The first day of the virtual NAFA 2020 Institute & Expo’s (I&E) lineup of educational content covered a wide range of subjects that touched on key areas for various segments of the fleet industry. 

The event kicked off with a presentation from keynote speaker Kevin Brown, who gave a presentation on "The Hero Effect," which addressed how to best achieve professional and personal goals, with a focus on growing results through expanding goal vision. The keynote was sponsored by ARI and featured an appearance from ARI President Bob White.

Later, educational sessions for the first day were categorized in several ways: “The Essentials,” “Professional Development,” “Strategy,” “Law Enforcement,” and “General.” The sessions can be viewed on demand for conference registrants.

In the Essentials category, the first of the two presentations was titled “A Better Way: Automation and Predictive Analysis Applied to TCO,” which looked at understanding and calculating TCO through automation; identifying the advantages and shortcomings of manual, automated & predictive TCO; and understanding how to leverage data to prepare for the future of transportation and mobility. This was presented by Greg Mattes and BJ Adams of Fleetio.

The second Essentials course was titled “Accelerate Your Career - 11 Fleet Essentials,” which detailed to attendees the eleven essentials of fleet and how to apply them to day-to-day operations. It also addressed the challenges and issues that many first-time fleet managers face, and included examples from case studies. Speakers for the panel included Jakob Cormier, CAFM, account executive, ARI Canada; Richard Callis, CAFM, senior manager, Khalis Consulting; and Ted Roberts, president/COO, Fleet Management Weekly.

The Professional Development sessions for the first day of the Virtual I&E, included a discussion titled “Awing the Auditors 3 - Surveying Your Suppliers.” This session applied supplier evaluation frameworks to real-world scenarios, and helped attendees identify what is important in a supplier relationship. This was hosted by Randall Owen, CAFM, senior manager and fleet lead, Matrix Consulting Group; and Katherine Vigneau, CAFM, owner at KMVS Fleet+ Consulting.

The other development session “The Art to Writing an Effective RFP,” was designed to help attendees understand the key components that make an RFP effective; learn how to use a template and goal-setting to prioritize which questions should be included in your RFP; and identify ways to effectively manage and accurately compare RFP responses. Panelists included Mike Camnetar, CAFM, global shared services and fleet services manager, General Mills; Tom Coffey, SVP, sales & consulting, Merchants Fleet; Chris Schaefer, vendor manager & business analyst, Westfield Insurance Group; Brooke Otis, sourcing manager II, Enel North America, Inc.; Patrick Mitchell, fleet manager, Enel North America, Inc.; and Willie Frye, global sourcing manager, Eastman Chemical.

The lone “Strategy” session for the day was titled “Vet Your Vendors: Ask All the Right Questions” and helped attendees identify the types of fleet related services that lend themselves to hidden fees; ways to best write proposals and/or contracts to protect yourself from hidden fees;  and understand recourse should you enter into an agreement that was accepted under circumstances that were false. Speakers for the panel were John Littler, Western U.S. business development manager, GovDeals Surplus Auctions, Inc.; Mike MacComiskey, sr. fleet advisor, Advantage Asset Tracking; Sam Lamerato, CPFP, co-owner, Public Fleet Advisors, LLC; and David Hayward, director, NAFA Board of Directors, the session's moderator.

Also held was a general session on safety titled “Benchmarking to a Safer Tomorrow with NETS,” which featured several members of the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS). During the session, speakers reviewed the NETS Strength in Numbers benchmark study and provided case studies from two NAFA fleets who used the benchmark study to improve fleet safety. This panel included Joe McKillips, executive director, NETS; Susan Gillies, marketing and operations director, NETS; Matthew Betz, expert - fleet optimization, DTE Energy; Randy Tomlinson, senior manager safety, Health & Security at Ryder Integrated Logistics | Oil & Gas; and Jonathon Vivoda, assistant professor, Miami University in Ohio.

Government sessions for the day focused on how certain vehicle types might impact law enforcement. The session “Pursuit Hybrid - What You Need to Know!” looked at the challenges in upfitting a hybrid police car; identified the good, the bad, and the ugly in implementing hybrids patrol vehicles into your fleet; and offered details on cost-benefits of purchasing hybrid pursuit rated vehicles. This session featured James Korotki, CAFM, district supervisor, City of New York Police Department; Tim Melser, CAFM, fleet manager, City of Minneapolis; Tim Coxwell, CAFM, CPFP, fleet management division director, Leon County Sheriff's Office. 

The other government session was a Ford Law Enforcement OEM Showcase. It featured a police fleet representative at Ford who addressed vehicle repair and maintenance solutions, new products, and the future of law enforcement fleets. Speakers included Stephen Tyler, police brand marketing manager, Ford Motor Company; and Tom Lubas, director, NAFA Foundation.