Contract hire company helps customers run fleets with FleetWave

Contract hire company helps customers run fleets - with FleetWave

Contract hire company Applewood Vehicle Finance Ltd has installed Chevin Fleet Solutions 'FleetWave' package to improve customer service - and help it manage customers' vehicles.

Hertfordshire-based Applewood wanted a system capable of providing an instant overview of its dealings with every client, while at the same time allowing it to send useful reminders and help its growing base of SME customers run their fleets. FleetWave® proved the ideal choice.

Best of all, Applewood is able to use the system on a cost effective basis, by 'renting' it rather than purchasing outright.

Applewood director Clare Chisholm said: "What we’re doing is unusual in that we're using FleetWave® as a central management tool for our customers and their vehicles. Now whenever they ring up with a query, we're totally au fait with what they're talking about, including all contract and driver details. We’re also using it to track the life of each car, which means we can send reminders for services, MoTs, mileage checks etc., a convenient two weeks or so before they're due. "We could see that many suppliers weren't doing this and yet it’s always been our ambition to provide really personal service with a focus on the end users. Very few SMEs have a fleet manager. Someone is usually just told to 'sort the cars out' – and those people, our customers, often really need help with what's supposed to happen and when.

"We were running an Access database before, and it just wasn't up to providing everything we wanted such as service dates etc. We needed a stronger system and looked around, but nobody had a package which was going to work for us. Then we came across Chevin, and could see that FleetWave® was ideal. We’re licensing FleetWave® with modules for managing Prospects, Vehicle Orders, Vehicle Management, Employees, Accidents and Customers. Customers will even be able to access their own data in the very near future. It's just what we, and more importantly our customers, needed."

Applewood has a growing customer base in the SME sector running from one to 100 vehicles, which it says currently ranges from sandwich deliveries to nationally-known companies. Equipped with FleetWave®, the company now feels well placed to take on additional fleets in the 30+ sector. "Being able to use a top-class system like FleetWave® without a huge up-front investment has been very useful as we grow the business. It means we can compete with just about anyone in terms of service levels and attention to detail but at a more personal level which is so important," adds Applewood managing director Rob Chisholm.

Ashley Sowerby, Chevin's managing director explained: "Under our ASP Broker scheme, we're hosting the software for Applewood, which means they're able to benefit from a low-investment, low-cost solution. The minimal set-up cost comes from not requiring any hardware investment, as FleetWave® is installed on our server and communications network."