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.
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