epyx is expanding its low price tyre initiative. According to the company, the project, which has so far concentrated on franchise dealers, is now moving into the independent garage sector. Called 1link e-procurement, it allows independents to access a much more competitive level of tyre pricing than they generally been able to achieve, the company says.
TechMan says new customer Jim Steel Garage has already realised big benefits after going live in August with the garage management system. Led by Kevin Steel and his son Sam, the family run Beeston-based business offers MOTs, servicing and repairs for all makes of vehicle. Formerly a Unipart Car Centre, the business had been reviewing new management systems for several months until a visit from national sales manager Leo Freebairn led to them trying a demo site and opting to go with TechMan.
Online tyre retailer CarTyres.com will provide its customers with fitting choices from e-commerce platform, epyx’s 1link Service Network of 18,000 franchise dealers, national garage chains, independent garages and fast fit centres – including 317 Halfords Autocentres. IT solutions provider epyx specialises in the automotive sector, with 1link products helping to improve the efficiency of major fleets and their suppliers. This covers functions such as vehicle procurement, maintenance, hire, disposals and relicensing. Its best-known products are the 1link e-commerce platforms.
epyx, the ecommerce fleet platform, has announced three new director level appointments. Aditya Varadpande has been appointed as director of the newly-created growth and marketing department. He shall also lead the company’s international operations.
Take-up of Epyx’s new Tyreserve e-commerce service is reportedly being driven by company car and van drivers. According to Epyx, the option of having tyres fitted during routine servicing (and therefore without visiting a fast-fit centre) is proving to be attractive to fleet end users.
Four out of five fleet drivers told by a franchise dealer they need new tyres subsequently head to a fast-fit to buy them, according to a new survey. Research by epyx for the launch of its new TyreServe shows that dealers are leaking a worthwhile source of profit by not successfully retailing replacement tyres to fleets.
Only 40 per cent of motorists visiting fast-fit centres get new tyres fitted on the first visit, according to new research from e-commerce firm epyx. Instead, 60 per cent of drivers had to make a second visit.
The figures, which were released on 19 June, show that fast-fit centres are now only half as fast as they were 10 years ago.
Automotive sector technology solutions provider epyx has added tyres to its 1link Vehicle Network trading platform. It says “leading tyre distributors and manufacturers” have signed up and will provide products at “competitive prices”. According to epyx, the inclusion of tyres in 1link will enable dealers to provide fleets with a nationwide, fixed price tyre offering.
Halfords Autocentres has signed up to the 1link Service Network as a supplier of service and maintenance for light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes. The company, which has 246 centres across the UK, is a long time user of the e-commerce platform for company car servicing but this is the first time van and light truck servicing will be processed using 1link. The company currently looks after many thousands of commercial vehicles each year for private customers, SMEs through and large national fleets, while all 246 Halfords Autocentres in the network can look after all Car Derived Vans (CDVs) and over 150 centres have the access, lifting equipment and tools to look after LCVs up to 3.5tonnes GVW, according to a company representative.
ATS Euromaster has been awarded preferred supplier status in a new two-year agreement with Leasedrive Velo Vehicle Management, doubling its share of the customer’s 17,800-strong fleet on the back of strong service delivery in 2007. The contract will see ATS Euromaster fast-fit services including: tyres, exhausts, brakes, shock absorbers, batteries and oil. Leasedrive Velo merged last year to become one of the largest privately owned vehicle management providers in the UK.
Ivor Johnson, Fleet Management and Operations Director at Leasedrive Velo, says: “Service delivery ranks very high on our agenda and is an area where ATS Euromaster ticks all of the boxes. There has been a real willingness within the company to partner with ATS Euromaster, and they have been keen to step forward to support our customer base, which is largely comprised of high profile blue-chip clients,” he adds.
Kwik-Fit Fleet has launched a new web-based ‘intelligent’ tyre management authorisation and reporting system, which is being rolled out to Britain’s biggest fleet operators. About 50 companies managing more 1.3 million vehicles, including Britain’s largest fleet, Motability Operations which runs around 450,000 vehicles, and the country’s largest contract hire business, Lex which has a fleet of almost 270,000 vehicles, will benefit from the technology.
For the past decade Kwik-Fit Fleet’s tyre management programme has been utilised by some of Britain’s biggest outright purchase fleets and leasing companies to control their tyre maintenance spend. Details of all transactions are logged and information on tread depths of tyres removed, brands and size of tyres fitted, mileage of vehicle at time of replacement and the reason for tyre replacement are all captured by Kwik Fit on behalf of customers.
Fleet use of e-commerce products will be boosted by higher broadband speeds across the UK over the next few years. New services announced recently by Internet service providers (ISPs) mean that parts of the country have access to broadband speeds of up to 24 megabits per second (many connection currently run at 1 or 2 mbps or less). These faster connections will allow fleet e-commerce services to be developed including high resolution, full screen video links and ever more detailed transaction information.
