Rethinking damage management – fernao reduces administrative effort by up to 80%

Accelerating processes in damage cases, reducing costs

fernao Networkings Holding is a full-service provider in the field of IT security. fernao comprises several subsidiaries at a total of 16 locations, serving customers throughout Germany. From the headquarters in Cologne, Gunther Steinmann manages the entire fleet of the holding company, currently consisting of 150 vehicles. By the end of 2022, 10 to 15 additional company cars are expected to be added.

Gunther Steinmann has been working with the Avrios fleet management software since 2021. He manages the entire fleet, including damage management, single-handedly. Although fernao records so-called minor damages (Bagatellschäden) in 80 percent of cases, these also need to be handled. Personal support for drivers in the event of damage, assignment of jobs to workshops, and contact with insurance companies used to take up a lot of time – despite digital driver and damage records and largely automated data integration.

“Damages had to be processed alongside daily business. Depending on how extensive and complex a case was, other important tasks inevitably fell by the wayside,” says the fleet manager. This also included the evaluation of damages and repair costs.

Integrated, external damage management

fernao was one of the first Avrios customers to use a new form of damage management. In this model, all administrative and therefore time-intensive tasks are outsourced. Gunther Steinmann is only involved in making specific decisions and granting approvals.

For this purpose, Avrios integrated the damage and maintenance management platform of the software company RepairFix. This enables Avrios customers to access professional damage management – from reporting damage via app or 24/7 hotline, to obtaining insurance and leasing approvals, all the way to repair.

Since then, the administrative and processing workload for Gunther Steinmann has been reduced by 75 to 80 percent. This time saving is noticeable for him even at the point of damage reporting. In principle, fernao employees have two options – reporting via the app or through a hotline. Around the clock, experts are available on the phone, asking the right questions and initiating everything necessary. This is especially important in the case of third-party damages. “Users know that they can call me anytime in emergencies, but accidents also happen when I’m not available. It’s good to have professionals at your side so that there are no delays,” says Steinmann.

The decision on whether and at what cost a vehicle is repaired remains his responsibility. However, he has delegated the time-consuming requests for cost estimates as well as the formal coordination with leasing companies and insurers. “I am always informed and have the overview. That is what matters most to me.”

After a total loss – fortunately without injuries – the entire process, including disposal of the vehicle, took only two and a half weeks. This meant enormous savings in time and costs. Because the faster we handle a vehicle with total loss, the faster fixed costs can be saved. “If I had had to do everything the conventional way, it would have taken at least six weeks.”

— Gunther Steinmann, Fleet Manager, fernao Networks

Analysis and cost overview

As soon as a damage case is closed, the data is imported into Avrios. Always retrievable and individually scalable, it forms the basis for cost and cause analyses. Gunther Steinmann quickly noticed a positive effect: workshop costs alone have decreased by 10 to 15 percent since the new damage management was introduced. This is shown by the first evaluations. The fleet manager attributes the positive result to the workshop network of the cooperation partner RepairFix, as their conditions are better than those of the previous contract workshops. The savings also have an effect on the overall insurance premium. Because when aggregated to the total damage costs of all vehicles in the fleet over the course of a year, the cheaper repairs can help keep the damage ratio low.

Another advantage: with just one click, the fleet manager can process the damage data in Avrios at any time and draw conclusions. For example, the type and scope of damage provide insights into the causes of damage and thus serve as the basis for data-driven decisions.