How connectivity can improve your Remarketing experience

Think of connected cars, and you picture them on the road, sending live data to fleet managers. But connectivity is also relevant when cars are taken out of circulation – and for the same reason: because real-time cloud computing improves Remarketing results. 

That much was in evidence at this year’s Fleet Europe Remarketing Forum, part of the Fleet Europe Summit (6-7 November, Estoril). Almost all finalists for the Fleet Europe Car Remarketing Award had entered products and services that relied heavily on connectivity. 

Improve trust

And that’s no surprise. Remarketing is benefiting strongly from new technology and the online experience, as innovative ways to improve consumer trust and transcend national markets. Of particular and growing importance is online remarketing, and this is where connectivity can make its greatest contribution. 

One example is IVI – short for Intelligent Vehicle Inspection – one of the five entries that made it to the finals of the Remarketing Award. 
IVI is a product by ADESA, a subsidiary of U.S. group Kar Auctions, which came to prominence in Europe by its acquisition earlier this year of CarsOnTheWeb. ADESA positions itself as a prominent vehicle auctioneer and reseller for OEMs and leasing companies in Europe. 

Simple self-appraisal

A Remarketing solution based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), IVI empowers drivers to carry an end-of-lease (or end-of-rental) vehicle inspection themselves, using a smartphone or tablet, before they hand back their vehicle to the owner. The driver is guided through a simple self-appraisal which includes a pre-defined image capture walkthrough. This removes the need for third-party inspections, saving significant time and costs. 

The data gathered via these inspections is immediately put to use. It is connected via the cloud to relevant upstream Remarketing formulas, where it can be appraised and acquired for its second life before its first one is completely over. 

Stock days

Technology thus enables vehicles to be remarketed online before they have been de-fleeted.  And of course, by reducing stock days, Remarketers score a double whammy: the vehicle costs less in storage and has less time to depreciate further.

Aston Barclay, another Remarketing Award finalist, presented Cascade, another triumph of connectivity over the mass of used-vehicle data that formerly had to be processed manually – if at all. Cascade connects Aston Barclay’s network of six physical auction centres in the UK, seamlessly integrating vehicle data from appraisal to either digital disposal or physical auction, generating saving in terms of time, cost and environmental impact. Again, reducing stock days is a major factor in optimalising Residual Values. 

‘Blockchain’ is the operative word of the platform by Vinturas, another finalist; but arguably the crucial element for its paperless and safe vehicle supply chain model is its connectivity. Connected technology allows Vinturas to present fleet owners with real-time information on location and delivery of their vehicles, en route throughout Europe. Together with blockchain technology, the connectivity aspect of Vinturas’ model provides opportunities to combat mileage, tax and VAT fraud. 

Full history

The winner of this year’s Fleet Europe Car Remarketing Award were ProovStation, an automated inspection system (pictured) that provides a complete overview of the state of a vehicle in a matter of seconds. And its value is not just higher speed, lower inspection or the increased accuracy of damage recognition.  

The AI module identifies all the damages present on a vehicle and generates an encrypted report. ProovStation provides a full history of the vehicles inspected, a full report on damages, plus – uniquely - an estimate on the cost of damage repair, and on the resale value of the car. Fed into the cloud, this data can be put to immediate use. 

Innovation is what drives business efficiency, profitability and progress, also in the Remarketing industry. And especially in the Remarketing industry, ‘innovation’ at the moment is pretty much synonymous with ‘connectivity’.