Autoclenz : Leading from the front
Published : October 2008
Becky Done talked to Grahame Rummery about a successful organic growth strategy and a focus on customer service, which has kept the award-winning Autoclenz at the front of its field.
Driven by the strength of its reputation, Autoclenz is well known throughout the motor vehicle industry. Providing a range of services from car valeting and repairs to collection and delivery services, the company has enjoyed strong organic growth, which took sales to £27 million in 2007.
Chief executive Grahame Rummery started at Autoclenz in 1990, when it was bought by chemical manufacturer Yule Catto. The company enjoyed steady growth over the next fifteen years, at which point it was floated on AIM. Today it remains the only company of its type to be AIM-listed, and its sales are almost seven times greater than at its inception. The company has established a name for itself by expanding across a number of different fields. Autoclenz is the core valeting business, working predominantly with car dealerships and the rental sector, in the latter of which it has a particularly visible presence, thanks to its business in many of the UK’s major airports including Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Stansted, Birmingham, Leeds Bradford and Edinburgh. Other service sectors include refurbishment centres, motor auctions and retail outlets.
The company’s other branches afford additional presence and weight to its operations. “We manage the business via a number of different brands,” Rummery explained. Pinnacle services the prestige car industry, dealing with such major marques as Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, BMW and Audi. SMART repairs is a group of 40-plus technicians who provide “small medium area repair technology” to car dealerships and refurbishment centres. REACT is a highly specialised cleaning service working with such clients as the police force, local councils and housing authorities; and Movements by Autoclenz provides collection and delivery services to the car rental sector – the newest branch of the company at less than a year old, but which is already delivering significant levels of growth.
This breadth of service plays a major part in the company’s smart growth strategy – and keeps it ahead of the competition. “Like most companies,” Rummery explained, “there’s a cyclical element to our businesses. But we tend to find that when one goes down, another comes up.”
With such a wide range of services on offer, Autoclenz has found that engaging with its staff is vital. “The culture of the company is one of high communication,” Rummery confirmed. “We share the ups and downs with all our people.” This translates into a strong emphasis on customer service: “We manage our people on a day to day basis because of the needs of the customer. Our managers are all paid not just on profit, but on the performance that we provide to the customer, scored via our own internal customer care process – and everybody is very aware of it.”
To this end, the company has developed a highly visible alert system, which notifies the management team if an individual customer has a problem, allowing a swift response and resolution. “It’s monitored on a daily basis,” Rummery said of the system. “If a customer has an issue, then we have an issue. If you don’t deliver the service, you don’t keep the business.”
To facilitate excellence in customer care, Rummery ensures that his staff are trained to the highest possible standards. Two years ago, the company invested in an e-training system, which allows it to monitor the level to which each and every staff member has been trained, and to therefore identify those who might need additional support. “It’s not a question of right or wrong; it’s a question of who needs help,” Rummery emphasised.
The company has also invested heavily in technology, developing a more streamlined approach in 2006 with the introduction of a Paperless Vehicle Management System (PVMS). Updated every 30 seconds, it allows the customer to access real-time information about the vehicle in question – down to who has the keys at any one time. It also delivers up-to-the-minute information to staff and management via a ‘traffic light’ system, enabling them to manage their workloads efficiently. Another service the company has recently introduced is the collection and delivery of customers’ cars to and from dealership or rental locations, where the employee utilises a mini fold-away motorcycle as their own means of transport. PVMS enables a personal safety check to be recorded prior to use of the motorcycle and also records who has ridden the bike at any one time, should the information ever be needed. In addition, the system allows self-billing – saving valuable time and paperwork. PVMS also facilitates remote forecasting, enabling managers to plan work ahead of time. “Our business is generally a reactive-style business,” Rummery explained. “But PVMS allows us to plan manning levels and move operators from point A to point B. Customer service standards have improved, as well as our ability to cope with fluctuations in the market, because we can actually see them coming. In addition, PVMS is completely separate from the customer’s own internal systems, so we don’t need to cross their firewall to access the information.” Despite the new technology, Autoclenz still recognises the importance of personal service. “We have a team of area managers who will regularly call on every account we have at least once a week; or sometimes two or three times a week, depending on its size,” Rummery explained.
The benefits of this proactive approach are clear for all to see. Autoclenz is the only company to have won the Institute of Transport Management award four times, as well as the only company ever to have done so for three consecutive years.
Looking ahead, it comes as no surprise that the company is keen to capitalise on its success. “We’re looking to focus our minds on growing the business and channelling our energies into looking for bolt-on acquisitions relevant to the marketplaces we currently trade in. It’s just a question of finding one that fits the bill,” Rummery revealed. END