What are the daily challenges of today’s fleet managers?

Fleet management is a complex job that involves continuously balancing multiple moving parts. But do their daily challenges change across different industries and countries? We asked four different fleet managers to find out.
 

“Just a single accident can damage our reputation”

Shu-Ling Su is General Manager of Chi Sheng Transportation (pictured above), which specializes in transporting hazardous chemicals and gases. Based in Taiwan, the company operates a fleet of over 120 vehicles.

What does your company do and what is your role?

“We specialize in dangerous goods transportation. I am fully responsible for operational management and strategic planning, including business development, financial planning, and human resource allocation. My core mission is to ensure efficient, safe, and compliant transport processes while driving revenue growth and service quality improvement.” 

What are the main trends that you see in the industry?

“Currently we are facing increasing pressure due to an aging workforce, rising costs, and stricter safety requirements. Young people are less willing to enter the industry, and prices for raw materials and insurance premiums have risen, placing strain on fleet operations. However, we also see industry players gradually transforming through digitalization and ESG policies, leading to improved service efficiency and sustainability.”

What are your biggest challenges right now?

“Recruiting and training professional drivers is a persistent challenge – especially as we strive to balance safety and efficiency. Our biggest concern is managing the risk of sudden safety incidents. Despite ongoing training and monitoring, just a single accident or violation can damage our reputation and client trust. High driver turnover and a lack of succession planning also pose long-term threats to operational stability.”

How are you working with sustainability and emissions reduction? 

“Although electric vehicle options and infrastructure remain limited in the petrochemical transport sector, we’ve started collaborating with vehicle manufacturers and energy providers to assess their technical feasibility. 

“We’ve also implemented an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system to optimize route planning and transport efficiency, reducing empty trips and energy waste. Regular eco-driving training and preventive maintenance programs ensure that the fleet operates in optimal condition to further reduce our carbon footprint.”

What technological developments can you see in the industry?

“We see immediate benefits from digitalization, including data-driven route optimization and performance monitoring. Automation and AI-based dispatching are still in the early stages, but we believe that they will eventually boost efficiency in fleet scheduling and warehouse operations. Our goal is to build a data-driven intelligent fleet management system to strengthen our competitiveness.”

“I want to ensure we’re ahead of regulations and not being reactive”

Louis Teh is responsible for TBC Transportation & Trading’s trucks, which form part of its large fleet of heavy equipment. For over 30 years, the company has been one of Singapore’s leading handlers of shipping containers and cargo transportation.

What does your company do and what is your role?

“I oversee our fleet of 30 trucks, primarily handling container transport, general cargo, and contract logistics. Our operations cover both port services and inland deliveries, with a focus on time sensitive and high-volume movements.

“Most of my day is spent coordinating schedules, ensuring vehicle availability, monitoring maintenance needs, and managing driver assignments. A lot of time also goes into analyzing operational data to find ways to optimize costs and efficiency.”

What are the main trends that you see in the industry?

“The industry is recovering steadily post-pandemic, but there’s pressure from rising fuel costs and tighter environmental regulations. At the same time, customer expectations for faster, more transparent deliveries have increased. 

“Sustainability has become a major focus and more companies are demanding greener transport options. We’re also seeing rapid growth in digitalization, from fleet management systems to electronic documentation.”

What are your biggest challenges right now? 

“Managing operational costs is the biggest challenge, especially fuel and manpower costs. Driver recruitment and retention are also getting harder as competition intensifies. And then there is driver safety and compliance with new environmental standards. I want to ensure we’re ahead of regulations and not being reactive.”

How are you working with new technologies?

“Automation in our warehousing operations has already improved speed and accuracy. Digital tools – particularly those leveraging AI and real-time data – are helping us manage risk, improve visibility, and make smarter, faster decisions. 

“We’re particularly proud of our recent warehouse automation initiative that has cut processing times by 30% while increasing accuracy. We also successfully rolled out a predictive analytics platform that helps anticipate disruptions and enables proactive responses across our network.”

How are you working with sustainability and emissions reduction? 

