Fleet Logistics’ new operation in Turkey has gone live with the implementation of the first international fleet customer and the planned introduction of a number of new services.
Two months ago, Europe’s largest independent fleet management provider announced its continued expansion across mainland Europe and the Near East with the opening of new fleet management operations in Istanbul to service new and existing fleet customers.
The Turkish operation, based at the local headquarters of its parent company, TÜV SÜD, has now gone live and the first major customer, global bio-pharmaceutical giant UCB, has been implemented with a national fleet of 79 Volkswagen branded cars.
Elvan Akalin, Purchasing and Fleet Services Manager at UCB Pharma AS, said the implementation in Turkey was important to ensure the management of all UCB fleets were in global alignment.
“The main objective of this project is to align UCB fleet management to a global template in terms of strategies and approach through obtaining the same level of services in all European countries.
“The implementation in Turkey was one of smoothest I have ever experienced, and the Fleet Logistics’ performance exceeded my expectations.
“Although a new company in the region, it was obvious that they had analyzed both the market and the customer profile in Turkey. They also had a well-structured project plan with clear definitions of requirements and timelines. They were also very customer-focused and supportive before and after the go-live,” she said.
Elvan Akalin added: “We began work on July 1st and it took just two months to go-live. After kick off, we organized weekly meetings to review our current processes, and define our expectations and requirements from Fleet Logistics. We also worked on designing new roles and responsibilities through well-defined flowcharts and toolkits to ensure everything went smoothly,” she said.
Fleet Logistics’ move into Turkey has been in response to requests from fleet clients with existing businesses in the region with no supporting fleet management structure to facilitate them.
The initial work has been handled by the FLI Business Development team, led by Business Development Director, Marcus Hennecke. Once stable operations are established, they hand over to the regional FLI organization.
At the same time, Local Business Development Manager for Turkey, Yves Helven, has led the implementation work with the first Turkish customers, as well and making sure that the office and its staff were ready to go live from the beginning of this month.
As Turkey is such a service-oriented country, drivers are used to a high level of customer service and Fleet Logistics’ new driver app should prove ideal as one of the key methods for helping meet this demand.
The ‘Fleet Logistics Mobility Control App’ provides fleet drivers with access to all their vehicle details, mileage data, support services and other key information.
It also provides a platform through which the driver can communicate with Fleet Logistics, keep their mileage records up-to-date, access details about preferred suppliers and find answers to frequently asked questions at any time of the day or night.
Fleet Logistics is also introducing a number of new products and services to provide for an even more driver-oriented approach where 24/7 accessibility is all-important.
The first new product will be a driver appointment and valet module, which is a one-stop solution for drivers to book any service appointment covering any aspect of their vehicle. Fleet Logistics organizes the appointment and ensures that the vehicle is collected in the morning and re-delivered once the work is completed.
The other new product is an intermediate or end-of-contract car inspection, provided in conjunction with sister company D-Expert, part of TÜV SÜD Auto Service.
Through D-Expert, Fleet Logistics will carry out intermediate car checks – when cars are re-allocated from one driver to another, for example – or at the end of the contract, to ensure that the vehicle returns in a suitable condition to the leasing company, thus avoiding any costly end-of-contract charges.
Fleet Logistics Chief Executive Officer, Rainer Laber, said: “We are delighted that we have been able to implement UCB, our first customer in Turkey, so quickly, so smoothly and on time.
“The opening of our first operation in Turkey, using the existing TÜV SÜD network and infrastructure, puts more pieces in the Fleet Logistics’ jigsaw of mainland Europe and the Near East.
“By using the TÜV SÜD network in this way, we can expand quickly into other countries in which our customers want us to service their local fleet. It also allows us to provide other automotive services from TÜV SÜD’s local product portfolio which will add significant value to our customers’ fleets in the region,” he said.
“We do have other countries in mind for further expansion, and more details will be made available soon,” he added.
Fleet Logistics was acquired by TÜV SÜD Group (www.tuev-sued.com) in 2012 and is targeting strong growth in terms of its managed fleet, product range and country scope this year.
For more details regarding the new Turkish operation please contact Yves Helven: [email protected] Office: FLI / TÜV SÜD, Büyükdere Caddesi No:103/A, Mecidiyeköy/Şişli, Istanbul.
