Press Release
February, 2011
New technologies bring cost savings for leasing companies
Leasing companies and other fleet buyers who use e-procurement technologies are achieving savings in the region of 10- 15% on new vehicle orders compared to contemporaries who rely on yesterday’s technologies to source and buy their new vehicles.
So says Rob Pilkington, managing director of the Leaselink division of Oxford-based online solutions provider, Ebbon-Dacs, and supplier of the fleet industry’s leading e-procurement solution, Leaselink, which is used by many of the largest fleets in the UK to source and procure new vehicles electronically.
By using e-procurement and electronic tracking of vehicles in the order pipeline, leasing companies are able to generate savings through reduced acquisition and administration costs, improved productivity, fewer errors and increased efficiencies.
Currently, 10 of the UK’s 15 largest contract hire and leasing companies who between them supply and manage over 590,000 company vehicles* use Leaselink to source and buy their new vehicles.
It is also viable for fleet managers who operate large outright purchase fleets and are buying new vehicles in sufficient volumes to capitalise from the savings that the system creates.
Once an order is placed, Leaselink allows all parties involved in the order process to track the vehicle from sale through to delivery via a unique intuitive interface that is specifically designed for ease of use.
The Leaselink trading platform creates a buying community of leading motor manufacturers and over 700 franchised dealers who respond to tenders from major fleet buyers on a daily basis. It forms the vital electronic link to allow buyers to source the most cost effective vehicles and track their progress online through to delivery.
“Our research shows that e-procurement can generate savings of 10-15% compared to old, traditional methods which are expensive in terms of time, labour and administration. E-procurement works well for leasing companies and is equally viable for large outright purchase fleets, “said Rob Pilkington.
“Leaselink has been proven to increase efficiency, raise productivity, broaden capacity, reduce errors and save money. Buyers achieve better prices and service levels, while dealers can handle and execute a much greater number of enquiries.
“Not only does Leaselink identify the most cost effective vehicles, it also eliminates most of the errors, many of them human, that can prove so time consuming and costly to correct, thus speeding up the time between sourcing, delivery and payment,” he added.
Now, thanks to a new initiative launched by Ebbon-Dacs in conjunction with well-known motor accessories supplier, VGroup International and called MoDel, the vehicle delivery handover process has been fully automated, allowing users to instantly capture time-critical information at the point of delivery.
The advantage of MoDel for leasing companies is that it reduces the time taken to record delivery and handover information, verify the condition of vehicles and collect and analyse customer feedback, which in turn helps speed up invoicing and payment.
Every year, leasing companies deliver up to 750,000 vehicles to fleet customers via networks of preferred dealers , but this process utilises a variety of ways, usually paper-based, of capturing vital feedback on vehicle condition, handover success and customer reaction.
By automating and standardising this process, MoDel allows leasing companies to carry out CRM processes far more quickly and efficiently, capturing important customer satisfaction information, vehicle condition reporting, delivery confirmation and helping identify and remove errors from the delivery procedure.
So far, several major leasing companies, two dealer groups and a top five motor manufacturer have either adopted MoDel or expressed serious intent in taking the new solution as it speeds up the delivery and handover process for customers and suppliers.
“We are seeing real interest in MoDel and fully expect most major leasing companies to be using it by the end of this year,” said Rob Pilkington.
“Several leasing companies already make it mandatory or recommend to their preferred dealer networks that they use MoDel for the new vehicle delivery process,” he added.
Rob Pilkington – managing director of Ebbon-Dacs’ Leaselink division
*Top contract hire and leasing companies as identified by the 2010 FN50 league table of leasing companies
Ends
Notes to Editors
About Leaselink
Following seven year’s development, Leaselink is Europe's market leading web based e-procurement solution, linking franchised dealers and motor manufacturers to major fleet management, leasing and rental companies.
An established online community, Leaselink is accessed by over 700 franchised dealers and dealer groups every day to respond to tenders and optimise the supply of fleet vehicles. In 2008 the trading platform was responsible for in excess of €3.15bn worth of fleet orders in the UK and Europe.
Leaselink users include:
- ALD Automotive
- Alphabet
- Arval
- Daimler Chrysler Fleet Management
- GE Capital Solutions Fleet Services
- Hitachi Capital
- ING Car Lease
- Inchcape Fleet Solutions
- LeasePlan
- Lombard Vehicle Management
For both leasing companies and corporate dealers, Leaselink simplifies the complex enquiry, ordering, tracking, delivery and payment of vehicles. A Leaselink implementation creates significant process efficiencies and cost savings with accurate, real-time business reporting.
Features and benefits of Leaselink:
- Manages orders efficiently across the supplying dealer network
- Eliminates vehicle configuration errors
- Real time information on the status of all enquiries and orders
- Full audit trail of all status changes and historical activity
- Control slippage
- Measures dealer performance (KPIs) and Service Levels
- Comprehensive real-time reporting suite
- Manages brochure and test drive requests
- Simple integration with existing systems and third party suppliers
- Manages dealer rebates and manufacturer bonuses from within the system
- Analyses internal operator efficiency.
About Ebbon-Dacs
Ebbon-Dacs is an online solutions company based near Oxford, with further offices in Saudi Arabia, and specialises in delivering hosted, web technology solutions.
Ebbon-Dacs, which is owned by a private equity group, provides business process automation solutions to a wide range of automotive business enterprises through a number of different business tools and solutions and is a leader in hosted solutions for the automotive industry.
Contact information:
Andrew Wilson
Sales director
Ebbon-Dacs
Tel: 01865 866810
Mob: 07976 337637
Email: andy.wilson@ebbon-dacs.com
Press enquiries:
Mike Gunnell
MGMedia Services
Tel: 01832 275060
Email: mike@mgmediaservices.com