Outsourced Driver Management: ‘unclouding’ your long-term fleet strategy
As the saying goes: “Life is what happens while you make other plans.” Fleet managers are no strangers to this issue: your long-term vision for your fleet is too often clouded by less important and more urgent daily activities. ALD Automotive has co-created with major clients Outsourced Driver Management (ODM), a service which simplifies your daily life by taking care of time-consuming tasks. The aim is to deliver superior driver experience and allow you to focus on your fleet strategy. This product may save you a lot of time and money – but only if you have the right fleet set-up. Do you?
Taking care of the nitty gritty
How can you make long-term plans for your company’s mobility issues when your inbox is full of items which are less important, but nonetheless need to be dealt with? Simply by delegating these daily tasks to ALD Automotive in contracting ODM service.
By taking various time-consuming driver interactions off your hands, ODM allows you to concentrate on your core business and strategic fleet tasks, while we take care of the nitty gritty. ODM makes your life easier by managing:
-
Car model selection
-
Vehicle configuration and order placement
-
Eligibility checks
-
Management of all interactions with your drivers
-
Premium driver care with driver satisfaction monitoring
This enables you to delegate operational tasks and better focus on your strategic projects. We define core processes, document all activities and continuously improve them through driver inputs; we maintain consistency across all your markets with local customization when appropriate.
A seamless experience for you and your driver
About 20-30% of ALD Automotive customers are using ODM, and interest is growing. The advantages both for fleet managers and for drivers may be variable per company, but they are very measurable indeed.
For fleet managers, ODM provides you with a seamless service, acting as an extension of your in-house business functions while removing time-consuming driver interactions. For one company notably, ODM has generated annual savings of €180,000 on a fleet of 500 drivers. Outsourcing your driver management also enables you to optimize your mobility policy, have a well-defined car list per country, and to monitor your fleet and KPIs easily via our My ALD platform.
As for your drivers, ODM ensures a friendly digital journey throughout the contract life, with access to a car configurator or quoter and a wide range of self-service activities via the My ALD app. This considerably improves overall driver efficiency, saving approximately 30 hours per year for each driver. The digitalisation of model selection/configuration has become increasingly complex due to energy transition, new tools are needed to address these needs, always with a human touch to ensure effective support for all drivers and all situations.
There is also a less tangible but nonetheless crucial advantage to outsourcing driver management: the creation of a “neutral third party”. Vehicle solution is a very emotional topic, it can cause frictions between fleet managers and their drivers. The use of ODM enables us to act as a neutral third party, better able to resolve issues.
Outsourcing the ‘human touch’
A key differentiator of ALD Automotive is service quality, this applies especially to driver assistance. Focusing on your long-term strategic vision does not have to mean leaving your drivers alone: by outsourcing these interactions, you provide a constant touchpoint to your drivers.
As well as enjoying efficient driver service with calls being answered within 30 seconds, drivers can also benefit from a 100% digital journey with the My ALD app. The app, available in over 28 countries, allows drivers to handle all their needs and requests, geolocate service points and book appointments, and access contract, vehicle details with all relevant documents in the virtual glove box. Drivers no longer need to store important documents, it’s all in the app! As for vehicle delivery, drivers anxiously awaiting their next car can track its progress on the app, as if it were an Amazon package.
The configurator or quoter, depending on markets, present in over 20 countries and available online as part of My ALD platform, allows your drivers to select their vehicles and configure their options and accessories in line with your company car policy. Vehicles are searched and compared based on makes, models and body types, CO2 emissions and fuel consumption, and purchase prices.
The outsourcing and digitalization of driver services ensures optimal user comfort and means that long-term fleet vision can be married with a superior driver experience.
The right solution for the right fleet
Outsourcing your driver management may be the solution to ‘unclouding’ your long-term fleet strategy from time-consuming daily tasks. This will however depend on your fleet – as an add-on to our main full-service leasing product, OMD works best under several circumstances:
-
When the customer has a sole-supplier or dual supply sourcing arrangement for their corporate vehicles
-
When the car policy is well-defined, with a limited number of options for the driver
-
When the fleet size is 200 vehicles or less by country
For any fleet significantly larger, it may make sense economically to develop the expertise in-house, subject to local resources availability. However, ODM remains the logical choice for fleets to outsource non-core activities.
If you have the right fleet, then ODM is the solution to outsourcing the ‘human touch’ and focusing on your long-term strategy. With an ‘unclouded’ vision, just reclaim the time and money and put these to better use!