Sixt & Fixico creating effortless car repair journeys

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, car rental companies which survived border restriction-dry spells must now ensure their fleets are ready for rent to accommodate the many long-awaited trips. The increase in demand will likely lead to an increase in damages, which creates a challenge for car rental companies as time spent getting a vehicle repaired takes time away from that vehicle being rented. Having a digital repair management solution can support these companies in finding the best repair solution for each unique damage, putting the vehicles back on the road as quickly as possible.

The value of repairing vehicles efficiently

Headquartered in Germany, Sixt is a leading provider of premium mobility services across 110 countries. As the first car rental company to accept mobile reservations and the first to offer keyless car rental, Sixt maintains a strong culture of technological innovation.

As Sixt offers premium vehicles, it’s crucial that all damages receive quality repairs and the cars look brand new before being available for rent again. In 2019, Sixt started talking with Fixico about optimizing their car repair management process, starting in the Benelux. With Fixico’s digital platform, Sixt can seamlessly integrate body repair shops from their existing network, as well as access Fixico’s network across Europe, in order to find the best repair solution for every unique damage. In addition, Sixt can now experience effortless repair journeys, while gaining full control and insight over the whole process.

“Our open mindedness to leveraging technology in an otherwise traditional industry, has allowed us to remain leaders in this space. When we learned there was a digital option for handling damage repair, we were very open to testing it out for ourselves. Once we did, we realised the opportunity to save time and money, while guaranteeing quality repairs, was too huge to pass up,” said Jeroen de Graaff, Director Business Control Benelux, Sixt.

Intelligently matching damage with repairer

Fixico helps businesses and drivers find the best repair solutions using intelligent matchmaking. By having Sixt upload photos of the damage to Fixico’s platform, Fixico can make an estimated repair cost calculation using AI and its own expertise on types of damages, vehicle requirements and repair network’s performance. From this calculation, Fixico creates a shortlist of suitable repairers that match the criteria, such as availability, price, proximity and specialization. Sixt is then able to choose whether they would like to steer the repair to the top suggested repairer, or tender the repair via a closed bidding system.

Despite already having an extensive network of trusted body repair shops, and a great team steering repairs to their most suitable shop, Fixico’s digital solution was able to significantly reduce Sixt’s repair costs and cycle times. Over the course of the partnership, Fixico has supported Sixt in reducing repair cycle times by more than 30%.

“When vehicles run into the end of their rental lifetime, we need to prepare them in the best possible condition to be sold and used for purposes other than rental, and Fixico is supporting us in handling those big repair volumes efficiently,” said de Graaf. “Fixico has helped us in many ways, and especially in repair times where they have helped us reduce by more than 30%, which is an amazing result. We were also able to standardise the way we communicate and coordinate with our repair partners.”

Growing with trusted partners

When you have two ambitious companies working together, progress and innovation happens. Sixt’s philosophy of leveraging technology wherever possible, combined with Fixico’s leading digital repair management solution, paves the way for significant innovation for the entire car repair industry.

“I’ve been very impressed with the responsiveness and flexibility of the entire Fixico team. It has allowed us to work very efficiently together and create tailor-made solutions,” said de Graaf.

“Having worked with Sixt successfully for two years, we have been able to further develop our platform with such an esteemed player in the rental industry. This has allowed us to iterate on our products using the best use case scenarios in the market,” said Derk Roodhuyzen de Vries, co-founder and CEO of Fixico.

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Fixico offers possibilities for companies of any shape and size and can adapt to the needs and requirements of your business. Unlock the potential of digital repair management!