It’s nearly that time of year again – End of Financial Year. With it comes budget reviews, pressure to meet capex targets, chasing invoices for completed projects and so on.

From a capital expenditure point of view, it can be difficult to meet all the necessary process requirements in a single budget cycle, especially for complex or imported fleet assets.

Preparing specifications, getting stakeholder agreement, extensive request-for-tender processes, tender assessment, approvals, manufacture and delivery all within 12 months may be an unreasonable expectation.

Some organisations are now taking a multi-year approach to their replacement program. This means you may be planning a project or specifying an asset while you’re taking delivery of another.

Defining and managing key stages in the capital replacement program over a two or three-year horizon using a project management approach will mean the preparatory work is done early and you’re ready to go to market when the funds become available. Overall, this approach provides a better chance of meeting capex targets.