So says Chevin Fleet Solutions as it reports a huge variance in the quality of tenders that it receives – from highly professional to poorly focused.

Managing director Ashley Soweraby said: “A good tender is at the heart of fleet software acquisition. Probably 90% of the tenders we receive are at least good through to excellent. The fleet is able to express its needs and has an understanding of how they can be met.

“That remaining 10% can be very frustrating, though, because we sometimes see fleets tendering for solutions that clearly don't meet their needs. For example, we have been involved in tendering where the fleet is asking for fleet software when it really needs a telematics system and vice versa.”

A key point, Sowerby said, lay in working out exactly what you were trying to achieve from buying fleet software and concentrating on those points.

“It is easy to be seduced by all of the many surprise-and-delight features in modern fleet software but, at the end of the day, you need to keep sight of why you thought technology could help you in the first place.

“Sometimes, you even discover things about software in the tender process that will be a huge benefit for your fleet. It is important not to suffer from distraction and to let your focus drift.”