The Fleet Management BenchMark Program

Bi-annually, a select group of banks and captive finance organizations participate in BenchMark's Fleet Management BenchMark Program. These studies are conducted separately in major European countries. The purpose is to garner as much information about how your operation compares to your competitors, as well as uncover any trends in the industry and help you learn from other’s mistakes and successes.

Areas We BenchMark
As we analyze the following areas (core processes), you'll see how you're alike and different from your peers with respect to: workflows, technology utilization, department structuring, and operating policies.

Business Acquisition: The soliciting of potential customers who intend to sign lease or fleet management contracts and the maintenance of relationships existing customers.

International Tenders Credit Decision: All activities associated with the automatic periodic review of an existing customer or the review of a new prospect. The activities usually involve evaluation of a company based on documentation as defined by the participant, possible request for additional information, and coming to a conclusion in line with the participant’s company policies.

Vehicle Model Set-up: The activities required for setting up new vehicles or updating existing vehicles in the vehicle data file. The process usually involves obtaining all vehicle model relevant data, establishing maintenance and insurance parameters, updating the data bank and making sufficient paper files available for all parties in need.

Customer Set-up: Adding of new customers to the existing portfolio. The process usually involves obtaining all relevant data of this customer, including company car policies, calculation parameter of the products sold and billing information.

Quote Preparation: All activities required for preparing a quote for a single vehicle or a group of vehicles. The process usually involves verifying that all aspects of the vehicle quote have been requested, can be met, and that the requester is entitled to order such a vehicle.

Vehicle Sourcing: This covers all activities for sourcing of a new vehicle based on a newly booked contract. The process usually involves deciding on vehicle supplier, ordering the vehicle, informing the customer about the delivery date, and approving supplier invoice for payment.

Vehicle Delivery and Contract Activation: This process begins when the ordered vehicle is ready to be delivered. It involves contact with the dealer, contact with customer, arrangement of delivery, and activation of the contract in the system. It may also include the return of pre-delivery vehicles.

Operations Support and Customer Service: This group of processes involves activities associated with managing the existing portfolio of contracts. This includes activities such as establishing physical or electronic files for newly executed contracts, obtaining and fulfilling requests for documents from other departments, processing customer payments, answering written, e-mail, or telephone questions from customers. Not included are all questions relating directly to any of the other core processes, i.e. vehicle ordering and delivery, quotation request, maintenance and tire replacement; and accident or return of pre-delivery vehicles.

Service Contract Administration: This group of processes consists of activities associated with managing of the existing portfolio of service contracts. This includes activities such as approving maintenance repairs, tire exchanges, handling of accident management, and fuel card handling.

Termination Processing: The activities required near or at the point of account termination. This typically includes contacting the customer and determining his/her options and selection, removing contract files from accounting systems, and physical or electronic files. It may also include sending written correspondence, such as cancelled contract letters, to customers.

Remarketing: The activities required for disposing any former leasing vehicle. This can occur at end of a contract, following an accident or as a result of repossession activities. Generally this includes appraising a vehicle, performing necessary repairs, and selling the vehicle.

Collections: The activities associated with pursuing payment of deficiency balances prior to charge-off (write-off). Generally, the customer is contacted in an attempt to make the account current.

Recovery: All activities necessary to collect deficiency balances after charge-off (write-off) are included in this process. General activities consist of telephoning debtors, asset searching, attorney and agency coordination, and bankruptcy administrative work. Generally, the customer is contacted in an attempt to recover the entire contract balance.

For more information contact us at info@benchmarkinternational.com.

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Fleet Services

In most instances, BenchMark utilizes a three-phase approach beginning with an assessment of the current situation that identifies the potential value associated with change. The second phase involves a client & BenchMark partnership to design a new target business environment. In the final phase BenchMark implements the determined changes in order to realize the desired client goal(s). Typical BenchMark engagements include the following:

Operational Performance Improvement

Operational support areas are critical to the financial success of every financial services company. Whether it's check processing, loan operations, call center, or collections, operations provide every organization the ability to deliver products and services to their customers. In most cases, these products and services are intended to differentiate their organization from their competition. Operational support areas are often characterized by the following: large numbers of regionalized or centralized staff, multi-shift operations, large fixed and variable expenses, and work environments driven by inconsistent volume on a daily, weekly, monthly, and / or quarterly basis. These characteristics often present significant challenges when presented with management's objective to do their jobs "better, faster, cheaper!"

