Fleet Assist has launched a new version of its Atlas operating platform, which it claims will help leasing companies to work with the ‘connected car’.

The four-year development programme, which saw Fleet Assist collaborate closely with its contract hire and leasing company customers, has resulted in a bespoke suite of programmes that allows the organisation to manage all aspects of its business in one system.

Vincent St Claire, commercial director at Fleet Assist, said: “The enhancement made enable our customers to work in harmony with the ‘connected car’, which is rapidly emerging as data emanating from telematics devices, smartphone-type technology and autonomous safety technology begins to have a huge impact on the way fleets choose, operate and manage their cars and vans.”

The system allows Fleet Assist to store information on each of the 7,000-plus service outlets in its national network. In addition to the trading terms that are in place with each garage, it holds data on what types and sizes of vehicles a garage can accommodate as well as information on the range of services available from a garage. It also stores copies of both the physical and remote audits that Fleet Assist regularly carries out on garages.

To support the service booking team, the system also has a flexible policy section that allows Fleet Assist’s customers to define a detailed work direction policy, giving the flexibility to drive work into the most appropriate repairer for that job on a specific day.

At the core of the system is a user programmable task management module that allows the company to build process trees to manage the varied services it currently offers to its customers. That allows Fleet Assist to react quickly to a change in process and develop bespoke products and services for both existing and new clients.

The state-of-the-art platform also has the capability of accepting data feeds from external sources, including in-vehicle telematics systems, thus providing Fleet Assist with the ability to identify when services are required and tackle potential faults at the earliest possible stage so maintenance work can be undertaken.

The system was developed and written under the guidance of Jonathon Smith (pictured), Fleet Assist’s IT manager, who is the son of company joint founder Mike Smith.

He said: “As Fleet Assist grew, our old Access-based systems started to struggle to cope with the varied requirements of the business. Because of the unique nature of Fleet Assist, off-the-shelf software was not an option so we embarked on a programme to develop our own systems.

“We needed a platform that was scalable and able to cope with the future expansion of the business. We also needed flexibility to react to the rapid changes in vehicle technology and the varied demands of our customers. Consequently, we decided to host in-house."

Fleet Assist manages more than £100 million of SMR spend annually and anticipates that sum increasing as existing leasing company clients grow their fleets and more contract hire firms become customers.

St Claire added: “The platform upgrade eliminates some previously manual processes and future proofs Fleet Assist as the business focuses on further expansion.”

 

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