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Nexus Vehicle Rental

The importance of rental to efficient commercial fleets

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David Brennan (pictured), CEO of Nexus Vehicle Rental, explores how rental plays a key role in the running of an efficient commercial fleet… 

The commercial vehicle (CV) industry is the backbone of the UK economy, with vehicles facilitating the movement of people, assets, and goods, stimulating the economy and helping to keep it stable. 

Although often seen as a short-term solution, fleets are increasingly turning to rental – for short, medium, and long-term use – to safeguard against market uncertainty. Rental offers flexibility, enabling fleet capacity to be scaled up to cope with peak periods and scaled back at quieter times of year, minimising costs as you only need to pay for additional vehicles when you need them.

In a deadline-driven industry the right distribution channels are essential, with access to a strong vehicle supply chain to avoid downtime being paramount to keeping businesses moving. 

Through its pioneering rental booking and management platform, IRIS, Nexus has transformed the business mobility industry in much the same way that Uber disrupted taxi services – by providing on-demand access to the UK’s largest supply chain of 550,000 vehicles across 2,000 locations, including commercial and specialist vehicles, EVs, HGVs and one, day autonomous vehicles. Nexus provides businesses with a viable, cost-effective alternative to the outright purchase of new commercial vehicles, which depreciate in value quickly.

IRIS works to minimise errors and enables customers to self-serve, putting them in control of the entire rental process. Automation means that 90% of bookings involve no human interaction, which helps to streamline rental management and allows new bookings to be made in just 30 seconds. 

Along with this, IRIS’ intuitive Management Information (MI) suite also spots trends in vehicle usage to identify inefficiencies in the rental process. This provides complete transparency to all rental vehicle requirements and enables users to make informed decisions on how to reduce business costs. 

By seeking a flexible rental solution, through a third party such as Nexus, businesses are always equipped to meet their changing mobility needs. Nexus is best placed to keep businesses moving with its all-encompassing technology-led mobility solution.

For more information, visit www.nexusrental.co.uk.

The benefits of maximising uptime through a technology driven approach to rental

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By David Brennan (pictured), CEO of Nexus Vehicle Rental

Nexus has cemented itself at the forefront of innovation for 20 years and has successfully carved its market niche by applying technology to meet evolving industry trends and the ever-changing demands of its customers.

Nexus is transforming the vehicle rental industry in much the same way Uber disrupted taxi services – by providing on-demand access to the UK’s largest supply chain of 550,000 vehicles across 2,000 locations, including EVs, specialist and commercial vehicles, HGVs and one day, autonomous vehicles. Nexus keeps costs lean for businesses and provides an alternative to purchasing assets. 

Technology remains at the heart of Nexus, and its innovative bookings and management platform, IRIS, works to minimise errors and enable customers to self-serve, putting them in control of the entire rental process. Automation means that 90% of bookings involve no human interaction, which helps to streamline rental management and allows new bookings to be made in just 30 seconds. 

IRIS’ intuitive Management Information (MI) suite also spots trends in vehicle usage to identify efficiencies in the rental process. This provides complete transparency on all rental vehicle requirements and enables users to make informed decisions on how to reduce business costs. Earlier this year, Nexus launched IRIS V5 with a new dedicated electric vehicle (EV) rental portal for businesses. This enables customers to meet the rising demand for alternative, cleaner mobility solutions while avoiding large upfront expenditure – a first for the corporate rental market. 

By seeking a flexible rental solution, through a third party such as Nexus, businesses are always equipped to meet their changing mobility needs. Nexus is best placed to keep businesses moving with its all-encompassing technology-led mobility solution.

For more information, visit www.nexusrental.co.uk  

Keeping Britain moving through COVID-19

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David Brennan, CEO of Nexus Vehicle Rental, discusses the need for flexible vehicle rental options to support the retail and logistics industries, as well as key workers, throughout this period of unprecedented demand and uncertainty

Many UK businesses are facing continued economic uncertainty and the spread of COVID-19 is presenting unique challenges for communities up and down the country. Retailers – particularly supermarkets – are experiencing unprecedented demand for home deliveries and require room to flex their fleets to ensure the mobility of their supply chains throughout this rapidly evolving situation. 

