Automotive Fleet

OCT 2013

Magazine for the car and truck fleet and leasing industry

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Advice on Making Fleet Management a Career have great respect for the persons who have made it through the ranks to be a feet manager, while assisting their companies with the challenges and rewards of this career. As a small feet owner and manager, I sought out your magazines to gain knowledge as to how a person could follow in the footsteps of others to be a feet manager. My son will graduate from Southern Illinois University (SIU) in Carbondale, Ill., with a B.S. management degree in automotive technology. He is on his way to a career that has a small feet to manage for a heavy-duty truck service, sales, and parts dealership. SIU is a top-tier four-year school for automotive technology with classes in gasoline, diesel, and alternative fuels. The Big Three automotive manufacturers and some import manufacturers provide SIU with current-technology new and used vehicles for study. Those manufacturers, along with other related transportation companies, hire directly from SIU. One-hundred percent of the graduates enter the workforce in their feld of study. SIU, however, does not offer a class in feet management. I suspect most colleges are this way. An outline for that course could start with the March 2013 article, "Fleet Management 101: How to Educate Your I The Ugly Stepchild In your May issue Market Trends editorial, you asked why is the feet manager the last to know. Unfortunately, this situation is also true with me. I think the problem arises from the fact that all feet managers are doing more with less, and everyone is caught up in their own job and lives. In my case, this is enhanced also by the physical separation of my offce from the others. The only time I am contacted by the project managers, crew members, or front offce personnel is when they need something. Often, the only way I know a driver quit is when I inquire as to why I am no longer getting driver logs from him or her. In many cases, feet is still the ugly stepchild, and never recognized for the signifcant contributions made to the company's health. Author wished to be anonymous It's Nice to Know, but… In my organization, I would say that I would be in the know about 50 percent of the time. When we had major layoffs a long time ago, I was called in and was made privy to the layoffs that would be 6 AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I OCTOBER 2013 Boss About Fleet Management." You have published an article about why a young person should consider a career in feet; however, I have not seen a follow-up article to your previous article discussing a path to actually enter this career. To build on that frst article I would like to learn the suggested steps it takes to get the training, experience, or a personal story of a feet manager through those growing years entering the workforce. What was their frst break landing that entry level job? How did they cope with the changes in vehicle technology, the management structure, and its personality? If the corporation outsourced the feet position, downsized, or restructured, what was their next career move? Navigating through all of that would be interesting reading and mentoring for those interested in entering the feld of feet. Cliff Speare, Owner CMPS Speare Campton Hills, Ill. Check out the article in the May 2013 issue of Automotive Fleet entitled, "A Career in Fleet Management: What Are the First Steps." We share some practical steps to take to prepare for a feet career. — Editor taking place and who would be involved. It was nice to know, but, on the other hand, it was diffcult to see some old friends have to leave. Don Woloszynek Manager, Fleet Services National Gypsum Charlotte, N.C. Three Reasons Why Fleet Managers are the Last to Know I want to comment on the editorial, "Why is the Fleet Manager the Last to Know?" which appeared in the May 2013 issue. Fortunately, I don't have this issue at my current company. However, I have dealt with this in the past (often). I've listed below some of the reasons why I think this occurs: ● It makes a difference where feet resides within the organization. When feet resides in sales operations, the communication is better. You know the others in your organization and they know you, so you're more likely to be invited to meetings. When I worked in procurement, it was terrible. Procurement was seen as the enemy rather than as a business partner. ● Size of the company is also a factor that contributes to feet manager isolation. Larger companies have so many levels of management that it takes much longer for information to migrate down to lower levels within the organization. ● Another factor is if the corporate headquarters is located abroad. When HQ is in another country, important decisions, such as environmental strategies, are made without the proper knowledge of what's possible in the U.S. market. At one company, global mpg goals were established that were impossible to achieve in the U.S. market. In the fnal analysis, it is important to build relationships. The more relationships you can establish, the better. Author wished to be anonymous Simultaneous Remarketing on Multiple Online Platforms I enjoyed the Market Trends editorial entitled, "The Emerging Trend of Simultaneous Remarketing on Multiple Online Platforms," in the June 2013 issue where you discussed how online remarketing is evolving to use multiple online platforms as an "electronic hub" to expose a vehicle to the most purchasing dealers. It is kind

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