“We get scored by the vast majority of our customers on the handover aspect. All the manufacturers and leasing companies have a copy of the delivery notes. The higher the scores we get, the more business we secure.”

 

Hi-tech car tracking makes delivery more efficient

Holdcroft Fleet’s office in Stoke, sitting above the PDI ramps and valeting bays, is full of flat-screen televisions with maps and little lorry icons moving across the UK.

Staff have wide-screen computer monitors so they can view two tasks on the screen at once to maximise efficiency.

Pearson believes a lot of dealers are good at taking sales orders, customer interaction, pricing and availability. However, where most fall down is with delivery.

The logistics team can communicate with drivers, they can see where they are at all times, where they have stopped, where they are hitting traffic and when they have finished a delivery. If a driver is going to be late, Holdcroft can see on the map in real time and call customers to keep them updated.

“People understand that sometimes you can be delayed in traffic, but you have to keep them updated. If they know you’re going to be an hour late, they can get on with doing something else,” said Pearson.

“There’s nothing worse than waiting and not knowing what is going on.”

Drivers will know the order of their deliveries for the following day and customers will be informed when they are an hour away.

 

Managing the vehicle manufacturer relationships

The majority of Holdcroft’s fleet business is through its group franchises, Nissan, Renault, Honda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Mazda. There are also volumes from its all-makes brokerage service.

“I feel like the work we have invested in the last five years will start to pay dividends in the next few years as our franchises continue to strengthen in the fleet market,” said Pearson.