Key workers across a myriad of industries, including retail and logistics, now urgently require access to flexible mobility supply networks to serve distributed communities across the country. The UK’s vehicle hire industry is already a vital part of the supply chain for these businesses and an ideal solution for those that need to rapidly scale-up their fleets whilst mitigating costs.

The Government and the British Retail Consortium continue to communicate that the UK does not have a shortage of essentials like food, toiletries and medicines, but the challenge is actually sourcing the ‘people and lorries’ to get these items on supermarket or pharmacy shelves, as well as delivered to consumers’ homes. In these difficult and demanding times, vehicle rental companies can help retailers and those in the logistics industry find the right solution for their mobility needs.

Flexible, on-demand support 

Nexus has built up the UK’s largest supply chain and its pioneering technology, IRIS, connects businesses to more than 550,000 vehicles across 2,000 locations, including EVs, specialist and commercial vehicles and HGVs.

As additional safeguarding measures and restrictions are put in place across the UK, Nexus can continue to provide cars, vans, trucks and HGVs to ensure the UK’s key workers are mobile and essential services such as food deliveries are able to continue.

Flexible rental gives businesses the freedom to adapt their fleet size depending on demand and other requirements. Nexus customers can benefit from not being tied into long-term contracts and, thanks to fixed rates, customers will never pay more than they are originally quoted, even if supplier costs fluctuate substantially. Put simply, Nexus mitigates any uncertainties in the market when there is increased demand, and ultimately provides businesses with the reassurance that rental is a continuously financially viable option to keep operations moving.

Since launching 20 years ago, Nexus’s proposition enables it to meet ever-changing industry trends and customer demands; and this remains true for supporting its customers through the COVID-19 pandemic. As supply chains change daily, Nexus continues to have great visibility of the availability of vehicles nationally, so can identify most viable options for its customers at any given time.

In these challenging times Nexus, like all businesses, has the wellbeing of its workforce, customers and suppliers at the centre of its operations and is prioritising delivering excellent service and keeping people and essential goods mobile, wherever and whenever it is safe to do so. 

Now more than ever, Nexus understands the need for flexibility to support key workers and industries throughout this period of unprecedented demand in order to keep suppliers and essential services moving throughout the whole of the UK. Whether its supermarkets and online retailers looking to scale-up their fleet for the next quarter, or businesses looking to support their employees by providing vehicles for their commutes, Nexus offers full flexibility for its customers throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

To find out more about Nexus’ flexible vehicle rental options, visit: https://www.nexusrental.co.uk/

5 minutes with… Mike Palmer, Nexus Vehicle Rental.

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In the latest instalment of our fleet industry executive interview series, we sat down with Mike Palmer, Client Development Director at Nexus Vehicle Rental, to talk about his company, industry opportunities, COVID-19 challenges and why straight talking is so important in business…

Tell us about your company, products and services.

Established in 2000, Nexus Vehicle Rental is the UK’s leading tech-driven business mobility provider with a supply chain of more than 550,000 vehicles across 2,000 locations. We supply cars, LCVs, EVs, specialist and HGVs and one day, when they’re available for commercial use, we’ll supply autonomous vehicles. Our innovative platform, IRIS, streamlines rental management for our customers, driving large cost savings for them. 

What have been the biggest challenges the Fleet Services industry has faced over the past 12 months?

As we have weathered the storm Brexit presented, with political and economic ambiguity over the last 12 months, we are now facing continued uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19 and its impact on the country. Many companies are already scaling back operations significantly and will face serious issues in the coming days / weeks/ months as their normal supply chains are unable to continue at usual capacity.

We have also seen challenges of increased supply chain costs, in the main as a result of the WLTP changes, which saw more stringent laws and testing on vehicle fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from passenger cars. On top of this businesses are also seeing increases elsewhere such as higher pension costs and rises in living wage. 

Our large supply chain does allow us to mitigate some of these rising costs and risks to ensure that we can keep any pricing increase as low as possible for our customers. Unfortunately, for smaller companies and direct rental businesses this can be very difficult and again, in many cases these businesses have been forced to scale back operations. 

And what have been the biggest opportunities?

As supply chain costs are increasing and legislation is changing, many direct suppliers are now unable to service the largest contracts due to fleet scale and higher demand. Nexus is ideally placed to service large scale contracts, as we have access to the largest supply chain in the country.

