How car rental company Diks lowered its repair costs by 30%

Their story

With a large fleet, 6 prominent locations and outstanding customer service, Diks is a well-known car rental service in the Netherlands. For more than 70 years, the family-owned enterprise has managed to grow its business due to constant innovation. Diks was among the first rental companies to embrace digital solutions in their field, such as online booking tools or electronic customer intake forms.

Their challenge

Despite technology revolutionising many fields of the car rental sector over the years, one aspect remained almost untouched: damage handling. In 2015, dealing with a damaged vehicle meant practically the same thing as it did decades earlier – ambigous repair prices, costly off-road time and inconsistent quality.

The Fixico solution

A fully digitalized way to handle car damage seemed like a distant dream. However, it's a real need for rental companies today, and Diks was among the first ones to successfully take on the challenge. By teaming up with Fixico, the car rental service has been able to transform their repair handling process and lower repair costs by a third while significantly reducing cycle times.

Streamlining workflows

Before Fixico, damage handling meant a time-consuming back and forth between
fleet managers and repair shops. Today, most damage no longer requires physical inspections and time consuming standard calculations, making mounting paperwork a thing of the past. With Fixico's help, Diks digitalized their repair management from start to finish, offering fleet managers full control at every step of the way.

Allocating repairs

Fleet managers now report damage in a cohesive dashboard. It's then either tendered in a high-quality repair network or steered to any preferred one. Certified repairers in the direct vicinity of Diks quickly place competitive quotes with fixed prices for cosmetic damage. Damage that requires a high level of expertise is intelligently steered to the most suitable repair shops.

Closing the cycle

Fleet managers select the best quote based on leading criteria, such as shortest repair time, lowest price or earliest availability. As soon as a quote is selected, the fleet manager schedules the pick-up date. The repair is performed according to schedule, and the car is quickly reunited with the fleet to get back in rotation.

“Our collaboration with Fixico has been much more than just a major cost-saver - it enables us to stay in full control over repair times, and we can maximise the utilisation of our fleet.”

Niels Diks, Managing Director Diks Autoverhuur.

The results

Lowering repair costs

Four years after launching their cooperation with Fixico, damage handling at Diks has improved on every metric. Thanks to the transparent tendering process, the car rental service has reduced repair costs by 30%. This allowed Diks to make better use of their repair budget, fixing even small cosmetic damage regularly and thereby maintaining their fleet in perfect condition.

Reducing cycle times

By fully digitalizing their damage handling process, non-value adding activities were systematically eliminated, allowing Diks to minimize off-road times and optimise their fleet utilization. On average, the time it takes for a Diks vehicle to be returned is reduced by 18%. Especially at times of high fleet utilization, Diks benefits from the option to identify the repair shop with the earliest availability. After reporting a damage, it takes an average of less than 4 hours until fleet managers have received multiple quotes for the repair.

Safeguarding quality

Supported by advanced software, Fixico’s experts monitor each report every step of the way. Any issues that could influence the handling process or quality of the repair are detected in real-time and resolved immediately. This allows Diks to uphold their quality standards and protect buy-back warranties. After each completed repair, Diks’ fleet managers have the option to rate its quality and duration, providing valuable data used for quality assurance.

Get started today

Fixico offers possibilities to car rental companies of any shape or size. Our platform adapts to the needs and requirements of your fleet. Work with our network, your preferred body repair shops or a combination of both.

Request a free demo and unlock the potential of digital car damage repair management for your business.