Ebbon-Dacs says it has signed its first deal with a major leasing company for its new telematics offering MoDrive, just weeks after launching the system.
The Oxford-based online solutions provider has teamed up with motor accessories supplier VGroup International to tap into the lucrative telematics market.
And Robert Pilkington believes they have a compelling offer for both the leasing industry and end user fleets, with pricing starting from less than £4 per vehicle, per month.
Pilkington wasn’t in a position to name the leasing company it has secured its first contract win with, but said its telematics offering ties in with its overall strategic direction.
MoDrive delivers
For the leasing industry, MoDrive delivers mileage information, service alerts and diagnostic code information.
Meanwhile, for end-user fleets, it can provide fuel consumption, driver behaviour and journey expense information, with the aim of cutting fleet fuel bills and carbon emissions.
Functionality can be switched on depending on individual customer need and the hardware has been supplied by Airmax, which Pilkington says is the best OBD system on the market.
He believes a diagnostic fitment will also allow the company, which is well-known for its web-based e-procurement platform Leaselink, to develop further products in the future.
Pilkington said: “By engineering the most efficient central processing service and layering the solution in an effective way for the fleet industry, we are able to provide a solution that offers customers what they need at a price that can be justified.”
Expanding product range
Ebbon-Dacs began planning its move into the telematics market around two-and-a-half years ago.
Pilkington explained: “We wanted to expand the product range.”
“We build platforms that link various elements of the industry together and we saw telematics as fitting that strategic direction.”
It’s partnership with VGroup International for the fitment and distribution of MoDrive along with well-established hardware supplied by Airmax, have proved vital to Ebbon-Dacs entering the telematics fray.
Its expertise lies with building big portals that link sectors of the industry together, which means it can produce consolidated systems that can take data and turn it into work focussed and process systems on a large scale.
Pilkington says that Ebbon-Dacs understanding of the sector is also a big advantage in offering a telematics product.
He explained: “The simplicity of fitment and the process of doing that through VGroup, along with our own portal technology, is where we see a big strength – we’re offering the best of several worlds.”
Pilkington also stresses that he sees MoDrive as being a low risk product for early adopters.
Leaselink updated
Ebbon-Dacs has a long history with the fleet industry, having developed and launched its web-based e-procurement platform Leaselink 14-years-ago.
Leaselink links franchised dealers and motor manufacturers to major fleet management, leasing and rental companies.
It is used by 12 of the top 15 of the UK’s major leasing companies to source, order and track delivery of more than 100,000 new fleet vehicles a year from a buying community of leading motor manufacturers and around 1,500 franchised dealers.
However, Ebbon-Dacs announced it was developing a second generation of Leaselink earlier this year.
And, Pilkington told Fleet News that the new generation of the Leaselink platform is progressing well.
It utilises the very latest interface styles inspired by the new generation of tablet computers and keep to an ethos of minimum clicks, simplicity and flexibility.
To minimise disruption for users and reduce risk, Ebbon-Dacs is releasing the new system in separate modules that integrate seamlessly with the current generation of the platform.
Pilkington says the company has invested “a few” million pounds in building the new platform, which will future-proof it for the next five years.
He added: “It’s the biggest change of Leaselink for many, many years, but the target is not to rest on our laurels.”
Growth agenda
The expansion into the telematics market and its investment in Leaselink signals a growth agenda for Ebbon-Dacs with Europe firmly within its sights.
It has also opened new offices in Germany to go with those it already has in the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, it already has a development team in Eastern Europe and a partner in Italy. He added: “We’ve looked at France, but the leasing companies were not ready for a purchasing system at that time.
“However, we’re now looking at our France strategy going forward. We’ve got a product that will work in France and it’s very much under evaluation.
“We will go wider if a client wants, but our focus at the moment is those markets I’ve mentioned.
“In the longer term we will gradually add our own capabilities in markets where there is a big enough benefit for our customers.”
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Gareth has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist having started his career in local newspapers in the 1990s. Prior to joining Fleet News in 2008, he worked in the public sector as a media advisor and is currently news editor at Fleet News.
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