Furthermore, said Paul Hollick, chairman of ICFM, the UK’s only independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to furthering the education and advancement of car and light commercial vehicle fleet management, at the organisation’s 2019 Annual National Members’ Conference, the role of a fleet manager had never been more “complex and challenging”.
ICFM is backed by Jaama, which supported the Wembley Stadium-held Conference, entitled ‘Fleet Resilience – Managing Uncertainty in the Current Climate’. Managing director Martin Evans is a board member and the company also provides training facilities for the organisation.
Reflecting on the range of influences, including political and technological as well as the emergence of generation Y in the workforce maybe not requiring a car, Mr Hollick said: “Our industry is changing. And changing very quickly. The new age is already here, whether we like it or not. Globalisation, ‘mega cities’, the connected car, the autonomous car, the new generation not wanting to even own a car with their differing buying patterns – or can even afford one – and mobility-as-a-service.
“Add to the mix world challenges of urbanisation, pollution, natural resource scarcity, congestion, politics, legislation and taxation and the role of a fleet manager has never been more complex or challenging. It’s an agenda that cannot be ignored.
“The ICFM believes over the next 24 months, we will see a fundamental shift in our industry of the likes never seen before. Fleet skills will change and have to change. Manual tasks will cease to exist in their current form and fleet managers’ creative sides will come to the fore. They will need to be innovative, dynamic and strategic.”