James Starling has joined SMH Fleet Solutions as chief commercial officer under major growth plans.

James Starling, chief commercial officer at SMH Vehicle Solutions

The business has restructured its commercial and IT operations to deliver faster and more flexible services to fleets, OEMs and dealer customers, including a seven-figure investment in new technology.

The commercial team has been strengthened with the appointment of James Starling as chief commercial officer. He joins the business from senior roles at Toyota and Lexus Finance, and Lex Autolease.

SMH has also created a new quality function that places customer service at the heart of the business. It’s headed up by Mark Elliott, previously customer experience director and now quality director, and consolidates all inspections, continuous improvement, and customer experience.

In addition, the IT function is growing to enable accelerated workflow, quality management, imaging and customer-facing applications over the next 12 months. SMH is also rolling out increased EV charging capability across its sites.

The work follows a business and market review that identified growth opportunities from innovative technology and a customer-centred company.

James Starling said: “We have accelerated investment plans and the development in our IT services and infrastructure platforms in 2021 to meet the demands of a market shifting to a broader range of flexible mobility solutions and an accelerated transition to electric vehicles.

“Our ambition is to be recognised through the services we deliver as the UK’s leading high-quality provider of new vehicle, in-life, remarketing, salvage and logistic services to the fleet market.”