9:30 am, October 23, 2019
E-COMMERCE specialist Epyx is celebrating the 100 millionth transaction made through its 1link Service Network service, maintenance and repair platform.
Launched in 2000, the platform enables 18,000 garages to easily process jobs booked by company car, van and truck fleets totalling four million vehicles. Some 14,000 transactions are processed every day.
Epyx managing director Aditya Varadpande said: ‘1link can lay claim to being the first e-commerce platform to become widely used not just in the garage sector but the motor industry as a whole.
‘When it was launched, we quite often had to introduce garages and fleets not just to the platform but to the whole idea of using the internet at work. For some, we even helped to get them online.
‘Its impact cannot be understated. Before 1link, booking and authorising a service or maintenance transaction between a major fleet and its suppliers involved endless phone calls and faxing and, even then, the rejection rate for the final invoice was very high. For some, a third of their invoices were being queried at any one time.
‘Instead, our technology allows the transaction to be agreed and authorised online in moments. The benefits for garages in terms of everything from not having to chase endless queried jobs through to massively improved cashflow cannot be underestimated.’
He added that 1link had evolved and been refined over time to take account of changing fleet and garage needs, as well as developments in technology.
‘Looking to the future, there are a range of developments under way that will see us develop the platform still further – from the arrival of electric vehicles through to the connected car. We very much intend to stay at the heart of fleet service and maintenance and be around to celebrate our 200 millionth transaction in a few years.’
Aditya Varadpande is pictured with members of the Epyx team
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