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Whether you manage company cars or simply drive one, the chances are that IT is rapidly changing the way you work...
Whether you manage company cars or simply drive one, the chances are that IT is rapidly changing the way you work.
I'm not only referring to the usefulness of, say, satnav or the potential intrusiveness of electronic number plate recognition cameras. Intelligent systems and data integration are transforming the whole business of fleet management.
Take ordering a new car. Not so long ago it could take literally dozens of phone calls and faxes to assemble all the information a driver wanted and process it through to an order. And that was just one order.
Today, a fleet manager - or, in many companies, the driver - can often simply log on to a supplier or intranet portal to compare cars, options and prices and order the car there and then. Live data feeds take care of keeping the information up-to-date, while smart software automatically limits their choices to what's allowed by their company policy.
We rolled out a new state-of-the-art quoting and ordering system for our customers, this week, which does just that. Drivers can make side-by-side comparisons of different models; instantly see the effects that different options have on rentals, and even trade up or down if they're allowed to.
Of course, we haven't done this just to eliminate a few phone calls and faxes. The new system is faster and more accurate. No-one wastes time pricing up vehicles the driver isn't entitled to. Information goes straight to where it's needed. Customers set the boundaries; drivers make choices; the system does all the fetching and carrying.
Users tell us that this is what they want. In a similar vein, a recent survey showed that 86% of internet users find online banking easier than going to their branch. Many of the things that bank customers need to queue up to do in a branch they can do online in a few clicks without leaving their home or office.
I don't want to take the banking analogy too far, though. Let's face it, another reason why it's hard to go to your branch is because it probably isn't there any more. Your bank closed it down and it's now a wine bar!
But in the world of fleet management, IT is rapidly bringing suppliers, customers and drivers closer together by removing the technical barriers to easy communication. Long may that continue.
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