ALPHABET brought together Broker Partners, Automotive Retailers and Affinity Partners from across Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland for the company’s second ‘Partnership Forum’ initiative of 2019.
The new event, exclusively for Alphabet’s business partners, was held at the Titanic Hotel in Liverpool.
The one-day conference took place on December 05, 2019, to discuss strategically important topics on the automotive and leasing agenda with the senior Alphabet leadership team
Discussion points during the day included:
- sharing industry best practices;
- compliance updates;
- updates on ultra-low and zero emission vehicles;
- as well as examples of digital innovation from beyond the automotive sector.
On display at the event in Liverpool was the new MINI Electric (one of only three vehicles currently in the UK), as well as the latest BMW 7 Series (below).
Brokers, Retailers and Intermediaries received a business update from Alphabet CEO Nick Brownrigg, followed by sessions on the changing regulatory environment from Alphabet’s director of compliance, Leanne Christmas and Richard Chadwick, head of Alphabet Partner.
Delegates also had the opportunity to further explore and discuss issues relevant to their own specific businesses during Channel Committee Meetings attended by senior members of the Alphabet leadership team.
Gavin Davies, general manager, indirect sales at Alphabet – pictured below left – commented:
“The Partnership Forum is an important event for us as it’s an absolute demonstration of Alphabet’s unique approach to partnership and our commitment to these important customer channels.
“Our senior leadership has the opportunity to share business and market updates directly with some of our most important business partners and the personal, open approach is very much appreciated.
“Our partners tell us it’s refreshingly different and enjoyable, informative and thought-provoking but with a relaxed, informal approach to important business topics. The people who attend our Forums are serious business people who like to keep their eyes on the horizon but also like to be able to spend quality time directly with the decision-makers in our business.
“We previously held a Partnership Forum in September for business partners in the South and Midlands, so it’s great to be able to engage with our partners in Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland for a whole day.
“It’s a very open Forum where we discuss the topics that our business partners tell us matter most to them. It’s a vital tool for us in terms of feedback and truly listening to the ‘voice of the customer’, as well as being able to engage our business partners in strategic dialogue.”
Alphabet Partner, overseen by Davies, was one of the three business channels represented at the Partnership Forum.
Launched in 2014, Alphabet Partner involves brokers across England, Wales, Scotland plus Northern Ireland and is responsible for a fleet of nearly 30,000 vehicles. New head of Alphabet Partner, Richard Chadwick, was appointed in October 2019, having worked within the Partner channel since its launch.
Alphabet said that similar Forum events were in the planning for 2020 following the success of the first two initiatives.
Ralph Morton is the leading journalist in the leasing broker sector and editor of Broker News, the website which provides information and news for BVRLA-registered leasing brokers. He also writes extensively on the fleet and leasing market in both the UK and Europe.
