Upward pressures on car and van daily rental prices are seeing fleets carry out increasing numbers of transactions online, say e-commerce specialist epyx.
The company points out that fleets are using online bookings partially because they offer a lower cost method of processing but also to benefit from multi-supplier pricing and service levels.
epyx has noticed these trends through recent use of its 1link Hire Network e-commerce platform, designed to allow major fleets to manage their daily rental requirements online.
Ken Trinder, head of business development at epyx, said: "All daily rental companies are facing increasing costs and are under pressure to increase their prices but this does tend to be a fairly price sector of the fleet market.
"Against this backdrop, processing a daily rental booking online is a win for both supplier and customer because an online booking is the cheapest and fastest way to process a transaction. Telephone and paper based bookings are becoming things of the past.
"However, we are also seeing fleets increasingly looking at multi-supplier quotations to find the best combination of price and service. E-commerce technology lets them make comparisons quickly and easily."
Trinder added that these comparisons were infrequently based on lowest cost but on each fleet's definition of value for money.
He said: "Even though prices are rising, daily rental companies that base their offering on a balance of mid-market pricing and competitive service levels are still winning the bulk of business. It is all about meeting the needs of each particular fleet."
For purchasers of daily rental services such as major fleets, 1link Hire Network enables online easy comparison of multi-supplier quotations and subsequent booking. For daily rental suppliers, it provides access to new customers as well as electronically validating bookings and other major process improvements. As with other 1link platforms, a major benefit for all parties is the massive reduction in telephone traffic to manage bookings.