Annual Fleet Forum Conference 2026 – Day 1 Roundup

2026 Fleet Forum Annual Conference: Beyond the Budget

The 2026 Annual Fleet Forum Conference Opens: Day 1 wrap up

The 2026 Annual Fleet Forum Conference Beyond the Budget opened on 23 June by asking participants a timely question: If your fleet budget were cut by 50% today, what would you do first? Sponsored by Toyota Gibraltar Stockholdings (TGS), the virtual conference brought together fleet managers, logistics coordinators, and senior operations leaders from across the humanitarian and development sector.

More than 260 participants joined the opening session, where Fred Burgod, Co-CEO of TGS officially welcomed attendees and highlighted the value of the long-standing partnership between TGS and Fleet Forum and what it means to be part of the community particularly during a time of increasing financial pressure.

"Being part of this community means actively participating not only by listening, but also by contributing ideas, sharing perspectives, and supporting solutions. That ongoing exchange is what makes our involvement so valuable to us." Fred Burgod, Co-CEO of TGS

KEYNOTE PANEL — THE 50% REALITY

The opening plenary explored how sustained budget reductions are affecting humanitarian operations, with insights from Thierno Barry (IRC), Anna Coffin (Medair) and Gwyn Roberts (Terramar Networks). The discussion looked beyond fleet budgets to consider the wider implications for programme delivery, workforce capacity, and organisational knowledge.

When asked how long their organisation could sustain current operations with a 50% budget reduction, 26.67% of participants said less than three months.

The panel concluded by asking each speaker to identify the consequence they believe the sector is most at risk of overlooking.

Anna Coffin encouraged participants to think beyond immediate responses and consider how organisations prepare for the future:

"I think the biggest risk is that we react to the current situation with a short-term view of how we solve things now, without realising things are never going to go back to how they were before. If we just react to now, we are not setting ourselves up to operate in a new context in the future."

Her comments reflected one of the day's key messages: while organisations must respond to today's financial pressures, they also need to adapt their operating models for a future in which constrained resources are likely to remain the norm.

BREAKOUT BLOCK 1 — AVOID: REDESIGNING YOUR MOBILITY SYSTEM

Participants selected from three sessions exploring practical ways organisations can redesign mobility systems to reduce reliance on vehicles while maintaining operational effectiveness. Sessions included:

• How Halo Trust Zimbabwe reduced its fleet by 40% while improving service delivery — presented by Emanuel Sigauke

• The Interagency Mobility Plan: a Lebanon pilot update — led by Cyril Pierrot (Fleet Forum) alongside partners from DG ECHO, DRC, report oIMC & NRC.

• How to become a partner of choice for subcontractors — Nikita Udhwani (Geopost)

THE BUDGET STRESS TEST

One of the day's most engaging sessions was the Budget Stress Test—an interactive simulation in which participants made real-time decisions for a fictional INGO operating 80 vehicles across three countries while facing a 50% budget reduction. Participants voted on whether to shift short journeys to ridesharing or soft mobility options, how to restructure the remaining fleet, and whether to sell vehicles or explore fleet sharing with partners.

The simulation demonstrated that every decision involved trade-offs that only became clear once the consequences unfolded. Soft mobility options delivered the strongest operational outcome when supported by appropriate policies, while fleet sharing reduced costs by 30% once a Memorandum of Understanding was established. However, the exercise also highlighted the importance of assigning clear responsibility for managing collaborative approaches.

BREAKOUT BLOCK 2 — SHIFT: THE DATA YOU ALREADY HAVE

The afternoon breakout sessions focused on how organisations can use existing data to make more informed fleet decisions without requiring significant new investment. Sessions included:

• The launch of the INSEAD vehicle replacement research report, examining whether the traditional five-year/150,000 km replacement rule remains appropriate, with Murat Sayan (WHO), Surekha Singh (Sightsavers), Bublu Thakur-Weigold (INSEAD) and colleagues

• Making the case for a fit-for-purpose fleet on a restricted budget — Vera Nwobodo (UNDP)

• What your fleet telematics data could be telling you — Regis Gourmandin (CLS) and Phil Myers (World Bank)

Key takeaway from the INSEAD report on vehicle replacement: Smart vehicle disposal moves beyond a one-size-fits-all approach towards a decision-making framework that considers multiple operational and contextual factors.

SECURITY SPOTLIGHT & DAY SYNTHESIS

The day concluded with a security spotlight discussion featuring Louis Huijzen of TSS International, who shared perspectives from the supply chain on the challenges of maintaining vehicle quality in increasingly complex operating environments. The discussion highlighted that decisions made under budget pressure can have important implications for safety, particularly in contexts such as Sudan, Palestine and Ukraine.

To close the day, the conference anchors reflected on three key themes that emerged throughout the sessions: the humanitarian sector continues to adapt to sustained budget pressures; today's challenges represent a longer-term structural shift rather than a temporary disruption; and collaboration and resource sharing can deliver significant benefits when supported by the right policies, processes and organisational commitment.

DRIVERS' SAFE SPACE

Following the main programme, Day 1 concluded with a dedicated session for drivers—providing a confidential space for participants to openly discuss their experiences, observations, and perspectives from the field. Key insights from these discussions will be shared during the opening of Day 2.

Day 1 challenged the Fleet Forum community to continue the conversation within their own organisations by sharing one practical idea from the conference. On Day 2, the focus will shift from understanding today's challenges to exploring practical solutions through practitioner experiences, innovative approaches, and the announcement of the Best Transport Achievement Award!

Didn’t join us today for the conference? We have one more day to go! Hope to see you tomorrow. If you have not already registered, please do so here: airmeet.com/e/6afa0790-36d9-11f1-8ed3-17dd8e326753