Let’s have the
CONVERSATION!
WORDS BY ALAN ROBERTS
J
ust over a century
ago the primary
mode of transport
was fueled (powered) by
one or two horses. Today
the growing choice of
fuel for passenger/light
commercial automobile
transportation is electric,
this sea change along
with progression towards
autonomous vehicles will
make what has occurred
since 1885 look like we were standing still,
technology wise, for the better part of last century.
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During the next five years I believe the automotive
industry will experience transformation as
impactful as was seen when the automobile
succeeded the horse and carriage. The disruption will, in my view, see many of
those responsible for forecasting the needs
of their respective organisations looking for
advice and guidance. In the main, most will
be asking the same questions, aiming to
modify both their fleet and organizational
strategies to reflect the projected change in
vehicular technology. Some will be brave and
become early adopters, others will hold back,
but all will eventually change. Assuming, as
an organisation, the forecast change is not
for competitive advantage it makes good
sense to share ideas, views, findings. In New
Zealand alone, there are well over a thousand
organisations that have person/s directly
responsible (some indirectly responsible) for
the management of fleet. So why not use
and share this collective knowledge for the
betterment off all?
That said, no transformation of such great
scale can occur without challenging the status
quo of thinking and planning – if you like
disrupting the norm – and the change we are
now facing will be no exception. There is not a week that goes by where I
do not have a conversation with a Fleet or
Procurement Manager (usually someone who
I have known for years) who has been tasked
with providing their organisation with an
ISSUE 10 2018 / WWW.AFMA.NET.AU