Strengthening Risk Controls After Acquisition
Acquiring a new business introduces new complexities as well as uncertainty. With new vehicles, contractors and regional teams across multiple regions, inconsistencies and risk exposure often increase before control measures have a chance to catch up. For operational leaders, the challenge lies in restoring confidence across newly inherited assets without disrupting core services.
This was the situation facing one of our customers – a national utility company that had recently acquired a regional infrastructure provider. The acquisition expanded their fleet across multiple new locations, whilst also introducing varied practices around driver onboarding, vehicle checks and incident reporting.
Without a consistent system in place, the company struggled to maintain compliance oversight and faced increased legal and reputational risk.
Prolius assisted by bringing structure back into the process. Through digitising vehicle checks, standardising incident reporting and integrating telematics across all teams, the business was supported in reasserting control – and doing so without adding administrative burden.
The Challenge: Restoring Oversight in a Fragmented Operating Model
Following the acquisition, risk controls differed widely between teams.
The newly acquired workforce operated with minimal governance. Pre-use vehicle checks were inconsistent and paper-based, incident reports were handled informally and there was limited visibility into who was driving which vehicles on a given day.
The key challenges included:
- No standardised driver onboarding – new drivers entered the business without centralised licence checks or policy acknowledgements
- Paper-based vehicle inspections – making audits slow, unreliable and open to dispute
- Inconsistent incident logging – with no unified process for reporting collisions or near misses
- Lack of telematics visibility – restricting the ability to monitor driving behaviour or verify journey records
- Increased O-Licence risk – due to unverified compliance across multiple operating regions
These gaps left the business exposed. Without consistent processes or digital records, there was no clear way to demonstrate the company’s duty of care - either to regulators or to internal audit teams.
The Solution: Standardising Risk Controls Across a Merged Fleet
To restore oversight following the acquisition, the utility firm partnered with Prolius to bring the combined fleet into a single, structured risk management framework. The goal was to align the two previously independent operations, to ensure that every driver, vehicle and process followed the same governance standards.
1. Centralised Driver Onboarding and Credentials
Drivers from both the existing and newly acquired business were onboarded onto the Prolius platform through a standardised process. Licence validation, role-specific requirements and acknowledgement of safety policies were captured digitally, creating a consistent audit trail across the merged operation.
2. Unified Vehicle Checks and Inspection History
Pre-use vehicle checks were standardised across the fleet using the Prolius mobile app. Every inspection was logged in real time with photographs and timestamps, replacing paper-based records. Managers now had immediate visibility of vehicle condition across all regions.
3. Consistent Incident Reporting and Escalation
A single incident reporting structure was introduced for both legacy and new teams. Drivers could log collisions, near misses or damage directly into the system, triggering automated notifications for investigation and follow-up. Supporting evidence, such as photos or telematics data, was stored alongside each record.
4. Integrated Telematics for Complete Oversight
Telematics data from both fleets was consolidated into one dashboard. Operations teams could now monitor driving behaviour, identify unsafe trends and validate journey records across all locations. This eliminated blind spots caused by separate systems.
5. Digital Records for Audits and Compliance Confidence
All inspections, incident reports and driver records were stored securely within the Prolius platform. This ensured that compliance teams could access detailed, time-stamped data instantly - strengthening audit readiness and supporting O-Licence obligations.
The Results: Regaining Control Across the Combined Operation
✔ Aligned compliance standards
Drivers and vehicles from both businesses operated under the same governance process, removing inconsistencies.
✔ Reduced legal and reputational risk
Verified records of vehicle checks, incidents and driver behaviour provided defensible evidence if challenged.
✔ Faster, more confident audits
Digital archives replaced scattered paper files, making it simple to evidence compliance to internal or external auditors.
✔ No additional administrative strain
Automated workflows reduced manual effort while increasing accuracy and visibility.
✔ Greater O-Licence security
Consistent oversight and complete records supported the company’s standing with regulators.
From Disparate Processes to a Single Risk Framework
Mergers and acquisitions can leave fleet operations with a patchwork of procedures and data. In this case, bringing two fleets under a unified system meant the business could quickly restore visibility and control.
By embedding standardised processes into daily operations, Prolius helped the utility firm reduce risk, improve governance and create a more resilient compliance framework – without slowing day-to-day activity.