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New fleet challenges are spelling end for “spreadsheet culture”
7 August 2008
Fleet software market leader CFC Solutions says companies that have doggedly stuck to spreadsheets for many years just cannot use them to properly manage issues such as corporate manslaughter, environmental impact and increased fuel costs.
Neville Briggs, managing director, said: “While larger fleets have been using dedicated fleet software for decades, the biggest barrier in the small and medium fleet market has been to demonstrate to managers running these fleets that using a spreadsheet just won’t get the job done properly.
“These people have historically felt that their spreadsheet was doing a good enough job and that the investment needed for specialist fleet software just couldn’t be justified.”
Briggs explained that, in the last year, really for the first time in the 30 year history of dedicated fleet software, that fleet managers were coming to the conclusion by themselves that a spreadsheet just wasn’t an adequate fleet management software tool. This was especially the case in small-medium fleets, where fleet management was often one of a number of responsibilities handled by the same person.
He said: “They are starting to recognise that spreadsheets, no matter how they are used, will not help them to do everything that is needed when it comes to tackling the key issues crying out for attention on their fleet right now – pressure on costs, corporate manslaughter issues and environmental concerns.”
Briggs added that this development could lead to the emergence of a golden age for fleet software where use of technology widened.
He said: “Even if you look back less than a decade, the aim of any fleet manager was relatively simple – to run a fleet that met business needs and kept drivers happy at the lowest possible cost.
“There are some fleet managers out there who believe that their job is still this straightforward but most are coming to the realisation that there are now a whole series of other issues facing them. They are coming to recognise that, as a result, a whole lot more information is being generated by their fleet that needs to be processed in such as way that it makes managerial sense and allows strategic decisions to be taken.
“How are they going to achieve this? Even for someone who is highly skilled at using a spreadsheet, it’s next to impossible. They are going to need specialist software and this is a conclusion that more and more managers of small-medium fleets are coming to without any prompting from us.”
About CFC Solutions
CFC Solutions is the market leader in the supply of fleet, contract hire and workshop management solutions, and has been delivering ground breaking vehicle management software to UK and European blue chip customers for more than 25 years.
As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, CFC Solutions employs leading edge technologies guaranteed to keep pace over time, providing customers with fleet compliance, time and cost savings. Information on products and services from CFC Solutions can be found at www.cfcsolutions.co.uk.
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