Arval is aiming to transform the way it interacts with fleet decision-makers and their drivers through online tools, mobile technology and social networks.

The leasing giant is on the verge of launching an initiative called the Arval Smart Experience in response to the increasing use of mobile and tablet devices.

Estimates suggest that smartphone penetration will reach 75% in the UK and tablet penetration will hit 50% in 2014.

Arval told Fleet News that it intends to offer a combination of mobile apps, tailored web content and dashboards optimised for tablet devices to deliver a new level of convenience.

Robert Pieczka, business development and marketing director at Arval, said: “The pace of change in technology is growing ever faster and our customers and their drivers expect us to utilise new opportunities to their fullest.

“No matter where they are, they want the relevant information, insight and services available to them in a useful and easy-to-digest format.”

Tools are in the final stages of development and testing, and will be available from the second quarter of 2014.

Arval says that it will include tailored web content providing useful information and insight to fleet decision-makers, new dashboards containing key fleet metrics optimised for tablet use, mobile apps for drivers to provide useful information and positively influence behaviour, and social media channels to share information and offer a new and immediate method of communication.

Pieczka added: “The Arval Smart Experience is not about technology for the sake of it.

“What it does is utilise the best new technologies for the right purposes to provide intelligent, practical and accessible solutions for our customers and their drivers.

“It provides a new customer and driver experience in a changing world.”

Arval says the new service will enhance relationships, giving customers and their drivers better and faster access to the company teams, which will allow it to respond to their needs more effectively.

The tools are designed to save time, speed up and improve decision making and provide remote support.

Expert advice aims to provide the right information, in the right format, when it’s required to support decision making and operational fleet activity.

Meanwhile, a series of smartphone apps will provide new services to drivers allowing them to operate in the most effective way to positively affect driver behaviour.

The Arval Smart Experience is not going to be exclusive to the UK. Pieczka confirmed it will be deployed across Arval’s subsidiaries and the initiative has already been announced in Italy and France.

It is the result of a change within the Arval group that was instigated during 2012 within the scope of a strategic programme called One Arval. This long-term project unites the plans and activities of all Arval subsidiaries and forms the basis on which the new customer relationship strategy was built.

The objective is to go beyond the current standards and expectations of the fleet market and establish a daily interactive relationship with managers and drivers. In short, it aims to bring Arval closer to its customers and their drivers.

It also reflects a new way of working being employed by Arval at its Swindon headquarters (Fleet News, October 3).

Benoît Dilly, the new managing director of Arval, has developed a new team dynamic to improve service delivery that has its roots in the Far East.

Dilly took charge of the top five leasing company from Bart Beckers in September and began paving the way for a new way of working.

Single-function, task-driven teams are being abandoned in favour of a customer-focused approach that Dilly has successfully employed before.

The new team structures, which will include order delivery specialists, customer service analysts, technical support workers and account managers, sitting and working together, are expected to fully operational within two to three months

Dilly believes the impact in terms of positive service delivery will be massive for their customers.

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