Mar/April 2009

Gentoo Group, a Sunderland-based specialist in property maintenance and repairs and other facilities management services, says it has cut 'tens of thousands of pounds' from its vehicle expenditure by introducing vehicle tracking on its 345-strong fleet.

It has chosen Minorplanet to provide the telematics system under a three-year contract valued at £340,000. The price includes driver and operator training and full maintenance and support.

The savings arise because the vehicle tracking and reporting systems enable managers to monitor the length of time vehicles are in use and the mileage they cover.

'This information is invaluable for us,' says Gentoo Group transport manager Ian Bell, explaining that it enables the company to review any request for additional vehicles in fine detail before allocating expenditure. 'We can examine the usage of all our vehicles and identify one that is not fully utilised,' he says. This can often be re-deployed, saving the purchase or leasing cost of obtaining a new vehicle.

 

Gentoo says Minorplanet VMIgreenlight has also produced savings in vehicle insurance costs, and helped the company to challenge false third-party insurance claims. Monitoring of driving technique has also enabled the company to identify drivers needing re-training prior to their standard three-year assessment.