As more fleet administrative services are outsourced, some observers have begun to wonder whether the era of the "dedicated" fleet manager may be fading. The term dedicated fleet manager refers to someone who has the expertise and capability to perform all aspects of fleet management effectively.

"The era of the dedicated fleet manager is diminishing as more and more services are being outsourced to fleet management companies," says Al Cavalli, a fleet consultant and former president of the National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA).

Another former NAFA president agrees with this observation. "I would agree that the era of the dedicated fleet manager is fading as leasing companies do more and more things for us," says Paul Hubbard, manager of marketing administration for Imperial Tobacco. "But this is a double-edged sword. Some people are afraid of it, some aren't. As long as the fleet manager remains in control and makes the final decisions, it shouldn't be a concern."

Although more fleet services are being outsources, both Cavalli and Hubbard, along with other fleet managers interviewed for this article, see a promising future for fleet managers who enhance their fleet management expertise and who are professionally preparing themselves to assume additional management responsibilities at their companies.

"The fleet managers that survive will be the ones that take the time to learn their professions," says Gordon West, corporate fleet manager for Pfizer and current NAFA president. "Those who don't will relegate themselves to being pushed out of the organization and being replaced by those that understand the fundamentals of fleet management. In the future, we will see a higher caliber of fleet manager," adds West.

"Outsourcing is the wave of the future," says Dick Prettyman, manager of fleet operations for DuPont and the 1992 Professional Fleet Manager of the Year. "The role of the fleet manager is going to change to more of a contract administrator and auditor rather than a direct administrator of people. This is not necessarily bad. For instance, my staff does not perform a clerical function but rather are given more responsibility as auditors which enhances their marketability within the company." Prettyman sees future growth for fleet managers in addition additional management responsibilities and he himself has added DuPont's corporate level car program and executive limousines to his job responsibilities.

Similarly, Sal Giacchi, director of fleet operations and travel for Lorillard Tobacco, sees fleet managers expanding beyond their role of fleet management specialists. "Since we are in a specialized role, we don't want to be branded as someone who can do only one thing," says Giacchi. "The most valuable employees are those who haven't stuck to a rigid job description." Giacchi has followed this dictum and has expanded his job responsibilities to also include travel and meeting planning.

West describes fleet management as a specialized asset management function. "As a consequence, other forms of asset management are synergistic with fleet management," says West. "A fleet manager can develop broader responsibilities by managing other kinds of assets."

Likewise, Hubbard envisions the fleet manager of the future assuming greater responsibilities and who, within certain companies, may evolve into "people movement" managers. The earliest proponent of this career path was Cavalli, who promulgated it in the 1970s as a logical extension of a fleet manager's responsibilities.

Becoming Visible to Management

One key to career advancement is gaining positive visibility with your corporate management, which has become even more important today than in prior years. "You have to do a better job of selling yourself to management than you did, let's say, five years ago," says Henry Paetzel, fleet manager for General Mills.

One way to gain visibility is by employing innovative strategies in fleet management. "You have to look at new and innovative ways of managing a fleet. Just because something was right five or 10 years ago, doesn't mean it's right today," says Giacchi. For instance, Giacchi says he now employs just one vehicle ordering cycle in the summer and takes delivery of vehicles in the fall and spring. "This has saved my company a lot of money."

Fleet management will change as companies change the way they do business. Some companies such as Pfizer have adopted a total quality management system. "We have highlighted all of our fleet processes by flowcharting what we do and asking ourselves if we can do it better," says West. Similarly, a team concept approach has been implemented at Imperial Tobacco, where fleet management is part of a larger management team that reports directly to the vice president of marketing. "Instead of someone simply saying this is the way we are going to do it, fleet management is now more of a team effort," says Hubbard. He sees this type of management approach being adopted by more companies. "To me, this is the big change that is coming in fleet management," says Hubbard.