BenchMark is uniquely qualified to successfully address the client's critical objective of delivering products and services in the most efficient manner possible. Our assessment methodology ensures we understand how, why, when, where and who performs all operational functions because our design recommendations will be unique to your organization. We know there is no one best way of doing any process when you consider organizations' strategies, cultures, policies, technology, geography, and other factors.

Using BenchMark's proprietary database of operational performance metrics, we are able to objectively quantify and support process improvements that will directly impact an organization's overall efficiency and effectiveness. Each design is tailored to support our client's overall strategy and corporate culture as well as work within potential policy, technology and geographic limitations, yet still realize desired operational productivity (efficiency and effectiveness) improvements. Attaining these desired outcomes will have a positive impact on the cost to deliver specific products and services.

Service Level Improvement

Meeting or exceeding customers' (internal or external) expectations requires constant supervision, analysis, and development. With the ever-changing needs of the market, you cannot afford to overlook this critical management area. Providing excellent customer service is not free; however, knowing your customer, understanding their needs and expectations, and providing the products and services in an efficient and effective operational unit will ensure you provide cost-effective customer service.

BenchMark defines customer as "any entity a specific department or organization views as the recipient of that department or organization's product or service." For example, an underwriter's customer may be a branch employee (internal) or mortgage broker (external) and a branch manager's customer may be a new homeowner in his neighborhood (external). In either case, the organization's staff is charged with meeting or exceeding their customers' expectations.

Using critical information attained during the assessment phase of an engagement, we are able to understand what and why current service levels are being attained. By relying on information from our proprietary database and the experience or our consultants to objectively recommend cost-effective service level improvement opportunities.

It is a fact that operating systems and procedures are only as good as you continue to make them. Our track record in this area alone has provided more than enough proof to our clients that we can help.

Technology Optimization

"It's a poor musician that blames his instrument!" BenchMark views technology as an enabler, not as the primary driver of an efficient operation. Following our assessment methodology ensures we understand how, why, when, where and who performs all operational functions. Upon completion of the assessment, we will have identified all significant non-value added steps in your process. We will have also identified many processes that are performed manually or potentially not being performed at all. We will then know how the current processes and technology utilization are impacting service levels and operational efficiency.

By reviewing your existing technologies through this in-depth analysis of your current workflows and business processes, we can effectively and objectively determine if you are using your technology to its fullest potential.

Quite often, technology is purchased to automate current processes whether current processes add value or not. Often, new problems are created because not enough is known about an organization's processes and procedures. BenchMark identifies these "value added" processes and then evaluates whether a client's current technology can automate and/or improve upon the current manual process. In other words, we identify how you can get the greatest benefit from current and / or new technology.

Operations Consolidation

Numerous mergers and acquisitions in the financial services sector, as well as routine cost-cutting exercises, have created a significant demand for operations consolidations in order to meet M&A and overall financial goals. Operations consolidations are complex, employee and customer-sensitive, high profile events. BenchMark is uniquely qualified to plan and successfully execute a consolidation plan because before we make a plan, we gather as much field information as we can and compare it against the best practices in the industry - all in order to create a consolidation plan that is best for you, and uniquely yours.

And when we've created that new central "core" environment, we then conduct a post-consolidation review to ensure all goals are being met, and that your new centralized operation is operating to your satisfaction.

Project / Change Management

Virtually every organization has an example of a project that exceeded its budget and / or timeline or did not achieve its desired results. Projects typically do not fail because of lack of effort but because of poor planning and not strictly adhering to a proven, effective project management methodology. BenchMark has earned an excellent reputation for planning and executing on projects due to talented management and a closely followed, standardized project management methodology. BenchMark understands that tireless planning, effective and timely communication, and assigning accountability are critical components of a successfully completed project.

Running successful assessment, design and implementation projects requires adherence to strict enforced project management methodology. For that reason, when BenchMark manages a project, even when client staff are represented on the project team, all team members are expected to follow the methodology and are held accountable for responsible tasks. This consistency in process leads to successful results.

BenchMark has had success training clients on effective project management skills and methodology. However, we have more frequently been engaged to use our staff and project management knowledge to successful implement critically important projects on time, within budget, and meeting all project success measurements.

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