GovPlanet recently hosted their 2nd cross sector forum to discuss the challenges and possible solutions for the profitable resale of end of life vehicles and plant.
With representatives from the local authority, commercial fleet and Fire & Rescue sectors in attendance, the morning presentation and round table discussion was lively and well contributed to, by all the delegates.
Amongst the first (and possibly rhetorical) questions to the room was, has anybody had their spending increased for the coming year and is there any prospect of that happening in the near future. Naturally the answer was no…
GovPlanet’s MD David Shouesmith then posed these questions to the room.
- Do you know how your surplus vehicles and equipment are disposed of.
- Do you know what your vehicles and equipment are really worth
- Are you getting the best possible returns for the taxpayer
- When did you last test the market
Whilst question one was a fairly resounding yes, the remaining three questions made everybody think again and the general consensus was that very little focus or thought was given to doing something different, from what was in place now.
"This is unsurprising," said David Shouesmith, "because in general it comes shortly after the procurement of new vehicles and equipment which is naturally where the main focus is.
"Sadly, what also happens is that there is then a rush to dispose to make room for the new and once again the decision is made to, do what we did last time.
"Often as not that means another poor performing local auction."
A discussion was also had about the principal differences between auction/disposal, services used by many fleet operators to date and a resales service, which is the principal offering from GovPlanet.
Many within the room conceded that when it came to specialist plant and vehicles, typically found in public sector fleets, the returns from standard vehicle auctions was poor, generally returning the values of the cab and chassis, rather than the whole item including what was on the back - whether that’s a fire engine, gully sucker or refuse collection vehicle.
A healthy debate was also had about whether it was necessary to tender or compete for resales services given that it was not strictly a purchase but could be viewed as a revenue stream albeit with a fee attached.