Fleet solution made to measure In discussion with of René Faigle AG René Faigle AG has been successfully on the road for more than 80 years. The Swiss family enterprise specialises in professional systems and solutions for efficient office operations. The company is one of the leading suppliers in the areas print and document management. To distinguish themselves from the competition by knowhow and expertise is one side of the coin. But in the end it is perfect customer service that makes precious metals shine. To achieve best quality in technology, support, and service, these are the challenges faced by the employees of René Faigle AG on a daily basis. And the company expects the same from their vehicle fleet provider. For us Alphabet is a reliable and competent partner who recognises our needs and finds a suitable solution, says, member of the Board of Management and Technical Manager at René Faigle AG. In the following interview with Corinne Schärli, Marketing & Business Development Spe - cialist at Alphabet Fuhrparkmanagement (Schweiz) AG, he explains why they are still very satisfied with Alphabet Fuhrparkmanagement (Schweiz) AG after around two years of cooperation.
Alphabet recognises our needs and responds to them. They present solutions which are tailored to suit us. Alphabet René Faigle AG has been using the services of Alphabet Fuhrparkmanagement (Schweiz) AG for two years. How did you organise your vehicle fleet before that? We have organised our vehicle fleet using external fleet providers for several years now. The initial situation before was the same, the task similar. Decisive for a change was not the price, but Alphabet s concept which is tailored to the needs of René Faigle AG. We need a partner who sees which processes can be simplified, who reacts quickly and reliably to problems. Vehicles are not our core business. Casually speaking they are a necessary evil. They cost money and we need them. Therefore, we are looking for a fleet provider who understands our needs and finds suitable answers to our questions. Which aspects were of particular importance to you when choosing the fleet provider? There are three main elements that are relevant to us when choosing suppliers or customers. Firstly: A partnership-like relationship. To develop a partnership means for me: come together, have open discussions, search for a solution together, and take the next step. This creates trust and lays the foundation for a constructive interaction a partnership-like cooperation. Secondly, we are looking for a long-term partnership for a minimum of five years. Close contact and continuous optimisation of the cooperation are vital to us. Because the market develops fast, the conditions change constantly: What s popular today may be obsolete tomorrow. Here, in particular, we see the high level of flexibility from Alphabet to react at the right moment using the appropriate means. And thirdly, we are of course also looking for the best value for money, not only the lowest price. As an SMB our strength is not only the short-term optimisation of profit, but we rather think in a sustainable and long-term manner. For this, we are also willing to make shortterm investments that will pay off with regard to the follow-up cost in the long run.
Alphabet How would you describe the present cooperation with Alphabet in everyday working? Alphabet is a very reliable and flexible partner. We have found a good solution to all occurring problems within a short period of time. Alphabet acts primarily in a customer-oriented way and only secondarily in a profit-oriented way. This approach is authentic and convinces us. We never hear: The contract says something different. But: What do you need? We will work out a solution. And this is what we expect from our fleet provider. This gives us the peace of mind to have the right partner at our side. You decided on having your vehicles financed through full service leasing. For you, what are the decisive advantages of this variant of fleet management? The main advantage is clearly the calculable costs. We know exactly which tasks we are facing. Unpredictable investment cost or total failures do practically not exist with the full leasing variant. The vehicles are replaced in due time, before major technical damage occurs which costs money and may mean a damage to the company s image in case of a total failure. In addition to controlled failure management, the full service leasing model ensures a high level of mobility in all situations, which is an added benefit. In the past, we used to employ our own personnel who was responsible for operations, auditing, and other administrative tasks. The personnel requirements connected to this were very high, exclusively of the process cost, which is not to be underestimated. What do you need? We will work out a solution. Alphabet reacts quickly and in an uncomplicated and professional manner, even in critical situations.
We want a partnership. We are looking for a long-term cooperation and need the best value for money. Alphabet Your enterprise has various certificates in the environmental area, such as, for example, the *ISO 14001 certification. What role does environmental friendliness play with respect to your fleet? That s correct, we are certified according to ISO 14001. Every year, we define and monitor our environmental targets. With regard to our fleet this means that we record the average mileage per vehicle per month and evaluate it together with the CO₂ values according to the manufacturers specifications. We also constantly consider new options to reduce CO₂ emissions. This also includes economy driver trainings for the employees of the technical and support departments. Anticipatory driving, controlled breaking and accelerating make it possible to save up to 15% of fuel and at the same time to go several seconds faster. This proves that fuel consumption is not related to the time factor. In cooperation and with the knowhow of Alphabet we try to analyse all this data in a meaningful manner. As René Faigle AG is actively engaged in protecting the environment, can you imagine to complement your fleet with electric vehicles? It is quite conceivable to complement our fleet with electric vehicles or vehicles which only produce low levels of CO₂. However, at this point in time, this is not really an option yet, as the choice of suitable vehicles is too small. The requirements our service technicians and support employees place on their vehicles are not met. This will certainly change in the near future. And I am sure Alphabet will also be the right partner for this. You as a fleet customer, in which areas of mobility management do you see a potential for improvement? Everything can always be optimised. Me personally, I would wish for more transparency in reporting. Of the numerous data recorded by modern IT systems we, as a customer, we only need a small part. Useful are mainly such values we would like to present to our employees in our company, such as monthly mileage performance and mileage reading. Selected information, individually presented, would therefore make handling easier. But what does make a good cooperation even more attractive? Shared challenges which inspire us to new ideas!
In discussion with of René Faigle AG The personal contact to business partners is important to us. We review the cooperation with our partners in regular intervals. This creates proximity and trust and lays the foundation for a constructive interaction with one another.