IT INTELLIGENCE
– which formalises its commitments in favour of sustainable development – certified by Bureau Veritas. In 2010, Europcar won the World Travel Award for ‘World’s Greenest Transport Solution’ for the second time. The company has a dedicated eco-friendly section of its website, further pursuing its green initiatives by giving maximum visibility to its eco-friendly cars and so encouraging consumers to choose a greener car when making reservations. The ecofriendly fleet of cars includes vehicles with CO2 emissions of less than 140g/km and models equipped with alternative engines (hybrid or electric) or that are compatible with biofuels, bioethanol and natural gas. Europcar is furthering its environmental approach and is currently gearing up for the international launch of Daimler’s car2go in the spring of next year. A fleet of 300 two-seater Smart cars is due to hit the streets of central Hamburg by March 2011. The new mobility concept will allow those who have joined the scheme to simply turn up, get into one of the cars and drive off whenever and to wherever they choose. Recently premiered at the Motor Show in Paris, the newgeneration Smarts incorporate innovative features such as a solar roof capable of charging the vehicle’s battery, looking after the electrics and making sure the interior temperature is always controlled. There is also an advanced car-sharing telematics system.
Bigger picture A report by the World Travel Market has shown that the booking of holidays on mobile phones and other new technologies will be the biggest consumer trend to impact on the travel and tourism industry in the future and Europcar intend to keep up. In autumn of 2009 they launched a new mobile phone reservation service for online booking from any web-enabled phone. This was the first of many developments to further Europcar’s commitment to making car hire a simpler, more accessible and stress-free experience. This mobile experience is further enhanced with the Europcar app, available on both iPhone and iPad. The smooth ergonomics and clear presentation – showing added extras such as baby seats or GPS – make the reservation process faster and more dynamic. The company has also announced an application for Samsung Wave smartphones, offering a number of easy-to-use, practical features, including a location finder that finds the nearest Europcar branch worldwide and the ‘tachometer’, allowing Wave users to get their current driving speed by GPS, again adding to the user experience and Europcar mobile services. Spreading its technology innovation internationally, the company announced deployment of a Microsoft “Surface” table with state-of-the-art, 30-inch, touchscreen technology at Terminal five at Heathrow airport, London in July 2010. Travellers to and from the UK can now experience the first touch screen of its kind for any car hire company, allowing consumers to plan their trip. The interactive table and unique soft ware is designed specifically for Europcar customers, giving a virtual guide to their location, allowing them to draw routes using highly detailed maps provided
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by search engine Bing. Customers are able to zoom in on locations, flip between screens and mark out areas of interest. Itineraries can also be tailored to tastes, picking out castles and museums for history buffs, or a tour of vineyards for oenophiles, all of which can be added to the itinerary and sent to their smartphones, via Bluetooth or wireless, or simply printed off. These Surface tables are expected to appear across Europe in the coming months. By ensuring discussion of each new idea or challenge is spread through to group level and tailoring execution of strategy to individual country needs, Europcar’s technology can continue to develop. With a huge volume of vehicles to be covered by operations, the company is constantly striving to improve its IT system, which can itself have an impact on the business. Clients continue to be the core priority despite overcoming obstacles during the economic crisis. With new solutions to improve the customer experience, an innovative environmental approach and continually evolving technology ideas, challenges can be overcome. And with a worldwide, ever-expanding market, Europcar is taking a holistic approach to its IT and technology innovations to gain ubiquity in the rental transport market. Its cornucopia of fresh, progressive ideas enable the company to stay one step ahead and gain trust and respect from both consumers and industry leaders.
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NUMBERS Europcar has a presence in approx. 150 countries The company is at 230 airports in Europe Since the alliance with Enterprise Holdings, Europcar now has 13,000 stations They employ 7000 people around the world
Greenway System At the forefront of technology, the Greenway system lies at the heart of Europcar’s competitive edge. Developed continuously since its launch in 1994, this unique platform has become the interface for managing all of the company’s activities – from reservation management to sales, marketing, billing and insurance, as well as fleet management and maintenance. Thanks to Greenway, Europcar is able to handle on average: • 38,000 reservations per day • Over 30,000 check-ins and checkouts daily • As many as 6500 users simultaneously connected at any hour of the day or night. With Greenway, Europcar manages the business of its subsidiaries in 11 countries and reservations for its franchise network around the world. The system ensures the rapid integration of Group acquisitions and accompanies its development in new regions, such as Australia and New Zealand. Greenway is capable of integrating new business processes to successfully steer the business of new entities while responding to the Group’s needs.
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