller" fleets: the insurance company with 45 cars; the pest control company with 12 cars and 32 pickups or the florist chain operating regionally with 28 vans. All are legitimate fleets, but their "fleet managers" may hold any title ranging from "purchasing manager" to "president." And, there are ten times the number of fleets this size than there are with over 500 vehicles.

We all tend to put the focus on the bigger fleet. But, the operational, acquisition, and trade in costs arc perhaps even more important to the company with 37 cars than they are to a larger company. Why? Because the company with only 37 cars may not have a professional fleet manager and. as a result, may not be aware of the various cost factors and how they can be controlled. The 37 cars may have been purchased from a "buddy" at the golf club, who is also a car dealer; or they may have been leased without competitive bidding. Little or no thought may have been given to maintenance and repair costs or the crucial issue of disposal of the vehicles at replacement time. It becomes, obvious that the manager of the small fleet requires proportionately more training and knowledge than one who controls a larger fleet. Perhaps this is why so many small fleets are now turning to leasing, and the lessors are only too happy to accommodate them with rates that generate more profit than comes from the deals on the large fleets.

Factually there are relatively few truly large fleets with outstanding and experienced managers. Our cover and lead feature article spotlights one of the more knowledgeable and talented individuals who manages one of them. We offer our special congratulations to George Weimer of Contel, Automotive Fleet's 1988 Professional Fleet Manager Award winner. Truly a deserved one.