LONDON, 2013-02-28 — /travelprnews.com/ — Car hire is now a central part of day to day business mobility in the UK. New analysis from Enterprise Rent-A-Car shows one in five Britons hire a vehicle for business trips in their own home town and one in three for an out of town trip.
And with the increasing popularity of rental, Enterprise recommends that companies make sure they fully understand their rental contracts in order to ensure the best value and service. The company is also advising businesses to place more emphasis on the planning and analysis of their vehicle requirements during their contract negotiations with rental car companies.
Rob Ingram, director of business rental at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, comments: “Organisations need to make sure they drill down into the detail of their vehicle rental needs because they’re turning to rental to support a range of different requirements. They’re using it as an alternative to pool cars and grey fleet mileage reimbursement as well as for medium and long term solutions, where rental contracts offer excellent flexibility.”
In addition to looking at the top line numbers such as the daily rental, delivery charges and size of network, Enterprise is advising businesses to pay closer attention to other key areas:
- Analyse where your employees, offices, suppliers and customers are located in order to establish where you will most likely need vehicles, and then check that the rental provider has branches close to these locations. Drill down into the detail of delivery charges: some have a limited mileage delivery and collection (D&C) radius and may charge extra for additional miles – and this can soon add up.
- Check how providers will help to enforce the company’s rental and transport policies in order to help reduce costs and emissions. This could include restricting what vehicle types your employees can hire, as well as other alternatives for shorter journeys. Are they able to integrate that policy into the booking service, especially online? How do they manage exceptions, such as when larger or different vehicles are needed?
- How will your rental company support a sudden spike in requirements or a last minute booking? Are they able to source and deliver vehicles at short notice, even in times of high demand?
- What is the approach to agreeing accidental damage? Is there a transparent and fair process for monitoring and measuring damage that will incur a recharge?
- Is daily rental the only service required? Many businesses and government organisations now use car sharing initiatives operated on an hourly basis, with smaller vehicles to reduce the cost of shorter trips. However, monthly rental or longer term contracts may be more appropriate for specific projects or groups of employees. By analysing vehicle requirements in more detail, companies will get better value from the full range of rental solutions
- What reporting and management information is provided as part of the contract to establish value and provide greater understanding of the business’s needs? Is there a standard format or can these reports be tailored to suit specific requirements?
Rob Ingram adds: “Rental vehicles are becoming the transport workhorse of many businesses. Organisations are renting more vehicles to meet a wider range of needs and may need cars and vans every day – hiring them for two hours, two days, or even two months and longer.
“This means it’s increasingly important to understand the detail of your business transport requirements and plan how they will be met. Organisations need to analyse their rental needs carefully, using the tendering or negotiation process to understand in detail how different providers are set up to offer the best, most cost-effective services.
“Rental has become more complex but it’s also growing rapidly, with new services and options available to meet the burgeoning demand. Businesses need to analyse the detail of how, why and when they use it so they can ensure they manage their suppliers effectively. Providers should be able to deliver against the changing needs of the customer, whether through new technology, new products or more and closer branches.”
About Enterprise Rent-A-Car
In the UK, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is a specialist in providing replacement vehicles and courtesy cars, which are relied upon in the event of an accident. Enterprise, with more than 7,000 offices in the UK, Germany, Ireland, the United States and Canada, also offers daily and weekend rental for private or business use.
St. Louis-based Enterprise Holdings, the largest car rental service provider in the world, operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand through its regional subsidiaries. Enterprise started in the UK in 1994 and has rapidly expanded. Currently operating more than 360 locations across the UK, with over 3,000 employees, three quarters of the UK population are within five miles of an Enterprise location.
For more information about Enterprise, visit http://www.enterprise.co.uk/. For more information about Enterprise’s environmental stewardship and long-term commitment to the sustainability of its business, visit http://www.drivingfutures.co.uk/.