5 November 2008
TECH UPDATE
Research Simplified
The new AutoView application will save fleet administrators precious time when researching vehicle options. It’s the latest time-saving tool available to GE customers.
 One of the most time-consuming activities facing all fleet administrators is research. Finding the right vehicles for your fleet can easily translate into countless hours spent on the phone and computer researching possibilities and double-checking information to make sure nothing was missed.
But GE Capital Solutions Fleet Services has made life much easier for their customers. This past December, the company launched an online vehicle evaluation guide called AutoView, designed to save customers countless hours of research.
AutoView quickly locates vehicles options and displays them in an easy-to-read format.
“In a day and age where vehicle choices are becoming more and more complex, the premise behind AutoView was simply to provide a way to simplify the choices for our customers,” says Sumair Mirza, marketing and strategic consulting manager.
Mirza explains some of the challenges facing fleet administrators today. “Previously, you would look at the capital cost of the vehicle and then look at certain OEMs on the domestic side because you had concessions with them, and that was your world. Then, maybe it got a little bit more complex because you’d look at lifecycle costs-total cost of ownership.
“Then you had imports coming into the picture and that made things a bit more complex. Then safety became a consideration. More recently there’s the whole environmental factor—fuel-efficiency, carbon emissions, rebate eligibility, etc.”
With all these factors to sift through, it’s no wonder research takes up so much time and energy. “That is why AutoView is focused on making ‘Complex vehicle choices simplified.’ It’s all about making life easier for our customers.” Mirza says.
Life, simplified
AutoView allows you to find all relevant information very quickly. For instance, if you’re looking for a vehicle with four passenger capacity, fuel economy between 7 and 10 L/100 km, a crossover body style from an import manufacturer that has rebate eligibility, and at least 20 cubic feet of cargo space, you simply select a few menu options and review easy-to-read results of what’s available on the market today.
“This tool has been developed in Canada based on direct input from customers, and a variety of customer-facing internal resources who hear our customers’ needs everyday. AutoView is a powerful yet easy to use tool that is unique to GE and we are pleased to offer this as a value-add resource to our customers,” Mirza says.
Feedback
So far, the response to this new tool has been very positive. “Fleet managers are using AutoView and the response has been great,” Mirza says. “And anyone who deals with executives is extremely pleased because their executives no longer have to spend their valuable time reviewing websites or visiting dealers.
“From a selector development standpoint we are very excited as this tool will ensure that no stone is left unturned when evaluating from the breadth of vehicle options available in the marketplace today. This will change the way our customers make their vehicle selection decisions by helping them make more informed decisions in a much shorter timeframe.”
The amount of time this tool will save GE customers cannot be overemphasized. “The data that would normally take you at least a couple of days to collect—assuming you don’t miss something—can now be collected within a few clicks of the mouse,” Mirza says.
The only question now is how fleet managers will use all the newly acquired spare time without the boss finding out? | 
