Member Article

NE vehicle rental firm gets £100k technological investment on the road

A successful Sunderland-based vehicle rental business has invested over £100k in new technology to make its systems more efficient and to further improve customer service.

Car2U, which hires and leases a range of vehicles to organisations and individuals around the country, has recently started to use its specially-developed, state-of-the-art delivery and collection app, which is the first of its kind in the vehicle rental sector.

Having worked in the industry for decades, the team at Car2U recognised a need for new technology to record the delivery, collection and assessment of damage to their fleet. Much of the vehicle rental and supply sector still uses paper documentation which can lead to inaccuracies and inefficiencies, so Car2U decided to develop its own software in-house to tackle these issues.

Following a period of research lasting almost two years, the company has now rolled out its new system which is streamlining operations, reducing paperwork and costs and increasing recharge rates whilst also improving a range of operational and administrative processes. The app provides a much needed standardised inspection process to guide the operator through the correct stages needed to capture the required information through the inspection of the vehicle.

The new app allows for real-time reporting of vehicle deliveries and collections with pinpoint accuracy, allowing for faster recovery of damage recharge and eliminating any potential damage disputes, reducing the risk of errors and creating consistency across the business.

Industry research shows that in the UK vehicle rental market, millions of pounds are lost every year by owners of vehicles who are unable to recharge damage caused by the hirer because of inaccurately recorded vehicle condition reports- which are largely paper processes. One of the main benefits of Car2U’s app is that it leads to the faster recovery of damage recharge as the software provides a real-time, accurate recording and reporting mechanism.

In addition, the app could lead to increased revenue thanks to its ability to accurately pinpoint more data which, in turn, leads to more rapid invoicing and a faster turnaround time on the vehicles collected and delivered.

Speaking about her company’s investment in the new app, Car2U’s managing director, Gill Frary, said: “Our new app has been developed using state-of-the-art technology and has taken a long time to perfect- but it is a first in our sector. The investment that we’ve made is purely down to the frustrations that our team has experienced over the years and following research with other people working within the vehicle rental industry.

“In many respects, systems throughout our sector have been old fashioned for some time and technology was needed to make delivery and collection more efficient. Paperwork takes time and can result in a host of issues but this new software eliminates these issues and we’ve spent a long time developing it to ensure it is right. Everything we do at Car2U is aimed at offering the best possible customer service and that’s why we’ve made this huge investment.”

At the start of 2014, Car2U invested £20,000 in the launch of Car2Instruct, thanks to the increasing demand for dual-control cars which has doubled in the last year alone. In the last year Car2U, which was established in 2010, has doubled its fleet in size and hopes to create around three new jobs this year, to add to its current team of 10, and increase its turnover to in the region of £1 million.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna Addison .