Interactive Fleet Management drives down costs for 2 Sisters Food Group.
2 Sisters Food Group has grown to become one of the leading food manufacturing companies in Europe, with more than 20,000 colleagues drawn from multiple nationalities.
By driving down its overheads, 2 Sisters Food Group can offer better value to its customers. In 2012, when Interactive Fleet Management was first appointed, a key remit was therefore to bring down the fleet’s operating costs year on year whilst meeting HR policy objectives.
Steve Beadle, Interactive Fleet Management’s Operations Manager who works closely with 2 Sisters Food group, explains how the savings have been achieved.
“2 Sisters Food Group have a fleet of around 300 vehicles, and the starting point was to identify where the majority of the savings could be made.
“Our first recommendation was to move the fleet to a multi-bid contract hire approach, managed by our specialist fleet management team.
“With multi-bid contract hire we source the most competitive rate on the day from an approved panel of funders for every order placed. With rentals varying between suppliers by as much as £30 per month on some vehicles, this delivers immediate savings and is a genuine ‘quick win’ for companies looking to drive down their lease costs.
“We also recommended that 2 Sisters Food Group move away from ‘full maintenance contract hire’ to ‘pay as you go’ maintenance, with our technical teams authorising all expenditure for them, managing costs and offering further savings.
“Because we handle the entire process for them, including all day-to-day driver contact, this approach has all of the financial benefits of multi-supply yet the operational ease of a single point of contact.
“We also looked at other areas where cost savings could be achieved, and these were with vehicle choice lists, accident management, including uninsured loss recovery, spot hire rental vehicles, and fuel expenditure.
“By placing strict controls across these areas, we were able to make savings year on year.”
Don Woodings, 2 Sisters Food Group’s procurement manager, added, “We trust in the expertise of Interactive Fleet Management to control our fleet operating costs in a way that an in-house fleet administrator would not be able to, and also to provide consultative advice on developments in fleet policy and structure.
“They have an in-depth understanding of our business and the requirements of our company car policy, and they manage every item of expenditure as if it was their own.”