High street retailer River Island has outsourced procurement of its fleet to Venson, building on a 14-year partnership between the two firms.

Venson’s fleet management partnership with River Island includes bespoke services, such as the Venson Safeguard duty of care solution

River Island runs a 250-strong outright-purchase company car fleet along with six light commercial vehicles.

Historically, the business undertook the procurement process in-house, but has now outsourced it to Venson along with its day-to-day fleet management and pay-on-use vehicle maintenance, following a three-way tender.

Jasbir Mahey, deputy fleet manager at River Island, said: “Outsourcing to Venson has enabled internal resources to be released, but our contract terms ensure that there is complete expenditure transparency via a consolidated monthly invoice.

“We have total confidence that Venson is looking after our money as if it was its own. Our service charges have barely increased over the past few years, while we continue to receive fantastic service. We are absolutely thrilled at the relationship we have with Venson. We believe the level of service we receive is the best.”

In addition, River Island benefits from Venson’s bespoke duty of care solution, Venson Safeguard and its in-house accident management service.

Mahey added: “Vehicle downtime is costly to all fleets. It is therefore essential that the whole accident process from first notification to the vehicle being returned to the road is tightly managed, a role I believe Venson is excellent at performing.

“Any issue that arises is managed to its conclusion by the Venson account management team dedicated to managing the River Island fleet. No issues have to be explained, it is in reality an extension of our internal fleet department with service consistency ensured.”