At furniture retailer POCO Einrichtungsmärkte GmbH, low costs and maximum transparency apply not only to the product range, but also to the fleet of more than 400 vehicles. Since 2016, the company has been using Carano’s Fleet+ fleet management software, giving it full control over contracts, expenses, and more.
Passenger cars and commercial vehicles
Employees
Discount stores throughout Germany
The larger the fleet, the more work the person in charge has to do, according to industry wisdom. Complex fleets consisting of different types of vehicles are particularly cost-intensive. This is also the case for POCO Einrichtungsmärkte GmbH. The fleet of more than 400 vehicles has everything from cars to forklifts to tractor-trailers.
While the vans and commercial vehicles carry the company logo and thus have a certain external impact, the passenger cars are intended for field service and as part of employee motivation. Additional challenges for the fleet team arise from the implementation of electric vehicles in the fleet.
At POCO’s headquarters, there are both charging points and e-vehicles that are part of the pooling fleet. In addition, the stores are to be equipped with charging points in the foreseeable future to enable customers and employees to charge their vehicles on site. “POCO is pushing the use of new technologies in all areas, including e-mobility. But the prerequisites are not yet necessarily in place for all of our drivers, as employees have to drive many kilometers due to the nationwide distribution of stores,” says Angelika Nothdurft, Fleet Manager POCO Einrichtungsmärkte GmbH.
Challenges
Brand plurality could not be covered and savings potential identified so far
Solutions
Cost and consumption analyses at the push of a button and automated appointment organization save time and resources
At that time, Carano was able to meet all our requirements.
Today I know that the system can do much more than that.
Fleet Manager POCO Einrichtungsmärkte GmbH
Successful fleet management means one thing above all: an optimal cost structure that simultaneously ensures the profitability and mobility of the fleet. This is exactly where Fleet+ comes in. The basic module used by POCO offers in-depth analyses of all important key figures. This ranges from a simple list to management views and an interactive table dashboard with reporting. With these features, cost outliers can be identified more quickly, leases and terms can be compared more accurately, and fuel consumption can be predicted accurately. In short, digital reporting with Fleet+ saves time and human resources.
In addition to evaluations and reporting, the Fleet+ fleet management software can do much more. The basic module forms the cornerstone for a modular application system that can be individually expanded according to customer requirements and fleet characteristics. Among other things, there is an archive function, rights and contract management, collective invoice imports with standard templates, and a workshop module that can be used to process damage.
Fleet+ is not the first fleet software that has been deployed in POCO’s fleet. The old solution, however, did not meet the increased requirements and so Angelika Nothdurft started looking for a functional alternative when she was assigned the task. On the one hand, the new software should be able to map the plurality of brands in the POCO fleet, but on the other hand, it should above all reveal potential savings. The ability to process and manage motor vehicle insurance policies in-house again was also an important decision criterion. The requirements were defined, now all that was needed was to find the right partner for a collaboration. The partnership between POCO Einrichtungsmärkte GmbH and Carano Software Solutions began at a fleet trade show. Agreement was quickly reached and the project implementation began.
With all the data collection and analysis, however, one issue must not be ignored: data protection. Fleet+ is installed locally on POCO’s servers and so the data is also located there. “It was a particular concern of ours to preserve data sovereignty,” emphasizes Angelika Nothdurft. Because by no means every provider in the industry can meet these requirements.
However, the cooperation between POCO and Carano did not stop with the implementation of the software. The challenge at POCO was to consolidate a multi-brand fleet within one program, while also transferring the existing data into the new system,” explains Hans-Joachim Guth, co-managing director of Carano. A project that has succeeded and raises hopes for further joint projects with the Berlin fleet expert and the furniture giant.
In the meantime, the electronic driver’s license check LIVA at POCO has also been integrated into Fleet+, for which POCO made itself available as one of the first test users and helped to improve the application and uncover typical “teething troubles”. Another important aspect besides cost control is schedule coordination. Fleet+ helps to monitor, for example, HU dates, checking the expiration date of driving licenses and many other recurring appointments. Both sides benefit from the knowledge gained through the implementation and intensive use of the software solution. For example, at Carano’s request, POCO held training sessions with other interested parties and was able to draw on its own data base, which in turn benefited the further development of Fleet+.
POCO knows that the future belongs to electromobility, and the first e-vehicles are now being managed with Fleet+. “The biggest challenges [für uns] in this area are the rural area and the high mileage, some of which is driven by our employees [müssen]” says Angelika Nothdurft, adding confidently “it will go in that direction for us as well.” How fitting that Carano recognized the possibilities of commercial electric mobility at an early stage and is conducting research on this with well-known partners in the “Shared E-Fleet” and “Smart efleets” projects. True to the motto of the furniture discounter: “But they also have everything!”.
The company POCO Einrichtungsmärkte GmbH is one of the largest furniture retailers in the German-speaking region with offices in Bergkamen (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Hardegsen (Lower Saxony). The name POCO is an acronym and goes back to the company founder Peter Pohlmann, who opened the first furniture store with the name “Pohlmann and Co.” in Ahlen in 1989. In 2008, the company merged with the former domain furniture stores.
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