TAAP releases Northgate’s potential with mobile application software

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Ember Lathom, part of Northgate Plc, implements TAAP mobile application software to improve paper processing, and delivers on: reducing damage assessment processing, improving visibility of management information, and increasing positive brand perception.

Background

Ember Lathom Vehicle Rental Limited is a Northgate Plc company, the leading light commercial vehicle hire company in the UK, Ireland, and Spain. Northgate has 82 sites in the UK & Ireland with 69,100 vehicles. It employs 3,500 people throughout the group, and has over 28 years experience in this competitive market.

Whether customers need vehicles for one day or one month, Northgate needs to be able to ensure the right vehicle is made available at the right time, in the right place. With its pioneering NORFLEX offering, Northgate takes this a step further, by allowing customers to change their fleet easily and without penalties.

The Challenge

Good service doesn’t come easily. To be successful in a tough market in challenging times, Northgate has to deliver great prices and service whilst keeping costs low.

Prior to the installation of the TAAP electronic system, Ember Lathom personnel would handle all the processes necessary to manage their operations using paper, including:

• initial rental arrangements with the customer;
• vehicle checklists at the time of hire;
• driver scheduling;
• deliveries and collections;
• damage control;
• fuel re-charging

Like many systems, the paper was only the physical manifestation of a fairly sophisticated set of processes, including exceptions and checkpoints, to ensure everything worked smoothly. However, even with the best intentions, the paper process struggled to meet the changing needs of the business.

The error rate in using paper, and the time taken to process rentals were obvious areas for improvement, as was the need to ensure each step in the process was carried out - on time, every time. With millions of pounds riding on customer Service Level Agreements, mistakes and delays can wipe out profits and lose customers.

Ian Eccles, Managing Director explains “We knew we needed a better solution for our customers and ourselves. Paper had served us well for many years, but we needed to take cost out of the operation and ensure that every step in the process was carried out quickly and error-free.”

After a thorough selection process looking at the major offerings available, Ember Lathom chose a solution from TAAP.

“It was not a difficult decision, in the end”, Ian admits, “We saw some good systems and narrowed the choice down to Taskmaster from TBS and TAAP, but the combination of technology, pricing and service from TAAP meant that when we considered the group requirements, it was a no-brainer.”

Solution

Ember Lathom staff in the field were provided with Microsoft Windows mobile devices (“PDA”s) which their current airtime supplier arranged through replacement of existing mobile telephones. The PDAs were then loaded with TAAP software, designed to handle all of the operational functions within the business.

The use of diagrams and photographs, along with the ability to annotate and make notes, makes the system very effective. Signature capture ensures that Ember gets customer agreement where it is needed; in the field. This reduces disputes later, saving money and avoiding unnecessary conflict.

Within a couple of weeks the system was available and training had been carried out in the branch offices.

Steve Higgon, TAAP’s Product Architect, chose the Microsoft platform to allow the system to be delivered quickly and flexibly. “We knew the solution would meet the immediate needs of Northgate, providing a wide range of devices and great flexibility, but we were also conscious that we needed to integrate with an existing system within Ember Lathom, and the Microsoft platform made this easy to do.”

Implementation

From the start of the project to training and roll out was three weeks, including integration with Ember’s internal system. From that point on, a conservative plan of one branch a week was rolled out, although even with training the branches were operational within 24 hours.

The drivers and other field staff quickly got used to the devices, and seeing the difference between these and the previous paper process, readily accepted it.

Leigh Brown, IT manager, Ember Lathom says “The drivers really did not have a problem with the new devices. We knew we needed to take people with us and so we did make a big effort to communicate the change prior to the changeover, and manage it carefully. In fact our planned 16 week parallel-running period (where we used both paper and the TAAP system), was cut to 3 days when it became obvious we did not need the paper.

I was particularly keen to ensure smooth integration with our in-house HireMate software, and using TAAP Connect software, this proved much easier than we thought it might.”

The installation went smoothly, with information flowing instantly from the users to the branch office and back again, allowing forms to be completed on the PDA and be instantly visible on PCs within the office.

Benefits

The TAAP system is helping Ember to achieve greater than a 20:1 return per year with SLA savings exceeding £1M per annum, and with a group-wide potential of £33M of savings.

The immediate benefits of the system surprised the business; paying for itself in a matter of weeks and helping to get Ember Lathom to number 1 “leanest company” within the Northgate group, with a staff-to-vehicle ratio of 1:55.

The management expected that the improved customer service and management information would lead to operational savings and improved management reporting, which was indeed the case, and is the reason Ember Lathom has achieved the number 1 slot in the Northgate group.

However there were several benefits which were more significant than predicted.

1. Reduction in customer disputes for damage assessment, resulting in time & cost savings - Damage assessment is carried out using the PDA, with an appraisal form including photographs and drawings, and submitted to head office for immediate assessment. This has allowed management to place their best appraiser in the office as a central point of contact, to provide instant assessments and authorisations back to field workers. Signature capture ensures customer agreement is obtained immediately on site. The reduction in customer disputes and returns from this area have been substantial and 8 staff were re-allocated to other duties within a few weeks of the system going live.
2. Dramatically improved management reporting, enabling the business to re-assess operations and spot areas to save money and improve service to customers.
3. Increase in favourable perception of the company’s brand - Brand image was not something which was high on the list of expected benefits, but customer feedback has highlighted the change in perception of the company’s brand, as it is now viewed more favourably.

Northgate is now deploying the TAAP system elsewhere in the group to achieve similar benefits.

When asked why this makes sense in the current economic conditions, Ian Eccles says “This is exactly the right time! When we have to fight for every point of margin and win every customer, having the TAAP system allows me to give great service and keep my costs low – who doesn’t need that now?”

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