The fleet outsourcing pendulum is swinging both ways – and the way it is swinging depends on the size of the fleet. Larger fleets, those with 1,000 or more vehicles, have outsourced much of their in-house fleet administration duties. However, among smaller fleets, those with fewer than 200 vehicles, the trend is toward bringing back or retaining in-house fleet administration responsibilities.

Those and other trends were identified in a recent Automotive Fleet survey of commercial fleet managers based on the size of the fleets they manage. The survey questions asked were identical to an earlier survey conducted by the National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA) seven years ago.

The 1992 NAFA survey was conducted by an independent research organization, and it covered all categories of NAFA members: commercial, government, and utility fleets. At that time, AF re-analyzed the NAFA survey by retabulating only the survey responses provided by commercial fleet managers. These results were published in AF, November 1992, and re-published here.

Shifts In Responsibilities

One trend among smaller fleets, those with 200 or fewer vehicles, is the growing number of companies that are purchasing their vehicles. This trend is a reflection of the nation's robust economy. Nevertheless, the majority of fleet vehicles, regardless of company size, continue to be funded using a fleet lease. Among larger fleets, those with 1,000 or more vehicles, the percentage of companies leasing their vehicles has remained level at 65 percent.

Over the past seven years, larger fleets have increased their outsourcing of everything from routine maintenance authorization to motor vehicle record (MVR) verification. However, smaller fleets are doing more of their fleet administration in-house, with the percentage of services outsourced declining in almost every category over the past seven years.

Steve Kolkind, who manages 1,000 vehicles for Tennant Co., headquartered in Minneapolis, says he is seeing a trend toward more outsourcing. "I see responsibilities such as accident management, license and title, and vehicle disposal being outsourced more," Kolkind said. He said he is seeing a trend on outsourcing government regulatory compliance on vehicles over 10,000 pounds GVW. Examples include driver qualification, permitting, and fuel reports, he said.

Overall, commercial fleet managers are doing slightly more management of company meetings and facilities, while slightly less are managing company travel and relocation of personnel. Especially in the smaller fleets, the person designated as "fleet manager" may have numerous other duties, ranging from sales or personnel management to being the mechanic who repairs the vehicles.

David Berke, corporate fleet manager for News America Marketing in Bayshore, NY, oversees a 450-vehicle fleet consisting of 50 cars and 400 vans. Asked about trends in outsourcing, he said, "It all depends on the corporate philosophy of who you work for. The company I work for finds it helpful to have someone like me answering calls from someone in the field, as opposed to a stranger. They like having an employee answering an employee. Fleet is not cars; it's people. If you take care of the people who are using the vehicles, everything falls into place. That's the way I run my department. You don't get a voicemail here unless it's after hours."

Dean Rene, who oversees 1,084 vehicles for Boeing in Seattle, said outsourcing trends "depend on how many vehicles you have." He said he sees smaller fleets outsourcing more. As for larger fleets, Rene said, "If you have a good maintenance program, you don't need to outsource." Gary Henderson, fleet administrator for PNC Bank in Pittsburgh, PA, said he foresees much more outsourcing being done in the future. "I think you'll see more reimbursement programs. I see a lot of that happening with senior management in our company."

How Happy and Secure are Fleet Managers in Their Positions?

Finally, commercial fleet manager responding to the survey were asked to rate on a scale from 1–10, how they felt management looks at them, how concerned they were that fleet might be eliminated by a reimbursement policy, and how concerned they were that their job might be outsourced to a fleet management company.

The results of those questions are above. A "1" means total disagreement with our statement, while a "10" means total agreement.

In general, commercial fleet managers believe that their management appreciates the job they are doing for the company. Even though fewer fleet managers are concerned about the fleet function being eliminated in favor of a driver reimbursement plan, more fleet managers are concerned that their jobs may be eliminated at some future time. This concern was felt more by managers of larger fleets.

1999 vs. 1992: What are Your Work Responsibilities in Addition to Fleet Management?

Fleet Size by Number of Vehicles

Fewer Than 200

201-400

401-999

More Than 1,000

1999

1992

1999

1992

1999

1992

1999

1992

45.8%

39.8%

45.5%

35.2%

4.3%

16.0%

18.2%

14.6%

16.7%

38.5%

18.2%

32.9%

13.0%

26.1%

18.2%

14.9%

41.7%

35.3%

54.5%

31.5%

4.3%

10.9%

9.1%

7.3%

12.5%

22.0%

27.3%

19.4%

4.3%

13.0%

N/A

6.3%

20.8%

*

9.1%

*

26.1%

*

4.5%

*

1999 vs. 1992: Administrative Service Outsourced to an Outside Supplier

Fleet Size by Number of Vehicles

Fewer Than 200

201-400

401-999

More Than 1,000

1999

1992

1999

1992

1999

1992

1999

1992

50.0%

54.2%

36.4%

67.0%

65.2%

66.0%

77.3%

61.2%

37.5%

28.2%

9.1%

37.6%

30.4%

40.0%

59.1%

42.7%

33.3%

39.1%

36.4%

40.2%

52.2%

47.6%

50.0%

47.1%

33.3%

34.1%

27.3%

50.5%

52.2%

50.3%

63.3%

53.4%

33.3%

43.9%

18.2%

56.9%

52.2%

54.4%

81.8%

45.6%

33.3%

22.6%

N/A

32.4%

13.0%

27.3%

36.4%

26.5%

20.8%

45.0%

45.5%

39.3%

26.1%

45.3%

59.1%

39.4%

20.8%

30.0%

27.3%

24.3%

26.1%

32.9%

59.1%

24.3%

8.3%

37.1%

36.4%

43.5%

26.1%

41.9%

68.2%

36.5%

8.3%

16.8%

N/A

20.6%

34.8%

21.6%

31.8%

25.7%

4.2%

10.0%

9.1%

12.7%

8.7%

11.4%

9.1%

11.8%

The number of larger fleets outsourcing fleet duties continues to increase. However, many smaller fleets are doing more work-in house.

How Secure Are Fleet Managers With Their Job?

In the there charts above, a response of 1 indicates absolute disagreement with the statement, a response of 10 indicates absolute agreement with the statement. The percentages are the percent of respondents expressing their agreement of disagreement with each statement. The percentages of fleet managers who feel they are not appreciated by management seems to be evenly distributed. Most, however, seem to be secure in feeling that their company will continue to offer company-provided vehicles and that they will continue to be managed by an in-house fleet manager.