As expensive fuel looks set to stay, with some motorway stations now charging over £1.49 per litre, we talk to TMC customer David Cadwallader, UK & Ireland Car Fleet Manager for global workplace products distributor Lyreco, about his successful strategies for keeping a lid on costs.
He tells us: “In 2017, our fuel cost per car user was at its lowest, as was the pence per mile, despite pump prices being at their highest for two years.”
David attributes this success to a two-pronged strategy Lyreco devised, which recognises that their drivers are the front line troops in the fight for lower fuel costs. It can be summed up in two phrases: ‘Buy it right’ and ‘Use it right’.
His ‘buy it right’ pricing initiative goes under the banner S.M.A.R.T. That stands for Sainsburys, Morrison’s, Asda oR Tesco, which sends drivers a clear and simple message – only buy at supermarkets.
TMC’s analysis of Lyreco’s fuel transactions (from our Mileage Capture system), from last August through to January, shows that drivers who refuelled at supermarkets saved an average of 5.5p per litre on diesel compared to using other brands.
And compared with refuelling at motorway sites, these ‘supermarket savers’ knocked a massive 19.8p per litre off the price of diesel. That’s almost £10 saved on one 50-litre fill.
David explains: “TMC work alongside us to encourage drivers to use supermarkets by educating them on the location of nearby supermarkets when they use alternative fuelling stations. I also monitor their reports each month and challenge any individuals who regularly use more expensive sites.”
Supermarkets now account for 90% of Lyreco’s car fleet fuel.
The second prong of David’s campaign is designed to make sure his drivers make the most of the low-price fuel by ‘using it right’ – i.e. driving efficiently.
Named ‘Driving S.T.Y.L.E.’, the campaign reminds employees of the importance of:
- Servicing
- Tyres
- Your attitude
- Load and
- Environment
The initiative helps Lyreco reduce its CO2 emissions – which of course also results in lower business fuel use, since cars’ carbon emissions are directly proportional to their actual mpg.
This initiative is underpinned by Lyreco’s car choices policy. Policy changes reduced the fleet’s average emissions to 99.8 g/km last year, from 112 g/km in 2012 and 140 g/km in 2007 (based on manufacturer’s official figures).
S.MA.R.T. and S.T.Y.L.E. and the car choice changes have contributed to significant savings. Alongside TMC’s Mileage Capture and Fuel IQ – the removal of private fuel, Lyreco have more than halved their pence per mile fuel cost.
“TMC’s figures show the average fuel pence per mile reduced from 27 pence (when we started the initiative), to 13 pence in the second year and more recently 12 pence,” says David.
While the national average pump price of diesel climbed from £1.02 to £1.24 per litre between January 2016 and January 2018, Lyreco’s car fuel costs were going the other way – down by £47 per user since the initiatives began.
Thank you, David, for sharing your experience with our readers.
If you’d like to find out how TMC can help you reduce your fuel bills, please don’t hestiate to get in touch.
