The Australasian Fleet Mangement Association (AfMA) said Michael Giardullo, from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), is the 2013 AfMA Fleet Manager of the Year. The bank operates a fleet of 3,651 vehicles, and the CBA was able to achieve substantial savings via a review and redesign of the organization’s purchasing, asset utilization, vehicle optimization, and system performance measures.

The bank operates a "tool of trade" fleet of 2,451 passenger vehicles and an additional 1,200 novated leases, according to AfMA. By reviewing the tool of trade fleet’s operations, the CBA was able to achieve 4 percent savings during the past 12 months and will save an additional 12 percent over the next five years, AfMA stated.

The CBA evaluated specific areas to improve the fleet’s performance, including vehicle type and mandatory driver compliance. Meetings with internal and external stakeholders to get their perspectives on fleet-related matters led to identifying areas for operational improvements, AfMA stated. During this process, it became clear that the establishment of a supplier management framework would improve communication and processes. Another conclusion from these meetings was that the vast majority of the CBA’s staff felt the existing tool of trade vehicles were not the best fit for the organization’s business needs and did not represent the latest development in vehicle technology when compared to similar vehicles that had recently been launched.

This review led to the CBA issuing an RFP where nine vehicle manufacturers, representing 72 vehicle types, were invited to participate, according to AfMA. The RFP’s goal was to identify best-in-class vehicles, identify fleet savings opportunities, and to implement an ongoing process to review, identify, and select best-in-class vehicles every two or three years.

Next, another initiative reviewed existing tool of trade fleet productivity, comparing the business use against private use of the CBA’s 2012 FBT data. This analysis showed that 300 units traveled less than 0,000km business kilometres per year. After consulting with Business Unit CFO’s and fleet-coordinators, the CBA was able to reduce its tool of trade fleet by about 200 vehicles, saving over AU$1million in rental and fuel costs, AfMA stated.

In addition, a review of the CBA relationship with its Business Unit fleet managers identified a need for better communication with regular and structured meetings, according to AfMA. The review also noted that CBA staff involved with tool of trade and novated vehicles required further training. This led to quarterly fleet strategic review meetings to review the CBA’s overall fleet operations. Over the past 12 months, the reviews have identified a number of areas for improvement, according to AfMA, including the use of an SMS notification service that would alert staff of the need for preventive maintenance and other vehicle-related tasks.