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Fleets are ‘better prepared’ for lockdown 3.0

11 January 2021

Chair of the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) Paul Hollick has commented on the fleet industry’s position as we navigate lockdown 3.0.

Paul Hollick says that fleet professionals, particularly those responsible for the running of essential services such as the NHS, learned new skills to cope with the pandemic during the UK’s first lockdown last year (2020), which has enabled them to better handle the demands of this most recent lockdown. 

He said, “Fleet managers are now experienced in this area and almost have a ‘lockdown mode’ into which they shift, where they move to meet a different set of priorities and needs from when looser restrictions are in place.

“The situation is completely different from last Spring, when we were faced with a long list of unknowns and had to improvise our way through an unprecedented situation. This week, we once again are finding ourselves in an emergency but it’s now a familiar one, and fleets know what needs to be done.

“We’d very much encourage fleet professionals to make positive use of this time, which is something that many have done during the previous lockdowns. It would be useful for them to consider issues such as the future shape of their fleet or the fact that, if the vaccination programme is effective quickly, we could be looking at a fairly rapid remobilisation of relatively normal operations.

“Also, we’d urge them to take a perhaps use this time to increase their skills. We saw an uptick in demand for the AFP’s training courses during the previous two lockdowns, and new proficiencies will undoubtedly help fleet managers to prepare for the new normal, whatever that eventually looks like.”

We at Marshall Leasing recognise that this new lockdown might require fleet professionals to review their fleet needs. If you would like to speak to one of our expert fleet consultants about how we can help you create a plan for greater efficiency, please get in touch with us at info@marshall-leasing.co.uk or by calling 01480 414541. 

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