Profile - Tim Buchan: Putting Zenith on the map as more customers follow the fleet

IN the late 20th century, fleet managers spent a lot of time scratching their heads and staring at maps.

Once a company car hit the road, its position was a matter of guesswork.

In the days before satellites, there was no way of knowing a vehicle’s position, or finding out if it was being driven in a way that might lead to an outbreak of road rage.

The technological revolution has created opportunities for companies that can help clients to manage their fleets more efficiently.

The revolution in fleet management is being led by Zenith, a firm which is based inside a building that dates from a time when Yorkshire’s power loom weaving industry was in its prime.

Zenith’s home is Holly Park Mills in Calverley, near Leeds.

As Tim Buchan showed me round, you didn’t need an over-active imagination to feel the presence of weavers who had made Yorkshire’s textile trade the envy of the world. Today, it’s staffed by local people who ensure 33,000 vehicles run smoothly around Britain’s roads. Most of the 180-strong workforce live within a few miles of the mill.

As the UK economy splutters along, Zenith is among a rare breed of businesses. It is looking to hire staff and dramatically increase its market share.

In recent years, Zenith has grown to become one of the UK’s biggest independent leasing, fleet management and vehicle outsourcing businesses.

Earlier this month, HSBC Corporate Banking completed a multi-million pound securitisation deal for Zenith, which will provide the company with income through the capital markets.

Last year, in a sign that Zenith is attracting interest from major global players, Morgan Stanley Private Equity bought a 60 per cent stake in the business.

Mr Buchan’s CV is a testament to his broad industry experience. He spent 10 years with Leaseplan, one of the world’s biggest fleet management and leasing providers. This was followed by a five-year stint as a fleet industry consultant.

Mr Buchan joined Zenith in 2005, as sales and marketing director. He was responsible for developing the company’s marketing infrastructure and customer services, and also played a pivotal role in increasing sales in the car hire division and improving the firm’s accident management system. He stepped up to the CEO role last year.

His passion for customer service is palpable.

“We’ve been providing significant innovation and quality customer services to UK blue chip companies,’’ he said. “By continuing to do that, we’ve managed to secure larger outsourced contracts and we’ve been able to grow our workforce.”

At a time when major corporates are being squeezed, Mr Buchan believes he can make clients more competitive by taking a long, hard look at their costs.

“It’s important for customers to understand where all of their costs are in order for them to make sure they’ve got the most efficient car fleets,’’ he said.

“We sit with every customer every quarter to explain to them where they can save money and make their fleets more efficient.”

This desire for efficiency is creating high quality jobs in Yorkshire.

“We’ve added 20 jobs in the last 12 months, and we expect to add another 20 jobs in the next 12 months,’’ he said.

“This is on the back of us winning new customers and growing our business. The most important thing is to understand how we can get quality people into our business. Our locations and surroundings are very important to us. We’re pleased with the mill we are in now because we can extend that, if necessary, to probably double the workforce.

“Over the next four or five years we expect to double the size of the business. We consider ourselves to be an end-to-end service provider. There’s a whole array of different management services.”

Fleet management goes beyond simply providing clients with vehicles. Apart from maintaining the cars and vans, Zenith can provide data which helps management to see where there is the potential to cut waste. The company’s services include telematics which enables clients to monitor the location, movement, speed and behaviour of a vehicle. It uses satellites to pinpoint and track a vehicle’s movements and the results are displayed on a computer. As a result, it’s much easier for a firm to spot bad drivers, and work out its carbon footprint.

He said: “We work best with companies that have a culture of outsourcing. Zenith presented me with an opportunity to get into a company that was fast growing, exciting and innovative. I headed this way because it was a small independent. I thought this was better than working for one of the large companies in our industry where it’s hard to make a difference.

“We’ve got to provide our customers with data around the clock. Our new platforms allow us to do that. A third of the workforce is involved in managing customers.

“Our natural approach is to manage everything inhouse where we can control the overall culture of the service delivery and bring everybody within the DNA of Zenith. As soon as you outsource, you start to lose those controls. We have invested heavily in an academy which allows people to develop their careers.

“In August, we saw record numbers of vehicles ordered.”

The total figure for new orders in August was £17m, which is up £6m on the previous year.

Mr Buchan added: “We’re still seeing a good upturn in volumes of business. Companies need to have vehicles to carry out their business. They need mobility, which is what we’re focused on.

“If you carry on running your vehicles longer, they end up costing more money. To be more efficient, you need to have a good quality fleet. That’s why we’re still growing.”

On average, customer calls are answered in seven seconds, and 700 million miles were covered by Zenith’s vehicles last year.

The company has kept growing since its formation in 1989, and Zenith’s long-standing clients include Leeds-based supermarket chain Asda. With the new funding facility from HSBC, the £150m turnover company is well-placed to develop more aggressively.

Mr Buchan said: “Our new strapline ‘Intelligent Vehicle Solutions’ has been chosen as this best describes who we are, what we do today and how the company will look in the future.”

Several schemes for blue chip customers are due to go live in the next few months.

Could some of the company’s growth be driven by acquisition?

“We would always remain open-minded, and if the right acquisition comes along then we’ll consider it,’’ Mr Buchan said. “For us now, it’s the organic growth play.”

Tim Buchan Factfile

Name: Tim Buchan

Date of birth: December 29, 1963

Title: Chief executive, of Zenith, the fleet management company which is based in Calverley, near Leeds

Education: Little Heath School in Reading, Berkshire

Car driven: Range Rover

Favourite holiday destination: Oman

Favourite film: The Italian Job – the original version made in 1969 which starred Michael Caine

Career history: Joined Zenith in 2005. He was promoted to group operations director and then chief executive officer following the acquisition of a 60 per cent stake in Zenith by Morgan Stanley Private Equity in 2010.