As a disruptor in the corporate vehicle rental industry, we have revolutionised the sector through our use of technology, which keeps overheads low, but means we deliver rental efficiencies for our customers at every step. We understand the rapidly evolving situation surrounding COVID-19 is putting greater pressure on businesses, local authorities and front-line workers. As many businesses in the UK must adapt to new ways of working, we want to do what we can to support our clients keep operations running smoothly.

What is the biggest priority for the Fleet Services industry in 2020?

As we continue to navigate the current situation surrounding COVID-19, businesses are facing times of huge uncertainty, not just in the fleet services but across all industries. 

This uncertainty will not go away anytime soon. As we are forced to adjust to a new way of life and working for the foreseeable, we will see businesses continuing to scale back operations and adapting operations to drive cost efficiencies. The flexibility that comes with rental means that businesses can scale fleet needs at any time, to increase vehicles on the road to deal with peak periods or downsize fleets when demand is reduced, so I think we’ll see an uplift in businesses adopting rental moving forward.

Times like these highlight the need for businesses to remain flexible, agile and adaptable to changing conditions. While looking after the wellbeing of the workforce, clients and suppliers’, the priority for the fleet services industry will remain in delivering great service and keeping people and goods mobile, wherever and whenever it is safe to do so. 

As fleet rental providers, it has been important for Nexus to recognise changing requirements and customer demands and to adapt our service offering to reflect the needs of our clients and comply with legislation. 

What are the main trends you are expecting to see in the market in 2020?

Phases of ambiguity often highlight the real benefit of remaining flexible, and this has led to growth in rental in recent years. For those organisations that need to scale-up their fleets quickly whilst mitigating costs, short term rental will prove an excellent solution. As the situation surrounding COVID-19 shifts every day, many are choosing to adjust operations to meet demand in a different way to ensure that individuals and other businesses can continue operations safely.

Until recently, we have seen a rapidly increasing demand for electric vehicles across all modalities. Legislation is a key driver of changes to the market with the introduction of Clean Air Zones (CAZs) and Ultra Low Emissions Zones (ULEZs), propelling the need for innovation in cleaner transport solutions. 

Nexus continues to lead the way with its new dedicated EV rental platform for business use as part of our revamped IRIS V5 rental management system. The platform eases the transition process by assisting our clients to gradually trial and make the switch to EVs – while avoiding high upfront expenditure. We are constantly looking to develop our services with new and innovative software and IRIS is our flagship product that facilitates this.

What technology is going to have the biggest impact on the market this year?

The rapidly evolving situation surrounding COVID-19 is putting great pressure on businesses and authorities to ensure that operations run smoothly. As a result of this economic uncertainty, vehicle manufacturers are announcing that production will be halted. What we thought would be the biggest trends will likely lose focus against a backdrop of businesses just trying to continue operations. 

Electric vehicle technology was set to have a huge impact this year, with the introduction of zero rate BIK tax for all EVs in April to act as a great incentive for businesses to make the switch. Those that may have been previously unsure of how they could financially benefit from going green may be encouraged by this, though must consider the associated challenges from doing so, such as increased repair and maintenance costs for fleet vehicles. 

The government is sign-posting fleets towards a greener future of electric vehicles and hybrids as we know, however, the impact of the widespread adoption of this technology will continue to prove a challenge. What happens if your electric company car goes in to be serviced and you have no choice but to drive a petrol or diesel replacement? 

It is still a big decision for businesses to make this switch to EVs due to the huge investment required to do so, yet high demand means that orders of electric vehicles can still take up to six months for delivery. As a result, we have observed a rising trend of short and medium-term EV rental bookings to plug the gaps in supply and keep fleets moving and expect to see this escalate over the year. 

In 2022 we’ll all be talking about…?

In 2022, I’m sure we will all still be talking about the same things that we are now such as new fuels, self-driving cars and alternative forms of mobility! There is a lot of work still be done to improve infrastructure to enable implementation of these technologies and this will take huge amounts of investment over the next few years before any of them can become the norm.

Over the last few years, there has been more enthusiasm surrounding the possibility of hydrogen-fuelled cars for one, despite the current industry-wide thinking that EVs will become mainstream. It could be interesting to see what developments are made over the next few years regarding hydrogen, as we have seen the EV uptake at the moment is still fairly slow due to associated costs and uncertainty about the level of infrastructure to facilitate this transition. 

