Athlon Car Lease has operations in 10 European countries and is ranked fifth largest leasing company in Europe, operating more than 200,000 vehicles overall with a fleet of 120,000 vehicles in the Netherlands alone. The company is part of De Lage Landen International, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rabobank.

The decision to select the e-ordering Leaselink platform from Oxford -based online solution provider, Ebbon-Dacs, will allow Athlon to make all its new vehicle purchases completely online, and to communicate delivery dates and other information to fleet customers faster and more effectively. It also allows alternative vehicles to be offered from stock for new vehicle orders that cannot be immediately met, for whatever reason.

Athlon is trialling the Leaselink system at 10 of the largest dealers within its preferred network of dealer suppliers but wants to expand it to as many dealers as possible as quickly as possible.

Jeroen Geenen, Operations director of Athlon Car Lease, said: ‘We always look for the best possible service for our customers. By using Leaselink, we can inform our customers regarding delivery dates more effectively, and are able to offer stock vehicles from our dealer partners for any orders that cannot be fulfilled immediately.

‘At the same time, we can provide our dealers a complete and accurate overview of our outstanding orders, and make the whole new vehicle ordering process more efficient and transparent.

‘As market leader in the Netherlands, we are always looking for new opportunities and initiatives to save time and improve sustainability in the field of mobility. Leaselink fits the bill perfectly in this respect,’ he added.

Ebbon-Dacs’ Leaselink e-procurement platform is used by the majority of the UK’s major leasing companies to source, order and track delivery of more than 100,000 new fleet vehicles a year.

Fourteen of the top 15 UK leasing companies by fleet size now use Leaselink for their vehicle ordering and tracking requirements from a buying community of leading motor manufacturers and over 1,500 franchised dealers who respond to fleet tenders on a daily basis.

Leaselink delivers numerous benefits for leasing company users, including reduced errors, improved productivity and automated features which save time and increase efficiency.  It forms the vital electronic link to allow fleet buyers to source the most cost effective vehicles and track their progress online from order through to delivery, and has been proven to generate savings of 10-15% compared to old, traditional procurement methods.

Robert Pilkington, managing director of the Leaselink International division of Ebbon-Dacs, explained: ‘We are delighted to welcome Athlon Car Lease to the growing international community of Leaselink users.  

‘Leaselink enjoys huge success in the UK fleet market, and the decision by Athlon Car Lease to select Leaselink for its home market shows that it is also seeing growing business confidence in the Dutch automotive market.

‘This is the first deal outside the UK for Leaselink with a company that has no actual presence in the UK, and we will continue to target international leasing companies in countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Italy,’ he added.