Vehicle Leasing: Return with Ease
Author: Thorsten Rienth
Two DEKRA companies and the Allane Mobility Group are setting up a refreshed return process for leased vehicles. The new process not only saves the customer time, but also reduces the workload for the lessor - and DEKRA scores with two important core competencies. The process, which was significantly streamlined during a pilot phase, is now being rolled out at 164 locations across Germany.
“We make mobility easy for you in every way" is an Allane Mobility Group, formerly Sixt Leasing, slogan. “However, implementing it is not quite as easy,” says Steffen Hohn, Head of the Lease End department at the Allane Mobility Group and responsible for lease returns. Hohn's department is in charge of around 15,000 to 20,000 return processes per year. The lessees are spread across the whole of Germany. “Our major challenge is to quickly evaluate the returned vehicles - from small cars to vans - and then quickly put them to new use or sell them.” A lessor loses money with a vehicle that sits in the yard. If, on the other hand, it is marketed quickly, it generates some.
One single, seamless process
When does the customer bring the vehicle to the expert? When is the damage or wear and tear service completed? What additional costs may need to be charged? How do we proceed with the necessary signatures for official acceptance? Where is the vehicle to be taken afterwards? Until now, these have been individual process steps that were mostly initiated after one another - and were regularly disrupted at their interfaces,” says Hohn.
It is precisely this process that the Allane Mobility Group and DEKRA are currently setting up together, in collaboration with the two companies DEKRA Automobil and DEKRA Event & Logistic Services. “DEKRA is known as a reliable expert and innovative logistics provider,” Rainer Schwer, DEKRA Key Account Manager for the leasing and car rental business in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, explains. “With this project, we are now combining these two areas of expertise.”
Compared to what the process was like previously, customers benefit from a simplified booking process, fewer routes and considerable time savings. By integrating all steps into a single, seamless process, the leasing return is much more convenient and efficient for lessees: “The new process saves our customers time and journeys, makes the return process more transparent and ensures that vehicles can be remarketed more quickly,” Allane Mobility Group Manager Hohn sums it up. “This benefits customers, lessors and service providers alike.”
Automated from start to finish
The physical hub is made up of 164 DEKRA return locations spread across Germany. They take on the function of return stations in the new leasing return system.“ These locations enable the Allane Mobility Group to offer a nationwide service to which customers do not have to travel far to return their leased vehicles,” Schwer emphasizes. What's more, this only has to be done once - instead of first going to an expert for an appraisal and then returning the vehicle to the lessor.
This fully automated process is initiated a few weeks before the contractually agreed return date. “The lessee receives an email from us with a link to an appointment booking tool,” explains Hohn. “The link leads to a user interface where they can select any DEKRA location and a time slot with just a couple of mouse clicks.” Of course, the email also includes all the information on how to prepare the vehicle for return: from complete documentation and all original accessories to the cleaning.
Appraisal and collection in one hand
Once the vehicle has been brought to the chosen location, the DEKRA expert inspects it. In the presence of the lessee, he or she draws up the return report. This documents the condition of the vehicle at the time it is returned. “The lessee is always present,” says DEKRA Manager Schwer. “Should there be any outstanding questions, for example about the condition of the vehicle, the expert will explain them transparently directly on-site.” A detailed condition report is then drawn up and sent to the Allane Mobility Group for the settlement of the contract.
In the next and final step, DEKRA Event & Logistic Services GmbH comes into play. “We already know from the appointment booking tool which vehicle is to be returned to which location at which time,” Schwer explains. The Allane Mobility Group only assigns a depot to the order, to which the vehicle is to be transported once the return formalities have been completed. “We then use both pieces of information to create an internal order for our Event & Logistic colleagues, who schedule the transport and carry it out within 48 hours.”
The first 'pilots' are already in the air
The first 'pilots' took off last December. “In the pilot phase, we are initially testing the new processes at ten locations.” The overall process is already running smoothly. “Here and there we are still adjusting details, for example the digital return log. This is completely normal for a project of this scale,” says Steffen Hohn. The new process will then be rolled out to all 164 DEKRA locations starting May.
Important for the bigger picture: lessees can opt for the new process - but they don't have to. Hohn states: “They still have the option of returning the vehicle to an autohaus24 location or opting for our doorstep collection service.”