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FLEET TYRE MANAGEMENT
L to R: Jamie Mortimer, Sarah Mortimer and Dave Morley.
Inside the ITDN’s call centre.
The ITDN’s Head Office in Okehampton.
ITDN – The Independent National Breakdown Network
According to Sarah Mortimer, Business Manager at the ITDN, many fleets are often under the illusion that in order to secure national breakdown coverage, they have no option but to deal with a national provider such as ATS Euromaster or to sign up to a complete tyre management package with a fleet management operator. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” says Mortimer. The ITDN, now established for over 27 years and offering a network of as many as 630 independent outlets, offers a comprehensive national breakdown service, providing the ideal solution to fleets who want to manage their own tyre policy or who are happy dealing with their local tyre dealer on a local basis, but need the security of national breakdown coverage when operating away from home. “We offer a key benefit for fleets, who
Founded in 1985 by Okehampton tyre dealer Adrian Thomas with the able assistance of Bill Pollock and Jean Dawe, the network has historically been promoted
almost like a friendly members’ club – all independents operating in the common interest. Today, the organisation is managed by a team of three directors, Sarah Mortimer, her husband Jamie Mortimer, who is the organisations Accountant, and Call Centre Manager Pete Morley.
According to Sarah Mortimer, fleets choosing to use the
ITDN network are able to
benefit from a number of key benefits. Key amongst these is
the network’s response and
arrival time, which at an
average of 55 minutes, is claimed to be the best in the industry. The
network, particularly in key areas”. Other major benefits include fixed pricing, call recording and reporting, online information tracking and European cover.
Fleets can access the ITDN’s service in two ways. Fleets are able to join the network directly, although direct membership is, according to Mortimer, best suited to fleets with more than 30 vehicles. Smaller fleets are generally put in touch with their local ITDN dealer member and can access the network’s services through them. In addition to the benefits accrued by fleets, there are also a number of major advantages to independent tyre dealers in being members of the scheme, not least the guarantee of getting paid (all payments are covered by an indemnity package), the benefit of the national call centre, recorded
trained to carry out call centre functions, meaning the network can maintain efficiency even at busy times. The call centre carries out administration facilities for several tyre manufacturers and is also able to provide a night-time call handling service for third party tyre dealers. For larger fleets there is also the facility to access the system direct via an online system. The ITDN supplies dealer with worksheets, breakdown cards and van stickers and provides an interactive, web based programme that allows members to manage tyre breakdowns via a real-time link to the ITDN’s computer system. This allows the operator to monitor tyre breakdowns with informative data covering the tyre fitted and removed as well as start and completion times. Because it is an internally developed system
want to save money, but don’t want to incur the expense of a full fleet package”, explains Mortimer. The other key point is that the network is wholly owned by the membership, which means that all profits are immediately re-invested into the system. Indeed, the ITDN has a rather unusual structure.
ITDN’s 24 hour call centre, which deals with around 300 breakdowns per day, is open 365 days a year and has an average call answered in 8 seconds. “Our network coverage is one of our core strengths”, explains Mortimer, “but we will always consider new dealer members, to further strengthen the
calls, the breadth of brand choice, central billing and the benefit of being part of a nationally recognised network”. Dealers can join as full members or associate members. Full members, can bring jobs into the
system and are allocated jobs. These memberships
are split into
tier one and
tier two
members, the former being
given job
priority.
Associate members can only bring jobs into the system.
The ITDN’s Okehampton based call centre, managed by Pete Morley, is central to the ITDN’s business. Over thirty people are employed by the ITDN, some in the call centre and some in administration functions. However, one of the main strengths is the fact that people in all functions are
designed by ITDN’s in-house software designer, the system can be individually tailored to members’ specific requirements. Also available as a service is a new
website format called TyrePricer, which offers retailers an
online tyre price quoting facility. This
allows dealers to quote for tyres if
they are available in the dealer’s area. The dealer then deals directly
with the customer (this
service is available for direct depot sales
only).
Last but not least, the ITDN
is now also looking at launching a fleet checking tool, which will give dealers an additional fleet management tool. According to Sarah Mortimer this service is expected to be launched during the ITDN’s AGM in September.
16 Commercial Tyre Business