This is the week of the first Truck and Fleet Awards. I have been blown away by the enthusiasm for the event. When I came up with the idea of opening the Awards to a public vote, I never expected us to reach nearly 2,000 votes. It really has been a fantastic journey from our first meetings back at the end of 2021 to now and I thank every single one of you that participated.
I also want to thank every company that took the brave decision to take part. I think each one of them exhibited the very best in fleet management or technology that we have here. And in many cases exceed standards that you expect in other so-called mature markets.
Every single one of our winners and nominees should be incredibly proud of themselves as they have all managed to secure hundreds of votes and it should be a privilege for them to know that people have spent their valuable time to show their support. Congratulations to all.
The response also tells me that we may have spent the past two years stuck in our individual silos – or is that bubbles? – but the industry is much bigger than many of us realise at times. I really hope that these Awards can establish themselves as a rallying point to celebrate the professionalism of transportation and logistics in the region.
My other main hope is that we can now take this positivity into the upcoming Truck and Fleet Conference which returns in May. I am currently in the early stages of putting the programme together and hope to be able to open up that process to the industry – as we have with the Awards – before finalising the speaker line-up.
The last two events have done a very good job of summarising the major trends in the market but I really also want to dig deeper into the big issues affecting fleets across the region. Please reach out to me with your thoughts and suggestions. This is your event, so do not hesitate to come to me with your ideas on how we can make it even better this year.
