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01/03/06 Daily Rental Guide - World of service: Internet
Rental companies have ploughed millions of pounds into their websites and web-based services to help fleets manage their demands more efficiently. Even private customers can book rental cars online and modify rentals, but fleet services go much further.
Company policies can be written into dedicated websites, so drivers can only specify cars they are allowed to book. At Avis, drivers are given ‘live’ visibility of car availability, with some fleets now booking 100% of their cars online. In addition, integration of online services with companies’ legacy systems offers additional cost reduction opportunities to fleet managers and owners.
Ian McKenzie, group business development director, FMG Support, which offers a rental service, said: “Automating orders and providing access to reporting and billing information in real-time has also enabled businesses to deliver higher levels of customer service and manage their own internal operations with greater efficiency and profitability.”
However, he said the systems could still achieve much more, effectively becoming an online, outsourced rental management function.
Neil McCrossan, vice-president of National Car Rental, said the firm capitalised on e-business wherever possible to make transactions more efficient and cost efficient.
He said: “The provision of online information helps fleet managers identify where efficiency gains can be made and e-billing delivers invoices direct to the desktop within hours of the rental terminating so that costs can be reconciled without delay.”
Customer-specific microsites enable fleet managers to access reservation information from their own computers together with automated confirmations of reservations and enquiries.
