With five depots spanning Essex, Kent, West Sussex and Hampshire, Crawfords operates a fleet of around 80 passenger and light commercial vehicles, including company cars, vans, trailers, and pickup trucks for its sales team. The firm previously used spreadsheets to manage its fleet but found they couldn’t keep up with its growth.
“We doubled in size in five or six years and tried to let each depot manage their own vehicles,” said group aftersales manager, Darren Bantick. “The condition of the vehicles, the MOTs, the tax, the servicing – it all became too much. We knew we needed something to give us a helping hand.”
Bantick admits the lack of a dedicated fleet management system led to inconsistencies with vehicle inspections but says adopting AssetGo’s system in September 2024 revolutionised compliance.
“We now have control,” he added. “Monthly checks are in place, and if something’s due, the system reminds you. If there’s a defect, it flags it. One of our drivers recently had a tyre wearing on the outside and we caught it early, before it turned into something dangerous. Now, we have so much more confidence that the fleet is being managed properly, because the system does the thinking for us.”
“We started with around 40 vehicles, and within a week, we realised we needed to go to 80. It’s not just the service vans anymore—we’ve added company cars, trailers, pickups – everything.”
AssetGo’s software specialises in the fundamental aspects of fleet management compliance, converting them into simple, everyday checks for drivers, the results of which are highly visible to fleet operators and easily manageable. The system addresses core fleet activities such as daily walkaround checks, cost and accident reporting, fuel and expense tracking and tachograph analysis – among other key elements.
Jade Younger, Crawfords’ fleet consultant, recommended the system after using when with a previous employer. “I’d used other systems and nothing came close,” said Younger. “AssetGo is smooth, easy, and completely idiot-proof – in the nicest possible way! It just works. Some other systems overcomplicate everything. This one gets it right from the start.”
Crawfords has also used AssetGo to manage tachograph compliance for light commercial vehicles towing more than 3.5 tonnes. Darren adds that depot managers are now accountable for their vehicles’ status and visibility has improved.
“If something’s wrong, we can see it,” he explained. “And if someone hasn’t addressed a defect, we know. It’s just so much easier than the way it was before.”
Younger is quick to point out that Crawfords made the move to AssetGo not because it had to, but because it wanted to get ahead with compliance.
“A lot of companies wait until they’re forced to be compliant, but Crawfords didn’t,” she said. “They saw the importance of getting compliant before it became critical, and AssetGo gave them the tools to do it.”
The company plans to use AssetGo to automate driving licence checks, which are currently managed manually through its HR system. “That’s the next step,” added Bantick. “Doing it manually isn’t the most efficient way, and means it can take longer. Automating licence checks will speed the whole thing up.”
