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Kwik-fit fleet improves company car and van driver support with new high-tech service 24
June 8th, 2010Kwik Fit Fleet’s new Service24 system is delivered through a bespoke version of Mycompanyfleet’s YourAcumen solution. The following information is from Kwik Fit Fleet’s press release.
Improved fleet driver communication and an enhanced data information service to contract hire and leasing company customers are the two key advantages of Kwik-Fit Fleet’s investment in a new web-enabled Service24 initiative.
Kwik-Fit Fleet provides a range of driver support services to a majority of the UK’s leading contract hire and leasing companies from its Tannochside call centre in Scotland, which functions 24/7, 365 days a year.
While some company car and van drivers are directed by their vehicle leasing provider to call the centre each time they require assistance, other contract hire and leasing companies use the Kwik-Fit Fleet service outside office hours to ensure drivers can obtain help round-the-clock.
The recently installed Service24 software handles and co-ordinates driver bookings for vehicle servicing, maintenance and repair to be carried out either through Kwik-Fit Fleet’s own network or motor manufacturers’ franchises; glass replacement; breakdown assistance and vehicle recovery and vehicle hire for all Kwik-Fit Fleet’s leasing customers.
Kwik-Fit Fleet is either the sole or majority share supplier to virtually all of the UK’s 50 largest vehicle leasing companies and handles a wide cross section of services on behalf of many of those companies according to individual requirements.
Kwik-Fit Fleet operations director Simon Lucas said: “Our new Service24 system is firmly focused on providing an interactive support service that delivers a range of enhanced communications to company car and van drivers, while ensuring an improved data information service is provided to leasing companies.
“Importantly, the new Service24 system manages each driver’s call according to predetermined service standards and rules set by both their employer and leasing company provider.”
New Service24 functionality delivered through a bespoke version of Mycompanyfleet’s YourAcumen Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system once company car and van drivers have contacted the call centre includes:
• Email and SMS confirmation of the requested booking
• Automated progression monitoring of assistance to a driver. This enables Kwik-Fit Fleet to keep in constant contact with drivers advising them of the duration of a job, when work will be completed and the availability and estimated time of arrivalof any mobile help
• Mapping software displaying the whole of the Kwik-Fit Fleet group network and all franchise garages in the UK
• Service schedules and history of all leasing company cars and vans thus enabling the system to identify if a vehicle is due a service according to age or mileage
Mr Lucas said: “Once work on a vehicle has been completed we are then able to swiftly send a comprehensive report to the vehicle leasing company providing comprehensive details of the SMR job undertaken.”
He added: “Our previous IT system was 10 years old and had reached the end of its useful life. First class customer service in the 21st century has never been more crucial to the ongoing success of fleet vehicle providers, which is why Kwik-Fit Fleet has invested in the new Service24 platform.
“The technology will also enable us to offer an increased range of innovative products and even greater business-to-business continuity in the future because it provides additional flexibility that we did not have previously.”
Mycompanyfleet launches into Australian fleet market
June 1st, 2010Leading fleet software supplier, Mycompanyfleet, the automotive arm of giant HR solutions provider NorthgateArinso, has launched into the Australian fleet market saying the time is right for further regional expansion.
The new Australian business is based at Mycompanyfleet offices in Sydney and will introduce the existing range of software solutions, including FleetAcumen, YourAcumen, and Fleet HR, for fleet customers.
Andrew Leech: “Many of the characteristics of the UK fleet market are already present in Australia with a large degree of similarity, and we fully expect demand for fleet software solutions to grow as businesses mature."
These solutions can be delivered as ‘software as a service’ requiring very little inhouse IT capability from fleet users and cover a host of fleet uses from fleet management, service, repair and maintenance (SMR) and customer relationship management (CRM) to short term vehicle hire and plant needs.
The new business has identified opportunities with European based companies which have operations within Australia and Asia, as well as targeting the existing customer base of around 1,100 companies which parent company NorthgateArinso already has in the region.
Mycompanyfleet business manager Andrew Leech commented: “We believe this is the perfect time to launch into the Australian fleet market, as it has withstood the global economic downturn very well, has a stable car leasing market and has now entered an active growth phase.
“Many of the characteristics of the UK fleet market are already present in Australia with a large degree of similarity, and we fully expect demand for fleet software solutions to grow as businesses mature,” he added.
Business development manager Gareth Talbot will head up the sales operation of the new Australian business and will be based in Sydney. He said: “The Australian fleet market has proved very resilient and has strong market sectors such as resources and transportation for which the Fleet Acumen product is ideally suited.
“At the same time, NorthgateArinso has a strong customer base for its HR software solutions in the region and has a well established AsiaPacific presence with nearly 700 employees.
“The new business will work closely with colleagues in NorthgateArinso’s Human Capital Management (HCM) and Public Sector divisions to identify potential clients who are looking for best of breed solutions and are accustomed to having the comfort of working with a global organisation which, at the same time, retains its local identity.
“The ability to leverage our outstanding fleet solutions alongside our leading HCM solutions provides a powerful toolset, enabling our customers to manage their business in a more flexible and cost effective way,” he said.
NorthgateArinso’s Australian business currently has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth.
Places still available at grey fleet seminars
May 28th, 2010Places are still available at Mycompanyfleet’s final free grey fleet seminar.
The final date and venue in this series of our seminars is Luton on 10 June.
For more information and to book your free place, click here.
Mobile phone connectivity provides great fleet opportunities
May 26th, 2010New mobile phone technology provides greater opportunities for fleet operators and their drivers to record important fleet information while out in the field and on the move thanks to enhanced connectivity and modern web-based fleet management solutions.
