A grey fleet refers to personal vehicles which are used for business purposes as well. This will often mean that employee owned vehicles are being regularly used for business travel, however, can also mean the use of a van to conduct deliveries throughout the day.
Managing a grey fleet can present different time and cost implications than operating with a regular fleet. However, an effective grey fleet management strategy can have numerous benefits in comparison to using company owned vehicles.
It entirely depends on your own preference and how effectively you manage the fleet.
If you are a smaller, lower-mileage company incentivizing your drivers to use their vehicles for work can be very cost-effective. Simply reimbursing employee fuel costs for work travel (outside of their normal commute) is often cheaper than owning and maintaining company vehicles. This is seen the most if your the Grey Fleet is going to be travelling infrequently, this is when you will find that Grey Fleets are a cheaper alternative to company vehicles.
However, it can very quickly become difficult to accurately track the additional mileage your grey fleet carries out on business related journeys and you then open yourself up to the risk of overpaying. Having vehicle tracking in place solves the problem as you can split the business vs personal use easily through route recordings.
When using a grey fleet you are liable for any accidents or vehicle damage that your employees encounter whilst driving for work purposes - this could easily lead to higher costs overall than if you just had your own fleet.
You have to consider the duty of care that you have to your employees, they must be looked after properly. If the business neglects poorly maintained or even just lower standard vehicles, your employees are at risk due to being subject to more dangerous driving conditions. You can ensure that employees are being safe by:
You must think about the potential grey fleet mileage as as well as this could end up costing your company a large amount in refuelling costs alone, if your employees cover a large amount of business mileage, this is a large additional cost alongside everything else
It's important that your Grey Fleet Manager is on the ball and keeping track of all of the most important information. Here are just some of the things that we suggest monitoring:
This is a good set of things to monitor to ensure everything is running as it should which if actioned appropriately can ensure that you save money and improve your fleet efficiency.
Managing your grey fleet effectively allows your employees to use their own vehicles for business purposes. This can be useful for reducing your costs as long as your fleet manager keeps on top of the health and general maintenance of the vehicles within that grey fleet. It also helps the business to reduce the up-front costs involved such as purchasing or leasing.
However, it is important to accurately monitor the usage of personal vehicles and ensure you're staying on top of mileage claims and vehicle maintenance or you may end up paying out more than you intended to. By doing this, you get a much more in-depth insight into your grey fleet's efficiency and can eventually reach a point where you realise that company vehicles are a much more cost-effective option.
Grey fleets can cost less than traditional business fleets, keeping initial costs down and reducing maintenance fees.
With grey fleet tracking, you have eyes on your vehicles at all times and keep up to date with employees.
Daily circle checks from drivers allow fleet managers to keep on top of maintenance, reducing downtime.
Grey fleet refers to the use of employees' personal vehicles for business purposes. This can include commuting to and from work, as well as business travel.
Grey fleet management typically involves establishing policies and procedures for employees who use their own vehicles for business purposes. This can include guidelines for vehicle safety and maintenance, as well as tracking and reporting on the use of grey fleet vehicles.
Grey fleet management can help reduce costs by accurately tracking and reporting on the use of grey fleet vehicles. This can help businesses identify areas for cost savings, such as optimizing routes and reducing fuel consumption.
Our grey fleet management systems is designed to be user-friendly and easy to use. However, if you are interested in receiving additional training, we can arrange a time to provide you with an in-depth look at our system.
Grey fleet management can help improve safety by establishing policies and procedures for vehicle safety and maintenance. This can include requirements for regular vehicle inspections, as well as guidelines for safe driving practices.
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