Technology’s function at PHH

November 04, 2009

Recommended by 1 Person

By Dave Zuidema
Senior Vice President & CIO, PHH Arval

What is the role of technology in a service business? At PHH, technology plays a very important, central role in every part of our business. I view technology as an enabler for others to be successful – a tool for others to be better.

Our systems are designed to help clients operate a productive and efficient fleet, freeing up time to focus on their core business. Our internal operations rely upon technology and data to ensure that work flows smoothly and perfectly. Our client facing teams rely upon our systems for the latest information, enabling them to provide the timely consulting advice our clients expect. We have the industry’s first and most extensive data warehouse, which serves as PHH’s foundation for providing the best in cost management, consulting and analytics. Trends and benchmarking are particularly valued during these times of economic uncertainty.

I believe we can only develop the right applications for our business if we stay focused on the needs of our clients. By listening to our clients and understanding their challenges, we create the solutions they need. A year ago, we set up an “Innovation Center,” where we foster creativity and experimentation by looking for emerging technologies that can be applied to solve fleet problems. This group helps channel the innovation of PHH by using research, collaborative web tools and many, many “experiments”. PHH Connect^SM, our mobile application designed with driver productivity in mind, is an industry first that had its birth in the Innovation Center. PHH Connect will change the fleet management industry – revolutionizing  the communication (and even the roles) of vehicle drivers, fleet managers and fleet management companies and dramatically improving the productivity of the vehicles and drivers. Without our Innovation Center pushing the limits of emerging technology, this client solution would not have evolved as quickly as it did.

In addition to pushing the limits, we have taken an entirely different approach to developing new applications. We establish business goals for the project and identify team members to include both IT and dedicated business participants. The team members are physically located together and spend each day developing, discussing challenges, prioritizing and making decisions.  Solutions emerge via real-time decisions and active participation. The teams deliver results every two weeks, ensuring practical deliverables that are of highest priority.  By taking this approach, we have cultivated a higher level of communication to guarantee that the system solves the business goals. Through this process we have dramatically shortened the time and cost of projects.

Our vision is “Effortless Driver and Vehicle Productivity.”  Fleets are a significant investment and our clients need to yield the highest possible return on that investment.  Our goal is to deliver those returns and make it as effortless as possible.  I believe it’s this philosophy that sets PHH apart in the industry – we focus on delivering the highest value while solving the problems facing the industry today and in the future.  Our approach is unique to the fleet industry and it enables us to deliver innovative, groundbreaking solutions.

Tags:   Senior Leadership Team , Technology Innovation , Mobile Application

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