Contract hire firms ‘relying on dated systems’
Many UK contract hire companies rely on outdated legacy systems that fail to meet fleet customers’ expectations who suffer reduced service levels and inflated prices as a consequence, fleet software supplier, Sofico has said.
Sofico, whose systems manage around 700,000 vehicles globally said fleet customers would see improved service levels and enhanced product developments if contract hire companies invested in internet-based, end-to-end solutions that delivered cutting edge functionality.
Roger Smith, head of Sofico UK said: “UK contract hire and leasing companies pride themselves on their service levels to fleet customers, and rightly so because they are amongst the best in the world.
“But, in many cases, they are being hamstrung by the legacy systems that they are working with, often as a result of takeovers, mergers and consolidation within the industry.
“If leasing companies were using the right systems which offered full interactivity, e-reporting and e-invoicing as well as driver self-service functionality, fleet customers would benefit from enhanced service levels, improved efficiencies, better response times and, ultimately, lower prices,” he said.
Sofico research has shown that many leasing companies in the FN50 league of leading suppliers are using outdated technology that cannot cost effectively meet fleet users’ growing expectations and the need for up-to-the-minute information.
Too many rely on spreadsheets and other outmoded technology which is not in real time nor capable of providing fleet customers with information at the speed or the frequency that they require. This situation is becoming increasingly less tenable as the demand for on-line data and services grows.
Sofico recently launched its second generation Miles software system in the UK, developed specially for contract hire and leasing companies and is currently in contract discussions with a number of leading leasing companies.
The Miles system is compatible with all supplier systems, allowing information on whole life costs, residual values, SMR costs and other data to be easily integrated.
It also provides leasing company users with complete coverage of the full UK leasing life-cycle, including comprehensive driver, fleet manager and supplier web facilities, and is a continually improving product as Sofico invests 10% of its annual turnover in research and development for the system.
All Miles functionality can be web delivered and the system provides a suite of modules that allow the user to manage a complete array of leasing company services and interactions across a variety of interfaces, including customers, prospects, brokers and drivers.
To allow leasing companies to manage prospects and broker services, the system provides modules in prospect management, quotation management, vehicle ordering and sourcing and fleet management.
For customers and drivers, the system provides vehicle delivery management, SMR management, fines administration, vehicle licencing, contract novation, fuel service delivery, short term rental service delivery, voluntary termination, contract management and amendment and incident management. The system supports many bulk processing features allowing the automation of many labour-intensive processes.
It also provides a complete vehicle remarketing module along with e-invoicing and accounting services.
With Miles, it is not necessary to develop specific web applications for each leasing company. A dedicated website can be installed that uses Miles’ web services and reuses all the logic of the Miles back-office system, making it highly cost effective when compared with typical bespoke web solutions.
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