“Sustainability is central to our strategy. We are exploring electric vehicles to see if it can fit into our operations. We view technological advancement as both a necessity and an opportunity and electrification is key for urban logistics.” 

“How can we be more effective tomorrow than we were today?”

Levente Böröndy has been working with logistics and road freight for nearly 30 years. Today, he oversees a fleet of over 2200 trucks operating across Hungary and Poland. 

What is your role?

“I’m the Operational Director at Waberer’s, where I’m responsible for managing and overseeing the daily operations of our extensive fleet. This includes over 2200 vehicles including 1800 operated by our Hungarian team and around 400 by our Polish subsidiary. Our own fleet primarily consists of mega trailers used for international and domestic freight transport across Europe.” 

How would you describe the current state of the transport industry in your region?

“The transport industry in Central and Eastern Europe is experiencing a period of transformation, negative impact from increasing expenses, employee shortages and the implementation of new regulatory frameworks. More and more companies are focusing on innovation, automation, and building sustainable operations in order to remain competitive.”

What are your biggest challenges right now?

“This question alone is worth a separate article. There are driver shortages, with many experienced drivers retiring and fewer young people entering the industry. Then there are increased fuel tolls, taxes and regulatory costs, higher truck prices with increased leasing fees. There is economic uncertainty, inflation, high interest rates, declining transport volumes across several sectors. And finally, the transition toward zero-emissions logistics and the pressure to digitalize.” 

How are you working with sustainability and emissions reduction? 

“We are committed to reducing our environmental impact by investing in newer, more fuel-efficient vehicles. We are implementing ongoing training sessions for our drivers to be more fuel-efficient. 

“To reduce our CO₂ emissions, we are testing different alternative fuels in collaboration with our business partners, focusing primarily on HVO. In Hungary, we operate 31 electric and LNG powered vehicles. Although this is not a huge number compared with the total fleet size, this is the biggest alternative fuel heavy-duty fleet in the Central and Eastern European region, and we do believe it shows that we are really committed to sustainability.”

How are new technologies affecting your business?

“Digital tools like telematics and route optimization software have become integral to our operations, and we closely monitor developments in automation and electrification for future integration. I am particularly proud of our successful implementation of a comprehensive fleet management system that has improved route planning, reduced fuel consumption, and enhanced overall operational visibility.” 

What are your main priorities moving forward?

“How can we be more effective tomorrow than we were today? This has always been our company’s slogan. How can we keep the fleet running, with minimal downtime and increased efficiency? How can we react quicker to unexpected situations? How can we be more flexible?”

“Anyone can take a pallet from A to B, so we try to provide extra”

Janno van Aalst, owner and fleet manager of Gebr-Pothuizen BV, is operating in an increasingly competitive and demanding market, while also trying to manage the transition to electrofication.

What does your company do and what is your roll?

“We are a transportation company that specializes in furniture deliveries. I manage our entire fleet: purchasing, maintenance, vehicle and driver performance. We have 33 trucks, two of which are electric with a third being delivered later this year.”

What are the main trends that you are seeing in the industry?

“Customers increasingly want more services, and we expect this to continue. Anyone can take a pallet from A to B, so we try to provide extra services by moving in and assembling the furniture too. Customers want to be relieved of these types of tasks because they do not have the staff for it. So, now our drivers are now also furniture fitters!”

What are your biggest challenges right now?

“As a small business owner, the biggest challenge is customer retention. Then there are the environmental zones and needing to drive electric, continuing to recruit good staff and the various rules imposed on us by the government.”

What are your top priorities for 2025?

“Our top priority is to continue electrifying and expanding our fleet and services. We want to have 15 electric trucks by 2030. We do a lot of city distribution so we are going to specialize in this and continue investing in training for our personnel. Together with our biggest client Ahrend-Gispen (office furnishers), we have taken the electric route and are currently expanding this by offering assembly and other additional services too. This really helps differentiate us from our competitors.”

How have you experienced the transition to electric?

“We made the transition because our customers want it, since a lot of their customers are government contracts. The Dutch government offers subsidies that cover a third of the cost. The electric trucks are doing very, their range is better than we expected, and our drivers are very happy with them – which is important because our employees are ambassadors for us.”