A housing association in the Home Counties have been a customer of Day’s Fleet since 2016 following a successful tender process as part of a national framework. Awarded based on contract price and on the quality of our service offering, we currently supply almost 200 light commercial vehicles on a contract hire basis with provision of routine SMR, including breakdown, roadside assistance and recovery services.
Other services provided include:
- Order updates and management of order bank
- Vehicle conversion and livery
- Ongoing account management
- Mileage management
- Telematics
- Downtime management
- MOT management
- Consolidated invoicing
- Management Information and Online Dashboard
We were proud to have been successful with our tender bid and upon contract award, began an extensive implementation process with the customer and other stakeholders.
Due to internal issues within the client, Day’s Fleet had to play an integral part in piecing together the order process and worked closely with the vehicle manufacturer and the client’s nominated supplying dealer to do so.
Weekly virtual review meetings were held to discuss the latest vehicle delivery dates and conversion work progress.
Discussions about lead time and build dates were held between the client, the framework provider and supplying dealer prior to contract award of which we were unaware of any previous discussions and guidance. Shortly after award the main contact for the vehicle build approval at the client left their business and we instead developed a close-working relationship with the persons at the client who inherited the project, taking charge of the situation to manage the whole supply chain process from conversion to delivery with the respective suppliers.
A number of vehicles arrived into dealer stock earlier than the required delivery date. This was managed with the client and their incumbent supplier to terminate any vehicles available for replacement without penalty.
Some of the new vehicles encountered battery performance issues whilst awaiting conversion and we took charge of the issue in a consultative manner with the supplying dealer and conversion company to ensure that vehicles were delivered in full working order and to the agreed specification to the satisfaction of The client.
Day’s Fleet managed the entire vehicle conversion and livery process with a third party with dedicated internal resource. We also managed the installation and ongoing management of telematics systems on all vehicles.
During the conversion and delivery process we also had a number of external factors which affected the contract, all of which were overcome by pro-active account management and excellent communication between all parties.
All vehicles are maintained during the contract at the client’s preferred service centre and we have been conducting regular battery health checks on all delivered vehicles to ensure that there are no unexpected issues. When routine servicing is required this is booked directly by the client with the service centre as well as their mobile servicing units. This is a bespoke offering to this client and has been successfully implemented between their chosen supplier and our Technical Team.
Following the delivery of the initial vehicles, the client extended their requirements and also utilise our Client Dashboard which is a useful tool to fleets of all sizes. It can also assist with order tracking, service and MOT management, vehicle renewals, invoices. Feedback from our clients is that it has become an integral system for them in managing their fleet and drivers.
Frequent contact between the client and Day’s Fleet ensures everyone is aware of any issue or query as soon as it arises and ensures that the working relationship is maintained. The client awarded Day’s Fleet a further batch of light commercial vehicles, which is testament to the levels of service we have provided.
Following several review meetings, the client has been able to judge all aspects of our service offering and have been extremely happy with their experience of Day’s Fleet.
The Fleet Coordinator at the client said: “We were very pleased with the manner of which Day’s Fleet took charge of the management of the provision of the new fleet of vehicles to ensure they were delivered in a fit and ready state to meet our expectations. They worked with all other stakeholders to rectify the vehicle issues which were encountered early on in the project.
“Their dedicated account management team are always on hand to assist; we’ve really enjoyed working with them”.
Should you wish to discuss any aspect of the above case study, the client is available on request.