Halfords Autocentres halves car hire costs with stricter controls
The company, which serves over 750,000 customers every year across a network of over 290 autocentres nationwide, primarily uses car hire for replacement vehicles when either fleet cars or private vehicles are being repaired or serviced in one of the Autocentres.
About one in 10 rentals are booked for collection and delivery of customer vehicles. In addition, about a third of rentals are used by employees as a replacement for the “grey fleet”.
By introducing the ARMS (Automated Rental Management System) from Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the company has seen a 50% cut in its car hire costs. The online reservation system was introduced at a time when use of car hire was growing but there were few systems in place to control authorisations and monitor usage.
The system is a web-based application that enables everyone involved in a repair to manage the entire rental cycle electronically, sending daily electronic updates on the status of the repair. As all information is captured on one platform, ARMS enables insurers to better analyse data and understand the rental process on a detailed level.
A unique car reference enables each rental to be a matched to a vehicle repair form generated by each of the Autocentres. Regional order numbers create an additional layer of control, allowing invoices to be tracked back to the original requirements of the repair. Weekly reports and real-time online updates mean that Halfords regional managers are always in touch with how their car hire needs are changing.
Sam Grebby, procurement officer at Halfords Autocentres, said: ‘Enterprise was the only car hire company to show us a technology platform able to link up all the pieces in the repair process and give us complete control of each rental. It provides a full picture of why we’re renting vehicles, from the reasons behind the selection of a particular model to the rationale for the number of days the vehicle is rented for.
‘We’re opening new Autocentres all the time, which means that demand for car hire is also increasing. ARMS has given us the proof that you really can only manage what you measure, and when you do the cost savings can be significant.’
Natalie Middleton
Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.
