THE broker/dealer procurement platform, Fleet Procure, has hit a half century of broker partners.
The significant growth for the online platform came in the second half of 2020, said Fleet Procure, with a further boost in December with the signing of 10 new broker partners, five of which were Bridle Group AR franchises and five independent brokers. It is double the projected number Fleet Procure has expected in 2020.
The leasing broker taking Fleet Procure to the magic 50 number was Stoke-on-Trent based Yes Lease.
Lisa Birks, director of Yes Lease, said:
Fleet Procure is simple to use, fast and quite frankly what is required in this extremely fast paced industry. It takes the pain out of any vehicle search which frees up the sales team enormously and the dealers that are signed up to this we are finding to be very proactive in coming back to us. I would highly recommend this to anyone in the vehicle broker industry.
Along with the 50 broker partners, there are now 273 dealers using the system, providing participating brokers with a significant pool of dealer discounts and vehicle availability.
Fleet Procure founder and managing director, Lee Jones, commented:
To reach 50 broker partners this year is an amazing feat. Admittedly, this has been fuelled by Bridle Group coming on board in the summer and rolling out the system to their broker franchisees, but we have also seen a 200% increase in broker enquiries to the system in the second half of 2020 with seven new independent brokers joining.
Jones said the increase in broker and dealer partners meant the platform had revised upwards its 2021 volume forecasts to 20,000 vehicles.
He added that more system development would take place to further improve broker and dealer engagement, while partnerships and reciprocal arrangements were also on the agenda.
“Our investment into development of the platform will continue to increase in 2021, with many new features planned,” Jones continued.
“We are also looking to work more closely with additional manufacturer partners to create bespoke opportunities for users of the Fleet Procure platform. New partnerships and reciprocal arrangements are also being planned to allow companies to engage ancillary products with our users, such as electric charging points and tariffs, vehicle accessories and fleet management software all within our single login platform.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Fleet Procure’s partner conference – held at west London’s Puttshack in January 2020 – would be replaced in 2021 by a virtual conference. Broker partners would be invited to vote for dealer awards based on the volume and service provided in 2020.
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.
