Supply chain specialist Fleet Assist has strengthened its technical authorisation team in response to increased demand for its services from contract hire and leasing companies.

Fleet Assist’s newly strengthened technical authorisation team: (L-R) Mark Bruce, Stephen Polhill and Ben Bromley

The company supplies a wide range of services, including service, maintenance and repair (SMR) work authorisation, to more than half of the UK’s top 50 contract hire and leasing companies collectively operating more than 700,000 vehicles.

The Cambridgeshire-based company, which manages SMR work through a nationwide network of more than 8,000 service outlets, has promoted Mark Bruce to lead the authorisation team as technical services manager. A qualified vehicle technician and former workshop manager, he also worked as a maintenance control manager for vehicle leasing companies prior to joining Fleet Assist five years ago.

In addition, Ben Blomley, who a qualified master technician through the Institute of the Motor Industry’s Automotive Technician Accreditation scheme, joins Fleet Assist technical services controller.

Stephen Polhill, who joined Fleet Assist in January 2011 initially in the service booking team prior to moving to the rental and network management teams, also becomes a technical services controller.

Additionally, Fleet Assist has a panel of remotely based technical authorisation experts to handle spikes in work load.

Vincent St Claire, commercial director, Fleet Assist, said: “We have strengthened our technical authorisation team to meet the increasing volume of work being undertaken on behalf of contract hire and leasing companies. This service is scalable which has been demonstrated by both the volumes and duration of support we have provided to customers.

“As an adhoc temporary supplier we have had to deal with increases of up to 100,000 vehicles with little notice and short term contracts with no defined end date.

“Expanding our technical authorisation team with back-up available delivers service flexibility to meet demand on a day-by-day basis.”