That’s the view of Andrew Leech, business manager at Mycompanyfleet, who believes that advances in mobile phone technology, particularly the advent of 3G-enabled handsets, has opened up a huge number of opportunities for fleet managers.
Many of the new generation of mobile phones have inbuilt applications or ‘apps’ that cover a whole variety of services and solutions, including road traffic congestion avoidance, the latest offering from motoring organisation, the RAC.
Andrew Leech: "advances in mobile phone technology have opened up a huge number of opportunities for fleet managers.
But you don’t need a smart iPhone with a multitude of ‘apps’ to get the full benefits of the connectivity between 3G hand-sets and current web-based fleet management systems, says Andrew Leech.
“Web-based fleet management systems can be accessed by mobile phones and are great for functions such as mileage capture and verifying vehicle condition. Previously these jobs had to be carried out using a dedicated unit such as a PDA, but now it can be done on the same phone that you use for everyday business use.
“There are considerable savings to be made because the need for a dedicated unit has now been removed, and the function can be performed perfectly well by a 3G handset. The saving comes by removing the need for a dedicated unit.
“These web systems are more and more uniform so there’s no longer the need to use a standard phone across your workforce and there’s no need for a particular ‘app’,” continues Andrew Leech. “You can do it all on a phone’s browser –most, if not all, 3G phones can now readily access web-based systems.
“Using mobile phones in this way is far more efficient and effective for companies with large numbers of employees out in the field, such as fleets of mobile servicing engineers or field sales forces. They can remotely enter critical information into the fleet management system, such as mileage data, location, vehicle condition or time of next job – all from their existing handset.”
Andrew Leech also believes there is a move towards using phones as tracking devices. “You can track a phone, so you can track a work journey and record the mileage. This means it gives an accurate reading of your business mileage for any expenses claim at a fraction of the cost of a dedicated tracking or telematics unit.”
This is one facet of Mycompanyfleet’s recently launched journey logger, a new addition to the company’ grey fleet solution Driver Self-Serve, which allows drivers to independently log all business trips and update their mileage claims through their mobile phone.
The new functionality works through any 3G-enabled mobile phone, and by logging on to the Driver Self-Serve system in this way, drivers can also be tracked and their location verified through their phone, replacing the need for alternative in-vehicle telematics or tracking systems.
Mycompanyfleet enhances grey fleet solution with new journey logger
May 24th, 2010Fleet software provider Mycompanyfleet has enhanced its grey fleet solution, Driver Self-Serve, by launching a new business journey logger which allows drivers to independently log all business trips and update their mileage claims through their mobile phone. Read the rest of this article »
Andrew Leech of Mycompanyfleet answers Barker’s Dozen
May 10th, 2010Name: Andrew Leech
Company: Mycompanyfleet
Job Title: Business manager
Home town: Village in Staffs
Family: Wife, 1 daughter, 1 bump due September
Age: 38
Sum up your company in 13 words or fewer:
Off-the-peg solutions to bespoke automotive requirements
What was your first job?
I set up a car wash round at 12.
What was your first company car?
VW Passat.
What did you listen to on your last car journey?
Do I want to admit this? Pixie Lott’s album.
What one thing could you do better?
Just one?
What’s your biggest achievement?
At the moment this changes all the time but currently would have to say my 1 year old daughter walking to me! It took a little effort to stretch out my arms but gave a huge reward!
Who is your role model?
I don’t really have one but admire Martin Johnson and Mikhail Gorbachev.
What’s the stupidest thing you’ve done?
This is tough; when I was younger I used to spend weekends dressed in armour hitting people with swords at old castles – good fun but a little strange for a hobby, in retrospect.
What was the most hotly debated topic at your last meeting?
This is an interesting one…. It was about how far we should go with VAT rules by country…that meeting flew by….
What’s in your garage?
A Mazda RX8, a Land Rover and diving equipment.
What’s the worst thing about your job?
It involves a lot of overseas travel – anyone who has done this for some time will know what I mean.
What one law would you make or change?I would outlaw static speed cameras, except outside schools, and ensure traffic police numbers were increased, so it wasn’t just speeding but other dangerous driving activities that were cracked down on. There are
some scary things happening out there and you rarely see police on the roads to stop them.
What keeps you awake at night?
My daughter!
Who is your ideal celebrity date?
Holly Willoughby – I would try and convince her not to support Arsenal!
Mycompanyfleet extends free grey fleet seminars into June
April 26th, 2010Leading fleet software provider Mycompanyfleet is extending its free grey fleet roadshows into June, following the success of the series of free events it has been running across the country since mid-March aimed at helping companies tackle the problems associated with grey fleet drivers.
Your chance to take part in new Fleet World fleet choice survey in conjunction with Mycompanyfleet
April 21st, 2010Fleet choice lists are the subject of the second in Fleet World’s ambitious new monthly online research project designed to capture the latest, up to the minute thinking in the fleet market – for which we are seeking the help, support and feedback of fleet decision makers throughout the country.
Each month, Fleet World will publish a series of questions aimed at gauging the very latest in fleet opinions. The survey will be carried out and analysed completely online – and the findings made public in a forthcoming issue of Fleet World Confidential.
Mycompanyfleet extends grey fleet seminars into May
April 14th, 2010
Mycompanyfleet's Andrew Leech will be hosting free grey fleet seminars across the UK
Leading fleet software provider Mycompanyfleet is extending its grey fleet roadshows into May, following the success of the series of free events it has been running across the country since mid-March aimed at helping companies tackle the problems associated with grey fleet drivers.
The 90-minute roadshows, which are free to fleet decision makers to attend, demonstrate how the key issues involving grey fleet drivers can be addressed, especially those of verifying vehicle condition, servicing and business mileage. Read the rest of this article »
