Hunter Campbell’s Supply Chain Excellence Series profiles roles within the Supply Chain job family, including jobs in demand, wages, and employment prospects.
In this article , the role of Fleet Manager is in the spotlight.
Purpose of the Role
Due to ongoing supply chain disruptions, there is increased focus on efficiently delivering products from A to B to meet customer demands. The role of Fleet Manager, often perceived as behind the scenes, is crucial in selecting the appropriate fleet of vehicles and ensuring their effective maintenance throughout their lifecycle for a company’s operations.
Qualifications
A Fleet Manager can be a very technical role and a background as a qualified Diesel Mechanic is highly desirable for companies who are looking for Fleet Managers to manage their heavy vehicle fleets. From design and specification of new fleet builds to planned maintenance cycles, having a Fleet Manager with a mechanical skillset will add significant value. The use of technology and systems are also becoming increasingly common and are a key criteria companies are looking for when hiring for a Fleet Manager.
Key Skills Required
There is now a vast variety of technology and telematics used across fleets from GPS tracking, fuel consumption, idle reports to driver behaviour patterns as examples. Having the ability to make the best use of this data to increase fleet and driver safety while running as efficiently as possible are key skills that companies are looking for in a Fleet Manager.
Vehicle acquisition is an incredibly important part of a Fleet Managers role when a business is looking to acquire a new fleet. When specifying the fleet, the Fleet Manager will be looking to keep in mind the purpose of the new vehicle and designing it to the correct specification to ensure its safety and sustainability are front of mind.
From here it will be the ongoing maintenance lifecycle of the fleet along with fuel programs to maintain efficiencies and lower operational costs. Depending on the business, they may have their own workshop teams or outsource this to a specialist of which the Fleet Manager will mange these relationships and contracts.
Career Prospects
The career pathway to a Fleet Manager can come from many directions. Historically, Fleet Managers may very well have come from being a qualified Diesel Mechanic to then a Workshop or Maintenance Manager to then move up into over all Fleet Management. With the use of technology nowadays, there may also be candidates who have progressed from these fields who manage the overall fleet processes and outsource the mechanical requirements. We have also seen candidates come from a procurement background given the process around design, specifications through to ongoing contracts and negotiations on maintenance and technology.
Recruitment Forecast
When we are recruiting roles within Fleet Management, we have noticed that this skillset is incredibly niche in the New Zealand market, particularly when working with specialised heavy transport or construction fleets. Companies recognise the importance of an experienced Fleet Manager and the value they can bring to the full lifecycle of their fleet and efficiencies and savings which can be created with the right management. Given the ongoing supply chain disruptions and pressure on transporting goods across New Zealand, we believe there will continue to be increased demand across companies for qualified Fleet Managers for the foreseeable future.
Salary Guide
This information is anecdotal and based on roles Hunter Campbell is currently recruiting or has previously recruited and relate to base salaries. They do not include any additional bonuses or benefits.
Salaries vary considerably depending on the scope of the role the Fleet Manager will have. Key factors to consider will be if the role is sole charge or do they have a team of i.e. Schedulers or Maintenance Specialists to the size and complexity of the fleet. Below are estimated guides for what we are current seeing across the market.
Fleet Manager – Small Fleet $130,000 to $150,000
Fleet Manager – Medium Fleet $150,000 to $170,000
Fleet Manager – Large Fleet and National Responsibility $180,000 to $220,000 +
If you would like to find out more about the role of a Fleet Manager, please contact Senior Consultant Nick McConnochie. Nick specialises in Supply Chain, Operations & Procurement with a particular focus across operations, logistics and planning. For more news and views, visit our website by clicking here, see what opportunities we have available here or follow us on LinkedIn.
