Interviews
9 oct 17

Jaime Bringas, Teva Pharmaceuticals: Overcoming fleet management challenges in Mexico

Through the development and distribution of high quality generic and specialty medicines, Teva Pharmaceuticals Latin America is present in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Regional fleet manager Jaime Bringas Garcia tells Global fleet about some of the company's challenges in Mexico and how it is overcoming them.

So what is your job at Teva?

I am the fleet manager for Teva Pharmaceuticals in Mexico, but I will soon be in charge of operations for all of Latin America. By the end of 2017, our goal is to implement the Mexican model throughout the entire region.

And what is fleet management to you?

Fleet management is not only managing gasoline cards and insurance policies. We need to continuously find ways to maximize user services. This means using measurable date to find the best rates on any aspect that could affect mobility, as well as finding the best suppliers to help streamline operations.

Our goal is to save time, money, and energy without lowering the quality of our services.

How many cars are in your Mexican fleet and who uses these vehicles?

We have 450 cars in our fleet. About 150 of them are for senior managers and directors and the remaining 300 are used by our sales force.

Although Teva executives are important, our sales force is the engine that drives the company. Our sales representatives are dedicated to bringing our products to market and this is what really generates revenue for the company.

What is the biggest challenge for your fleet right now and how are you dealing with it?

As I recently started at Teva, this is a new job opportunity for me as well as a personal challenge. As for my team, our goal is to stay motivated and dynamic.

One of the largest challenges is to create a new mindset which involves providing a higher level of service for our staff. I want them to feel that we will support them in any situation which is related to mobility.

We have been doing pretty good so far as we currently have a user satisfaction rating of 94%. This was achieved by first evaluating all tasks at hand and then strategically placing staff in positions where they could use their expertise.

With a little motivation, team members started developing more self confidence and it is this healthy attitude which has brought us good results.

Are Teva's new laboratories demanding new actions?

We acquired two laboratories this year so yes this has been a very important and busy time for us in Mexico.  Although areas such as the HR and legal departments have been in high gear, we certainly need to keep fleet management up to par as well.

As such, we are working on a new car policy this year which not only takes advantage of new market trends such mobile apps, but satisfies our current legal framework.

Finally, what's the key to dealing with the pollution in Mexico City?

Well, the local government has resumed an old law which basically means that fleet managers should maintain new fleets in the metropolitan region of  the city.  Basically, they should use cars that are eight years or less.

Most of the cars that fall into this category are not restricted from driving as long as they comply  with local regulations. They just need to be tested at authorized pollution control centers which issue certificates if they pass.

Authored by: Daniel Bland