Digitalization and disruptive technologies are increasingly influencing our everyday professional and private lives. New concepts, services and tools enable cost savings not only in the area of production, but also in administration. Experts estimate that a company’s vehicle fleet alone offers cost-saving potential of up to 30 percent.
Thanks to the increasingly popular so-called shared economy and the growing use of electric vehicles, competitive advantages are possible that will have a positive impact on the company’s success in the long term. But how does the concept of sharing work in electromobility? And what do you need to consider when using an electric vehicle in your own fleet? Is the current charging infrastructure sufficient to support an electric Pool car to operate efficiently? You can find answers to these questions in the blog post.
E-vehicle procurement and corporate car sharing
The shared economy is becoming increasingly important, especially in the area of fleet management. On the one hand, it is important to realize cost advantages through the shared use of vehicles, but on the other hand, the shared economy also offers significant advantages in the area of procurement. For example, sharing vehicles can result in higher discounts and also better utilization. However, the smooth operation of corporate car sharing requires new services and tools that meet these changing demands.
For the efficient operation of fleets with e-vehicles, the first step here is to rethink the existing management, dispatching and booking systems. In addition, new aspects such as the digital driver’s logbook as well as charging concepts and demand-based vehicle dispatching must also be incorporated into the strategy in order to guarantee efficient and economical use of fleets with electric vehicles. At the heart of the shared economy are new platforms that automate complex processes and enable participants to check the status of their fleet at any time.
Bundling of orders
The acquisition costs of vehicles are still one of the largest cost factors in a fleet. Small and medium-sized companies in particular often lose out, as they are unable to negotiate significant discounts during vehicle procurement due to low purchase volumes.
With the help of corporate sharing, these problems can be significantly mitigated. The merger of several company fleets leads to larger sales volumes, which in turn put the companies in a better negotiating position – which has a positive effect on the fleet management of the individual participants.
Improved conditions in vehicle procurement
Vehicle discounts granted can basically be divided into fleet discounts and dealer discounts. The fleet discounts include the familiar volume discounts as well as so-called business packages. Volume discounts are granted by manufacturers whenever a certain sales volume is reached within a defined period of time. In contrast, manufacturers’ business packages are typically aimed at fleets of vehicles that have certain premium equipment, which increases the vehicles’ resale value. For small fleets, however, often only standard packages are made available, and their conditions are usually far less attractive.
Companies that bundle their fleet management have the advantage here of being able to contact the manufacturer’s key account manager for fleet customers directly thanks to the larger sales volumes, which increases the chances of obtaining high discounts.
In addition, better service contracts can be negotiated with dealers, which in turn can significantly reduce the ongoing costs of the fleet.
Delivery date acceleration through coordinated vehicle procurement
Bundling orders through cross-company corporate car sharing not only has an impact on the discounts granted, but also on delivery schedules. Electric cars in particular, whose delivery times are still longer than average, can often be procured far more quickly in this way than would be possible for a company via a single order. Further advantages can be achieved here by standardizing the desired equipment packages, which in turn lead to easier maintenance and a much more homogeneous fleet.
Support in the utilization of pool vehicles
At the heart of any modern fleet management are powerful mobility platforms that support corporate carsharing. However, the aim of the platforms is not only to help companies achieve more favorable conditions in the area of vehicle procurement, but also to offer services and functionalities such as completely automated processes, a digital driver’s logbook, sophisticated monitoring, and a smart utilization management system that ensures that there are always enough vehicles available, even at peak times, to simplify fleet management.
These platforms have the major advantage here that they present complex processes transparently and identify optimization potential for all participants. Employees have the advantage of reserving their desired pool vehicle in advance online via smartphone or tablet and managing it via the digital driver’s logbook. In addition, each pool vehicle is visible in the system with its current location, making tedious manual assignments in fleet management obsolete. In the field of electromobility, there are also numerous functions for charging and energy management that take into account both operating forecasts and energy requirements. A joint pool concept can thus function efficiently even in times of peak load and provide the greatest possible economic efficiency.
The optimal design of the charging infrastructure
The largely inadequate infrastructure in the area of charging stations is still the Achilles’ heel of electromobility. While the network of charging stations is generally well developed in cities, it is still inadequate in many rural areas. The integration of e-vehicles into commercial fleets therefore requires a well thought-out charging infrastructure and smart energy management. In-house charging infrastructures and sharing existing charging stations with other companies are the key to success. In this way, all partners involved benefit from the expansion of the infrastructure, with in-depth networking of the existing stations and their uniform design being the basic prerequisites for successful corporate car sharing. Planning for charging infrastructure needs is an essential element that should take place before electric vehicles are procured. For this reason, it is also necessary that software for procurement and corporate car sharing work together in a coordinated manner.
Complete package for car sharing in your fleet
From vehicle booking and flexible vehicle access to compliance with legal requirements, our corporate car sharing software CaranoCloud lets you manage your pool vehicles efficiently.
Conclusion
Corporate sharing and electromobility are the core topics that will determine and significantly influence fleet management in the coming years. Many companies are already very interested in integrating electric vehicles simply and smartly into their own fleets. More favorable procurement prices, optimized capacity utilization, and flexible deployment options are the main arguments that ultimately lead to significant cost savings.
In addition, corporate sharing via mobility platforms also offers significant benefits to employees. They can reserve the desired pool vehicle, manage it via the digital logbook and return it, while integrated charging management and intelligent route management ensure that the vehicles always have sufficient range. Implementing the concept in companies requires finely tuned holistic digital support. With its solution, Carano offers all the necessary building blocks for a successful implementation.
