The Leaselink e-procurement platform is used by 12 of the top 15 of the UK’s major leasing companies to source, order and track delivery of more than 100,000 new fleet vehicles a year from a buying community of leading motor manufacturers and around 1,500 franchised dealers.

The Leaselink platform allows fleet buyers to source the most cost-effective vehicles and tracks their progress online from order through to delivery, and has been proven to generate considerable manpower savings over traditional procurement methods.

A ring-fenced group of Ebbon-Dacs’ developers have already begun work on the core framework of the new generation of the Leaselink platform, including the new user interface and login systems. The main areas are expected to take about 24 months to build in phases, with many being delivered to customers during the project.

The new platform will utilise the very latest interface styles inspired by the new generation of tablet computers and keep to an ethos of minimum “clicks” along with simplicity and flexibility.

To minimise disruption for users and reduce risk, Ebbon-Dacs will release the new system in separate modules that will integrate seamlessly with the current generation of the platform.

Two of the first modules, which have been prioritised by the Leaselink user group for launch this year, are a powerful new reporting solution and a third-party management system, with third parties who use the system being the first to access a full, new-generation module.

Robert Pilkington, managing director of the Leaselink International division of Ebbon-Dacs, said of the new system: ‘It will have a very new look and feel, inspired by the best consumer systems, while keeping the functional depth of a powerful, administrative tool. We will regularly review with our leasing company and dealer users to ensure it meets their demands now only in the nearer future, but as a baseline for the longer term. This will mean some significant new capabilities, which can be further expanded on in future versions.

‘As well as the additional investment for this exciting new project, we will increasingly make more use of some of the underlying changes we made in 2012 using Microsoft-based technology and even build from elements we introduced in our new safety recall platform, ReCare. These give us a powerful foundation for this new-generation project.

‘The phased introduction of the new system on a module-by-module basis will minimise risk and disruption for our end-users and each new section will go through our user groups. The platform will also be compatible with all current integrations and will, of course, retain all historic data,’ he said.

‘This new generation of Leaselink will represent a major step forward in terms of its front-end appeal and overall capability, driven by our mission to work increasingly closely with our customers who will have considerable input into its development and future direction,’ added Pilkington.