A decade-long working relationship with Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) Fleet, has enabled specialist pharmaceutical people outsourcing, CHASE Search & Selection, to build an effective and flexible fleet solution, better support its clients and stay prepared in the evolving UK vehicle market.
CHASE supplies and manages sales and nursing teams for its clients within the pharmaceutical sector. The unpredictability of demand means that CHASE requires an adaptable and highly responsive fleet solution, where cost control, service standards and reliability are key.
Since 2013, CHASE has steadily built up its car fleet with VWFS Fleet. Today, it stands at around 220 vehicles and includes a mix of Volkswagen Golfs, Tiguans and SEAT Aronas, used by sales reps and nursing staff.
Flexibly meeting business objectives
The successful long-term relationship between the businesses is built on being able to continually deliver on business objectives, as Kim Scott, Senior Fleet Administrator at CHASE, outlines:
“As a business, our objectives are clear. We want to have as cost-efficient a fleet as possible. With a large fleet, we need to ensure that we’re always getting the best deal, especially with the general upturn in costs across the vehicle market at the moment. This means we always remain focused on cost-effectiveness and reducing costs. VWFS Fleet supports us in this aim.”
Over time, the company’s fleet strategy has shifted from relying upon a multi-source arrangement, from a variety of leasing providers, to today, which sees VWFS Fleet deliver the majority of CHASE’s vehicles.
The concentration of supply brings benefits, as Kim highlights: “Having the majority of our cars sourced through VWFS Fleet has really simplified the process and administrative burden for us.
“Due to the nature of our business, if our clients need to hire quickly, we need to be able to source the vehicles to support them. Sometimes, we can have as little as two weeks’ notice and need to source 20 new vehicles – and VWFS Fleet is able to react quickly and support us in delivering against these tight deadlines.”
As keeping their clients’ drivers on the road is paramount, Kim also finds that access to maintenance support within the monthly vehicle leasing cost extremely helpful: “Having maintenance bundled into one monthly invoice for everything is a godsend. We still have a handful of cars across the fleet that are owned outright by the business, and when something goes wrong with them, we need to sort it out ourselves. The inclusion of the maintenance package on VWFS Fleet sourced vehicles removes this issue for us.
“Keeping our people on the road is vital, and we need to ensure that colleagues such as community nurses don’t experience vehicle downtime. The maintenance package we have with VWFS Fleet helps us to be proactive and ensure that any issues are resolved quickly and efficiently.”
Recent discussions also illustrate the ongoing trusted relationship that sees the two organisations continually working to find the right cost-related solutions for the fleet, particularly when it comes to end of contract charges.
“When it comes to the end of leasing process, VWFS Fleet offers a highly-competitive and cost-effective solution,” adds Kim. “With previous leasing providers, we have had to have some leased vehicles serviced and repaired before handing them back to save paying excess charges. Through VWFS Fleet, however, we are able to return vehicles with small imperfections without incurring high penalties. This not only saves costs, but a lot of our time.”
Planning for the future
Building on the success of the working relationship, and looking to the longer term, VWFS Fleet is collaborating with CHASE to be as informed as possible in light of the UK vehicle market, including the increase of electric and hybrid vehicles.
CHASE’s priority remains being able to provide its clients, through its field-based employees, with the high quality and reliable service for which it is known. The broader trends towards electric and hybrid vehicles are undeniable. As CHASE makes its first steps with a small number of EV and hybrid vehicles within the fleet, the change process is being carefully managed to ensure that the move is right for its employees, its clients and that any potential concerns around charging infrastructure support are addressed.
Kim says: “VWFS Fleet is engaged with our Board to ensure our fleet is able to deal with future trends, with all that entails. This has to be a gradual process, but we are having positive conversations to ensure we manage the process together in the correct way.”
Ten years in, and VWFS Fleet remains a highly trusted fleet partner for CHASE. It’s helping the firm maintain its effectiveness, improve everyday efficiencies and consider alternative fleet strategies.