I’m now 6 months into the Key Account Director role at i247 Group and it has been quite the whirlwind - in a good way! December is always a great time of year to reflect, so these are my observations from my time at the Group so far - plus my 2025 predictions for the fleet landscape.
Reflections on i247 Group
Scale
I’ve been amazed at the depth of service that i247 Group offers its customers - we can be perceived as a call centre but that could not be further from the reality. The sheer scale of the operation is mind blowing - we manage more than a million vehicles through almost 300 people, across our Poole and Chesterfield sites.
Data first strategy
The depth of support that i247 provides is seriously impressive. We add real customer value through our ability to analyse data in a way that enables customers to achieve their objectives - whether that’s decreasing driver downtime or cost efficiencies from selecting optimal fleet tyres.
Our data also means that we quickly pick up trends, such as EV maintenance taking longer. We can then use that insight to proactively work with affected customers to ensure longer lead times are factored into their maintenance schedules.
Maximising fleet uptime
A key objective for the Group is ensuring that customer vehicles are steered to the right suppliers in our network, with the right vehicles being serviced by the right provider - and that is a lot harder than it sounds! There is a real focus here on maximising efficiency and ensuring we are suitably agile to meet a customer's changing needs.
The people
And, of course, I have to mention the people! I’ve been so impressed with the i247 team - their expertise, knowledge and customer focus. The people are also hugely supportive and I’ve been made to feel really welcome.
Six predictions for the 2025 fleet landscape
1. Electric cars on fleets will continue to increase
As an electric car driver myself, it has been disappointing to see figures from the SMMT showing that the industry is 116,000 down on expected 2024 EV registrations. Whilst the beneficial tax arrangements mean EVs on fleet are likely to continue to increase, my personal view is that the industry needs government intervention to hit the ZEV targets.
2. Electric vans won’t hit the mandated level
We’re seeing a lack of appetite for eLCVs and our data shows light commercial (LCV) fleets getting older and leases being extended. That has maintenance implications as the number of older diesel vans on the road increases.
3. Fleets will continue to age
We’re seeing leases on fleets generally being extended and I can’t see that changing as businesses continue to contend with increasing costs. Older vehicles mean proactive service, maintenance and repair (SMR) is even more critical - with timely servicing and MOTs being key.
4. Demand for mobile servicing will rise
Mobile servicing is already in demand and we’re expecting that requirement to grow in 2025. We’re working on innovative ways to ensure that fleet vehicles can be serviced wherever the driver is, reducing business downtime and increasing driver convenience.
5. Telematics will be key
The use of telematics is only going to increase, the technology is improving all the time with provision of real-time SMR data, but fleets must act on that information. Our data shows that fleets are not always acting on information such as dashboard diagnostic alerts, which has serious duty of care implications.
6. AI and machine learning will become business as usual
i247 Group is embracing AI. Our new Technical Director Les Kerjenski joined us in September and he brings the know-how to harness the latest technology working with our in-house development team. Ultimately, our goal is to get AI to do the transactional work to free up our people so we can utilise their skills to add even more customer value.
I’m really looking forward to things this year. I’ve never worked for such an innovative business and the potential is huge. It’s going to be a fascinating year and I’m looking forward to supporting our customers as we navigate the challenges ahead
To find out more about our vehicle management services,
please email me @ dean.hedger@i247group.com
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