Stryker, which is based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, US, offers a diverse array of products and services in Orthopaedics, Medical and Surgical, and Neurotechnology and Spine, and is active in over 100 countries around the world.Stryker Corporation, one of the world’s leading medical technology companies, has appointed Fleet Vision, the consultancy arm of TÜV SÜD Auto Service and a sister company to Fleet Logistics, to carry out a fleet optimisation project on its pan-European car fleet.

In Europe it operates a fleet of vehicles running into four figures in 15 different countries, providing mainly premium-badged company cars – Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz – to its sales-force and senior managers.

However, the company identified a need to optimise the running costs of its fleet and rationalise its fleet policy from a local, national approach to a centralised one.

Andrea Naccarato, controller Europe for Stryker SA, based in Montreux, Switzerland, embarked on a project to find a suitable fleet consultancy partner to help quantify and implement the cost optimisation project.

Research on the internet and recommendations by colleagues led to an approach to Fleet Vision, and a series of senior-level presentations confirmed the company as the ideal strategic partner.

After getting the approval and buy-in from the various stakeholders involved, the first phase of the project was to send out a tender to the vehicle manufacturers involved for a pricing proposal including discounts and bonus, and based on just one or two badges on the fleet.

Once that part of the exercise was completed, Stryker sent out a tender to the international leasing companies it uses, requesting that they supply their best prices for the fleet, with multi-bidding a possibility

“The next stage is then to consolidate this information and develop a number of different scenarios for the new, optimised fleet policy before presenting our conclusions back to our senior decision-makers,” said Andrea Naccarato.

Mr Naccarato expects this part of the project to continue well into the autumn before a final decision is made, with a projected go-live for the final fleet policy in January next year.

“In general, we have been very happy with the progress we have made so far, and if successful, we see this as becoming the basis for a longer term partnership,” he said.

“Ultimately, we want stronger reporting systems for our fleet, to better understand its composition, residual values, fuel consumption and carbon emissions. It is also part of our corporate philosophy to act in as an environmentally friendly way as possible, and we need to apply that to the fleet, too,” he added.

The new cost optimisation project is the first carried out by Fleet Vision as an integral part of the Fleet Business Unit of TÜV SÜD Auto Service, following a change of ownership earlier this year.

Rainer Laber, CEO of the Fleet Business Unit of TÜV SÜD Group, said: “This is the first integrated fleet consultancy project we have undertaken since the formation of our new Fleet Business Unit following the acquisition of Fleet Vision and TCOPlus earlier in the year.

“We have great plans for the new business, and combining the DNA of both companies with our expertise will provide a platform to accelerate their future growth and development,“ he added.