The property management specialists VPS Group, will know this week if they have continued their record award-winning year, when the winners will be announced in the What Van Awards at The Brewery, London.
They have made the final shortlist for both Fleet Manager of the Year, with Steve Mulvaney, their head of fleet, and for the Service, Maintenance and Repair Award.
Operating 488 light commercial vehicles (LCVs), 79 company cars, four HGVs and 40 items of plant and machinery, including trailers, from 23 combined service centres across the UK and Ireland, VPS specialise in securing, maintaining and managing more than 50,000 vacant properties, including retail, pubs, social housing, commercial property and construction sites.
Their service, maintenance and repair (SMR) cost savings are being achieved by VPS UK in partnership with Fleet Service Great Britain (FSGB). An in-depth fleet review and ultimately an expansion of the business partnership with FSGB, delivered better data, analysis and a broader range of in-life fleet services that now includes accident and risk management, as well as vehicle maintenance and rental management and management services related to vehicle taxation and fine payment. As a consequence, the pence per mile vehicle operating costs on the VPS fleet have reduced to 5p per vehicle per mile across a sample of 196 vans - a 2.3% cost reduction per vehicle per mile despite a 16% fleet size increase.
VPS Group fleet manager Steve Mulvaney has big ambitions for his first full-time fleet role. For any fleet manager taking on a new role, the ‘to do' list can be daunting, but Steve Mulvaney hasn't been deterred from setting his sights at the highest level. He took over as the new head of fleet at the end of last year for an expanded VPS Group after it acquired Evander Glazing and Locks. In his new role, Mulvaney was challenged with integrating two separate fleets with disparate policies, creating a cohesive new strategy for its 600+ vehicles, assessing the fleet, which was spread throughout the country, while also reviewing manufacturers, leasing providers and a range of service companies, in addition to managing day-to-day fleet issues. His ambition is to achieve ‘best in class' fleet management.
Earlier this year VPS scooped a number of major awards, beating a strong field of US and UK giants, to win Customer Care Initiative at the Security Excellence Awards, Insurance Claims Innovation awards, and the AA's Home Services Provider of the Year, as well as finalist for Commercial Project for the glass industry.