Peter Hatton, Fleet Tyre Manager
I head up the Fleet Tyre Centre in Wolverhampton. It was set-up last year to bring savings and efficiencies to our annual costs across the 3,000-plus vehicles Asset Alliance Group has on lease with tyre contracts.
It’s a big job, but we’ve made considerable progress in a short space of time.
Together with Admin Assistant, Tammy Griffiths, our responsibility is to monitor all ongoing tyre jobs across the Group, providing customer and driver updates as required until the vehicle is back on the road. We handle all the relevant tyre invoices received and process the damage recharges onto our customers.
My remit is to review tyre management and work towards implementing improvements while managing day-to-day tasks with great support from Tammy. I’m happy to say it’s working well, and we’re achieving some fantastic results.
We identified some quick wins to evolve our tyre management practices in the business. These include: bringing back in-house the handling and management of incoming tyre calls from our customers to mirror the service AAG already provides for a mechanical breakdown; a comprehensive tyre performance review allowing us to revisit tyre budgets and amend accordingly; and an improved reporting suite, providing at-a-glance information on how the tyres across AAG are performing.
Having spent nearly 30 years in the tyre industry, including 23 years working for Goodyear, some aspects don’t change – we know tyres can be a distress purchase but at the same time they are crucially important for our customers. One way we are trying to keep all our vehicles on the road is by introducing regular tyre inspections carried out by trusted local service providers.
Recently, we opened a new tyre tender contract process and invited a number of companies to present their offer, with the aim of choosing our preferred supplier by the end of September. The plan is to undertake these tenders every three years to ensure we continue to offer our customers both competitive pricing and the latest technology available.
It’s a rewarding and enjoyable job because the focus is not just on our internal work on the fleet, but also liaising with our customers. It’s all about good relationship management and providing a high level of customer service – they appreciate our openness and honesty.
I have to say Asset Alliance Group is a great company to work for. It’s very employee-focused and senior management look after their staff really well, while implementing some excellent training programmes. This year, we have been to all the major vehicle manufacturers to gain a better understanding of how they operate. What’s particularly interesting for me is how these companies are developing EVs and alternative fuel vehicles – and the role of tyre management in that process.
For the Fleet Tyre Centre, last year was very much a learning experience. Now we’ve introduced some key improvements, the challenge is to take additional steps to ensure we provide an even better tyre service for our ever-expanding fleet. Innovation is the name of the game and I’m looking forward to helping the business to further enhance its reputation in tyre management.