I think fully autonomous cars may be a bit of a distant dream for now. However, we are increasingly seeing the adoption of automated features in new cars with self-parking settings, adaptive cruise control and automatic braking systems. Realistically, the safety aspects of autonomous cars will not be ironed out for some time and I am not sure how many people would fully trust this kind of technology right now. 

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learnt about the Fleet Services sector?

I think one thing that surprised me was how many people stay in the industry for such a long time – I have worked in fleet management for 15 years! I think in other sectors, businesses tend to see people move around a lot more.  

It does mean there a lot of experts within our business who have considerable experience of the industry, not just in rental but from various backgrounds such as leasing or finance. This enables us to advise customers on the best way to manage their mobility requirements with genuine knowledge and expertise. 

You go to the bar at the Fleet Services Management Summit – what’s your tipple of choice?

Easy, Southern Comfort. 

What’s the most exciting thing about your job?

I face different challenges every single day – no two days are the same. In this industry we are kept on our toes, reacting to constantly moving goalposts by the government especially, tackling issues around taxation and changing environmental targets, whilst providing the best service at the best price point. 

For example, a few years ago, barely anyone was driving electric vehicles and now we are readying ourselves for the complete removal of petrol and diesel vehicles in the next 15 years. While the industry still adapts to new legislation and changes announced by the government, Nexus is on hand to support businesses in their day-to-day – we must be agile. 

Through a tech-enabled, flexible approach, rental saves businesses both time and money, making it an extremely viable option in the current economic climate and in any times of uncertainty. 

And what’s the most challenging?

I think the most challenging thing is the same as what keeps the job exciting. We are constantly having to change the way that we do things and ensure that we can provide our customers with the most up to date and appropriate advice given developments within our industry.

As a business we ensure we remain flexible, agile and able to adapt to a constantly changing environment so that Nexus remains at the forefront of the industry. 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? 

“Always tell it how it is. People will appreciate the honesty.”

Peaky Blinders or The Crown?

Peaky Blinders. 

www.nexusrental.co.uk

GUEST BLOG: Maximising uptime through a data driven approach to rental

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David Brennan (pictured, above), CEO of Nexus Vehicle Rental, discusses the benefits of maximising uptime through a data driven approach to rental…

As consumption habits continue to shift from ownership to usership, vehicle rental has become an integral part of businesses’ mobility plans across a wide variety of industries including logistics, construction, retail and even specialist sectors, such as waste management. 

As uncertain economic conditions continue, businesses are less inclined to invest in depreciating assets, instead diversifying their fleets through rental, lowering fixed costs whilst flexing their fleet with the demands of the season. 

Flexible rental enables businesses to adapt their fleet size depending on demand at any given time. Its customers are not tied into long-term contracts and can benefit from more competitive, fixed rates compared to short, medium- or long-term hire. 

Driven by tech

Cementing itself at the forefront of innovation since launching 20 years ago, Nexus has successfully carved its market niche by applying technology to meet ever-changing industry trends and customer demands.

Nexus is transforming the vehicle rental industry just as Uber disrupted taxi services – providing on-demand access to the largest mobility supply chain through its pioneering online rental management platform, IRIS. 

The technology (IRIS) connects businesses to more than 550,000 vehicles across 2,000 locations, including EVs, specialist and commercial vehicles, HGVs and one day, autonomous vehicles. 

IRIS minimises booking errors, enabling customers to self-serve, putting them in control of the entire rental process. Automation means that 90% of bookings involve no human interaction and allows new bookings to be made in just 30 seconds, enabling full visibility of the whole rental management process.

Nexus’ Management Information (MI) suite automatically analyses customer data to identify cost-effective options for clients, saving them up to 20% on rental spend, minimising inefficiencies in the rental process. 

As part of the latest update, Nexus launched IRIS V5 with a dedicated electric vehicle (EV) online rental portal for business use. This enables customers to meet the rising demand for alternative, cleaner mobility solutions while avoiding large upfront expenditure – a first for the corporate rental market. 

This all-encompassing mobility solution means that customers can always meet the demands of the job, with access to the right vehicles at the touch of a button, or tap of a smartphone, and without long-term financial commitments, keeping businesses moving. 

www.nexusrental.co.uk