As part of our series looking at how Copart Automotive helps the fleet, finance, retail and rental sectors to realise amazing returns on their vehicles, Claire takes us through how we have helped our existing customers continue to drive value in what has been a challenging year.
Claire has been a part of the Copart Automotive team for two and a half years, having worked in the sector for most of her career.
Her role is focused on helping our Automotive customers to realise maximum value on their vehicle assets by providing solutions to their vehicle remarketing needs.
How has Copart evolved to help Automotive customers since you joined the team?
Copart is very fast paced and the business is always looking for new ways to offer customers better solutions. Technology is very much at the forefront of the company’s development, which is great because there is always something new to learn and offer to customers.
What I would say above all else is that within Copart there are some amazing people and a real sense of team spirit. We really do try and live up to our #customerfirst ethos – collaborating and working together with customers to keep improving what we do. It is a great place to work as a result.
What does a typical day look like for you?
The great thing about my role is that no two days are the same. Along with the Automotive account support teams, I look after our most prestigious (yes, I am biased!) national Automotive customers. So, the one thing that is consistent is that I’m always busy liaising with them to ensure we return value.
My days often consist of customer reviews, auction analysis and planning the next steps for our customers. Since we offer a range of services including livery removal, vehicle preparation, collections and (of course) after sales support, my days can be varied.
It is important that we stay on a journey of continuous improvement every day to maximise the returns for our customers, so alongside the day-to-day, there are also the more strategic things. At present, that includes new tech to enhance our vehicle pick-up offering as well as helping our Operations teams with the roll-out of some exciting in-centre services (sorry, I can’t tell yet!).
What kind of challenges have your customers faced this year, and how has Copart been able to help?
It goes without saying that, like many other sectors, Covid has had an impact on many of our customers this year. For example, rental companies rely heavily on leisure business and as so few people are travelling, they have had to reduce their fleet size dramatically. But this is where Copart has been able to provide the positive.
Even during the first national lockdown earlier in the year, Copart has been able to provide exceptional results when it comes to volume of sales and the returns that customers are realising for their assets. This, of course, has helped ease some of the wider pain, getting money back on vehicle assests – and rapidly. Our customers have shown incredible resilience, many bouncing back and now going from strength to strength.
How has Copart adapted to continue to support our customers?
The great news is that we are – and always have been – a truly digital vehicle remarketing company, which stands us apart within the marketplace. Whilst many traditional auctions have had to change and move online, Copart have always been there. It means many of our customers have benefited from more buyers transacting digitally.
The technology which powers our auctions is without doubt world class. This, combined with our massively loyal Member base and the fact that we have been open for business throughout Covid, has helped our customers to maximise results during a difficult year of trading.
We have worked hard to put in place measures within our Operation Centres which ensure the safety of both our customers and teammates. The constant support and high level of performance from everyone at Copart has helped our customers to make the best of the current situation.
What would you say have been the most unique types of vehicles you have helped customers to remarket?
Our Member base is so expansive that you will be surprised at the types of vehicles that we remarket for our customers. One day we could be selling a £100,000 supercar and the next day we could be selling an HGV, so a little like my working day, no two are the same!
The fantastic thing about the Copart auctions and our Members is we can consistently sell any type of vehicle.
What would you say is the biggest benefit of Copart’s online auction platform?
Many people will not appreciate that our online auctions genuinely replicate what happens in a live auction house. Our technology recognises real time bidding patterns and automatically extends the time of a Lot whilst people are bidding or are likely to bid.
This ability is not found elsewhere and unlike a timed auction, this technology unlocks the door to genuine potential returns.
What would you say to those needing more from their vehicle remarketing/disposals?
Firstly, the market bounced back immediately once the first lockdown was lifted, which is to be expected given that people within the motor trade were re-opening their businesses.
From our perspective, we are still seeing these exceptional results today and the auction results show no sign of slowing down as we all learn to adapt to and live with Covid.
We have seen potential customers, who previously only utilised the traditional vehicle remarketing methods, becoming more open to a new way of doing things and this has created further opportunities for us at Copart, and of course our buyers and sellers.
We would encourage any potential customers who are considering their options and want to maximise the return on their assets to get in touch. We would be very happy to work with them and outline what we can offer to help improve their remarketing experience.
If you are interested in finding out more about how Copart Automotive could help your business remarket sub-optimal vehicles for maximum returns, get in touch with Claire on 07964 921835, or email claire.woods@copart.com.
Copart Automotive is unparalleled in the marketplace with many major Fleet, Finance, Rental and Retail customers already leveraging our services – alongside the already impressive array of Insurance customers selling through Copart.