The group, a world leader in automotive fleet management, with 1.6 million vehicles, had invited its customers and business partners to discover its new strategy and its new ambitions for the Luxembourg market. The event took on particular significance thanks to the presence and active role of Berno Kleinherenbrink, worldwide Senior Vice President, Commercial, who presented the group’s new visual identity for the first time not just to Luxembourg but to the world.

The Power of One LeasePlan
Berno Kleinherenbrink first spoke about the group’s new strategy: “The Power of One LeasePlan”. Building on more than 50 years of expertise and numerous successes, the new management team has developed a strategic plan for the next three years. Its aim is to evolve “from good to great” in the areas of services and costs, but also to establish sustainable growth amid the new challenges facing the automotive sector. Berno Kleinherenbrink explained that this strategy was also based on acknowledgement of the fact that “none of us is as strong, competitive and smart as all of us!”  “By drawing on best practices in the 32 countries where we operate, we can create significant added value for our customers and our investors,” he went on to say.

The group is also reaffirming its determination to position itself as an all-round player in the new mobility. The usual model is in the process of being replaced by new solutions, and mobility is becoming a comprehensive service. LeasePlan aims to position itself on the classic segments (corporate, SMEs and international) but also in the new segments: private lease, ride hailing and car sharing. Innovation, the roll-out of zero-emission vehicles and the management of electric vehicles are also priorities. 

In order to bring about the implementation of these ambitious objectives and unleash its full potential by gaining in agility and in performance, the group is reorganising to evolve from a multi-local model to a more integrated structure.

Synergies with Belgium
Johan Portier then introduced himself. He now has responsibility for both markets, Luxembourg and Belgium, as Managing Director. With his previous work experience in various markets including Germany and France, but also Luxembourg, he started by saying that Luxembourg was a specific market which he knew and particularly appreciated.

As part of the The Power of One LeasePlan project, synergies had been created among various countries where the group was established. Such was the case of Belgium and Luxembourg, where a Belux cluster had been created, while at the same time keeping a distinct legal entity for Luxembourg.  This is a system commonly used in the leasing sector in Luxembourg.

The structure is based on the following three pillars:

• a sales team based in Luxembourg (25 persons);
• front-office operational services kept in Luxembourg but with more synergies with Belgium;
• and Belux management for support services (IT, HR, facility, etc.) and for administrative services not directly affecting customers.

Johan Portier also presented the new management team put in place for these two markets, which notably include Laurent Gouverneur (Sales Manager for Luxembourg) and Olivier Kormann (Manager, Transformation). At the local level too, we were introduced to several executives: Christine Ochs (Account Management), Ludivine Vagnon (Customer & Driver Care), Briac de Bussac (Finance) and Serge Cathenis (Procurement). Johan Portier also thanked and congratulated his teams for the work done over the past few months.

“We want to continue to serve our customers with a totally local approach suited to the particularities of the Luxembourg market.  We also want to maintain and strengthen cooperation with our local partners,” Johan Portier stressed.

Delivering more value
In the last presentation, Laurent Gouverneur, Sales Manager, referred to the coming changes for Luxembourg and the benefits they will bring to customers.

The sales organisation will also be slightly adapted to strengthen customer and driver orientation by means of am three-level approach to customers:

• Account management,
• Management of offers and renewals (sales)
• Customer and driver care

“The First team that we set up two years ago to perform the tasks associated with driver care has been a real success. It currently handles 11,000 requests a year, with a first resolution rate of over 80%. This team is going to be expanded in order to handle customers’ day-to-day requests too. The sales contacts remain the same, but this transfer of tasks will allow us to free up more time for advisory services and following up on offers, which are priorities in a market as strongly driver-oriented as this one. In fact, we are adding to and enhancing the functions of the back-office while at the same time boosting our front-office so that it gains in efficiency and performance, and this is to our customers’ benefit”, Laurent Gouverneur asserted.

Besides this, the synergies with Belgium generate numerous advantages: economies of scale, expertise and experience of a structure that manages more than 50,000 vehicles and which is the leader in Belgium, the possibility of joint investments, efficiency gains by automating manual processes and so on. Laurent Gouverneur gave the example of contract expiries, where duplicating solutions applied in Belgium had allowed the process to be rapidly adapted to produce a fairer and more transparent system for drivers. 

“Admittedly we still have some work to do and some adjustments to make, but equally it has to be said that these past few months have been rich in positive developments. It’s a whole new chapter of our history that we’re writing. These adaptations will allow us to deliver more services and to gain in competitiveness. We’re also going to be able to invest massively in digital, which is essential if we are to respond to our customers’ current and future needs,” the Sales Manager of LeasePlan Luxembourg concluded.

What’s next?
LeasePlan Luxembourg’s customers and business partners were the first in the world to be shown the group’s brand new visual identity: new logo (actually five logos), new visuals, new videos, etc. A young, dynamic style, and a complete break with the previous rather stiff visual image.

The group’s new slogan is “What’s next?”  This question is at the heart of all the discussions in world that is evolving faster than ever, particularly in the automotive sector. It conveys the group’s new strategy, stressing its curiosity, its positive attitude in the face of the unknown and its passion for innovation. The new logo, which retains the familiar dominant orange, is a stylised representation of a wave. “This logo represents a new turning point, and our new style reflects independence and freedom. It also reflects how we intend to serve our customers: in a modern way, flexibly and energetically!” Berno Kleinherenbrink added.